Mary Mackey as Educator and Academic
Mary Mackey has a B.A. from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan. From 1972 until her retirement in 2008 she taught Creative Writing, Film, Women’s Studies, English Literature, and Advanced Composition at California State University, Sacramento where she was Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence. Four times nominated for the CSUS Outstanding Teaching Award, she was instrumental in founding the CSUS Women’s Studies Program and the CSUS English Department’s Graduate and Undergraduate Creative Writing Programs. Her doctoral dissertation was on William Henry Hudson and the influence of the Darwinian Revolution on the 19th Century Novel (English, French, Spanish, Russian). Although primarily known as a novelist and poet, she has written articles on Cervantes, Dickens, the American cinema, Women’s Poetry, Women’s Visionary Film, and the origins of the Women’s Spirituality Movement.
How To Adopt Mary Mackey’s Books For Your Courses:
Educators often use Mary Mackey’s novels and collections of poetry in the following courses: American Literature, Creative Writing, Women’s Studies, the History of the Women’s Movement, Women in the Arts, Environmental Poetry, Women’s Visionary Fiction and Women’s Visionary Poetry, Environmental Fiction, Writing for Change, and Historical Fiction. Mackey’s books can be obtained both in hard copy and as inexpensive e-books. For a complete list of available books and descriptions of same, see Mary Mackey’s Book Page at https://marymackey.com/books/ On Mary Mackey’s Educators Page, you will also find links to extensive reading lists in a variety of subjects.
Useful Resources For Writers and Educators
The People Who Make Books Happen Interview Series
If you are teaching, you may find it valuable to refer your students to my People Who Make Books Happen Interview Series . I post these interviews on my Blog once a month. Click here for a menu of all the interviews in the series. Below are links to some recent interviews.
Poet Jane Hirshfield Talks to Mary Mackey About Craft and Inspiration
Shakespeare in Historical Fiction: Interview With Novelist Pamela Berkman
Marge Piercy on Writing Fiction and Poetry
How Research Transforms Historical Fiction: Inerview With Novelist Dorothy Hearst
How to Get An Agent And Other Tips for Writers: Interview with Celebrity Literary Agent Andy Ross.
Creative Writing Advice
On my Blog, students and teachers of writing will find advice about writing novels, poems, and non-fiction as well as help with the creative process. Some of the most popular posts are:
The First Secret to Overcoming Writer’s Block
The Second Secret to Overcoming Writer’s Block
The Third Secret to Overcoming Writer’s Bloc
How Digital Publishing Has Changed Authors’ Lives
Why The Job of Perpetual Publicity Keeps Writers From Writing
NONFICTION WRITING ADVICE:
MARY MACKEY’S FOUR SIMPLE RULES FOR WRITING WELL
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS
GUIDE TO WOMEN WRITERS’ ARCHIVES
Why a guide to women writers since you can do a Google search for almost any writer’s archive and find the location with relative ease? To do an efficient google search, you need to search by name. The names of some of the best women writers are not widely known for all sorts of reasons. Here you will some of their names and information about where their papers are archived.
ESSAYS
WHAT IS WOMEN’S VISIONARY FICTION, PART I
WHAT IS WOMEN’S VISIONARY FICTION, PART II
SWIMMING IN THE AMERICAN RIVER Includes observations on the great ethnic diversity of people who come to the American River plus hints for sneaking up on ducks.
SAMPLE COURSE SYLLABI
WOMEN’S VISIONARY FICTION SAMPLE SYLLABUS
This syllabus is designed for an intensive, two-day course in Women’s Visionary Fiction at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
WOMEN’S VISIONARY FILM SAMPLE SYLLABUS
This syllabus is designed for an intensive course in Women’s Visionary Film at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Films view in class are followed by lectures and discussion.
WOMEN’S VISIONARY POETRY SAMPLE SYLLABUS
This syllabus is designed for an intensive course in Women’s Visionary Poetry at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITION SAMPLE SYLLABUS
This syllabus was handed out to California State University Sacramento students enrolled in my English 1A class Introduction to Composition.
ADVANCED COMPOSITION SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Despite the fact that I am primarily a novelist and a poet, I have always enjoyed teaching expository prose. If you are teaching or taking Advanced Composition, you can see an example of one of my Advanced Composition syllabi by clicking here.
(Mary Mackey’s Educators Page is currently under construction. In the future it will provide information about the structure, content, craft, symbolism, character development, narrative point of view, and meaning of her poems and novels as well as information about courses in Writing Short Fiction, Writing Feature Film Scripts, Writing Creative Nonfiction, Writing Poetry, Women’s Studies, Women’s Visionary Film, Women’s Visionary Poetry, Women’s Visionary Fiction, Rhetoric and Composition, History of the Cinema, Major Film Directors, Film Genre, and Documentary Film. Mary is always open to answering questions from you or your students about her work or the craft of writing in general.)