Donora Hillard

Donora A. Rihn
Born 1982 (age 3334)
Occupation Writer
Nationality American
Alma mater King's College, Wilkes University, Rutgers University Camden, Wayne State University
Period 2006–present
Website
http://www.donora-ann.com/

Donora A. Rihn (née Hillard; born 1982) is an American writer, educator, and editor who performs her work frequently across the United States. She was first made notable in the field of institutional critique, specifically for her first full-length collection of feminist poetry that challenged the misrepresentation of women's bodies among Catholic leaders and their teachings.[1] Her projects have appeared on CNN,[2] WBEZ Chicago,[3] and MSNBC,[4] owing to her inclusion in a Norton Anthology of hint fiction.[5] She has published five works of hybrid text, poetry, and theory: Parapherna (2006), Exhibition (2008), Theology of the Body (2010), Covenant (2012), and The Aphasia Poems (2014). In 2015, her play The Plagiarist was produced in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts' The Big Read initiative.[6] In 2016, Cobalt Press published her most recent full-length poetry collection, Jeff Bridges.

Early life

Rihn was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. "Home for me," Rihn has said of the rural setting of her upbringing, "is being lost in the woods with people telling stories about something terrible all around you."[7] Some of her earliest works of poetry were recognized locally.[8] She later matriculated at King's College, where she would become President of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, and attain a membership to the Aquinas Society, the King's College honor society.[9]

Academic career

After receiving her BA in English at King's College (Pennsylvania) in 2004, Rihn went on to pursue an MA in creative writing at Rutgers University. She would later finish that degree and also receive her MFA in creative writing at Wilkes University in 2008. It was during her tenure as an English instructor at a private Catholic high school near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania that Rihn cultivated the experiences that would inform Theology of the Body. In 2014, while teaching composition and literature at Lawrence Technological University, Rihn's work, The Aphasia Poems, was published by S▲L. After moving to Northeast Ohio, Rihn completed the requirements for her PhD in English from Wayne State University. Her research focused on composition, poetics, and postpedagogy (particularly punk pedagogy).

Selected works

Theology of the Body: Theology of the Body (Gold Wake Press, 2010; rereleased as Covenant in 2012) is a feminist response, through fragmentation of form and memory, to the teachings of Pope John Paul II, also published under the same name (Theology of the Body).[10] This work of hybrid text would lead one staff reviewer at Kill Author to claim, "I think Donora Hillard has visionary powers."[11] In summarizing her own belief structure, Rihn has said that it "hinges upon the Gospel of Thomas and the phrase 'Talitha cumi,' which is Aramaic for 'Girl, get up.'"[12]

The Aphasia Poems: The Aphasia Poems (S▲L, 2014) is a collection of poems adapted with permission from Rihn's clients with linguistic disabilities, to whom she was a disability advocate and mentor in Wayne County, Michigan.[13] According to one reviewer, while some writers might be inclined to "speak about or for these individuals, Hillard allows them to speak for themselves."[13]

Jeff Bridges: Jeff Bridges (Cobalt Press, 2016) was published in April 2016 by Cobalt Press.[14]

Bibliography

Books of Poetry

Plays

Articles

Anthologies

Awards and recognition

References

  1. Staff, Harriet (August 25, 2010). "Donora Hillard explains it all". Poetry Foundation. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  2. Grinberg, Emanuella (August 17, 2012). "5 states in 7 days bonding over whiskey and a shared love of writing". CNN.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  3. "Series A: Donora Hillard, Julia Miller and Eric Gelehrter". WBEZ. October 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  4. "Hint Fiction". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Departure"
  6. 1 2 "The Big Read One-Act Plays". April 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. Hillard, Donora. "The Blair Witch Project". Nightlightcinema.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  8. "ONLY YESTERDAY: Steve Skammer pitched no-hit game in Wyoming Valley Baseball League 1975". Times Leader. May 11, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  9. Faux, Sandra (March 4, 2004). "KING'S COLLEGE RECOGNIZES STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS". Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  10. Ripatrazone, Nicholas (2013). The fine delight : postconciliar Catholic literature. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-62032-172-0. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  11. Castillo, Elaine (October 29, 2010). "Elaine Castillo on Donora Hillard". Kill Author. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  12. Keating, Andrew. "Interview: Donora Hillard". Cobalt Review. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Veladota, Christina (July 27, 2014). "The Aphasia Poems, by Donora Hillard". maybesopoetry. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  14. Hillard-Hare, Donora. "Donora Hillard-Hare – I am most excited to announce that Cobalt Press…". donora-ann.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.

External links

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