Beth Dalton

Classes Taught

• English Composition--101, 102, 103, 104, and 114
• Honors Humanities 201, 202, and 203. Honors Colloquia
• Creative Writing-- English 287: Introduction to Fiction

Academic/Research Interests

Writing fiction and poetry

Teaching Philosophy

Writing is a vital act, one that accomplishes a worthy goal for the writer as well as the reader. My objective is to encourage students to see themselves as writers who engage in meaningful discourse. To achieve this, my course assignments are designed to build gradually on students’ developing rhetorical skills, so that the arguments they construct will not only help them grow intellectually, but also contribute to the discourse of the community they are trying to reach. My pedagogical emphasis is on inquiry and discovery: Learning to ask questions about the world; using the rhetorical process to discover answers to those questions; then communicating that journey of discovery to a targeted audience.

Publications

• Poem: “Spooning.” New Millennium Writings. University of Tennessee. 16 (Summer 2006): 187.
• Fiction: “Vigilance.” River City. University of Memphis. (Summer 2004): 65-75.
• Fiction: “Restoring Amends.” Ellipsis: Literature and Art. Westminster College of Salt Lake City. (Spring 2004): 46-54.
• Fiction: “Homecoming.” New Works Review. 6.2: April 2004. http://www.new-works.org/ 
• Fiction: “Home Video.” PMS (poem/memoir/story). University of Alabama at Birmingham. 1.1 (2001).
• Poem: “Swans’ Song.” Intimate Kisses. Ed. Wendy Maltz. California: New World Library, 2001. 145-46.
• Short Story: “At the Corner.” Flying Island 8.1. Writers’ Center of Indianapolis. (Winter/Spring 2000): 29-32.
• Poem: “Flying Featherless.” Switched on Gutenberg. University of Washington, Seattle. 4.2 (Spring 2000):  http://faculty.washington.edu/jnh/index.htm.
• Short Story: “At the Corner.” Published in New Works Review (Fall-Winter 1999): http://www.new-works.org.

Grants and Awards

• Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant for novel Cabin Creek, July 2004-June 2005.
• Anderson Center, Red Wing, MN: Competitive two-week residency at this artists’ retreat to work on novel Cabin Creek. May 16-30, 2004.
• Ball State University Summer Creative Arts Grant for novel Cabin Creek, May- August 2003.
• Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant for novel Daughter of Elysium, July 2001. Community
• Connections Fellowship. Mary Anderson Center for the Arts. Competitive two- week residency. Summer 1996.

Community Service

Farmland Public Library Board of Trustees (August 2003-present). Psi Iota Xi, Eta Iota Chapter, Parker City, IN: Current Advisor and Past President. In this service sorority we raise money for local, regional, and statewide charities serving children. Two of our most important projects include running a community library in Parker City and awarding annual scholarships to local high school graduates who plan to study literature, music, or speech and hearing in college.