Jo Lynn Pack is from Leroy, a small community about 15 minutes south of Lafayette. This Cajun girl graduated high school in 1997 and received her B.S. in psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005. Between then, Jo worked at a television station and a mental health hospital, conducted cognitive research on both young children and chimpanzees, and became a trained behavioral therapist for autistic children. She also spent an extraordinary amount of time reading, writing poetry, building computers, playing video games, and watching lots of bad television and great films.
Now in graduate school, in between teaching and her coursework, Jo is working on her MA thesis, which will be a creative/critical mix of different genres/media that will focus on the body. When she is not working, she probably should be. It is reported that the two loves of her life, her husband Jason and dog Ivan, miss her greatly.
EDUCATION
Graduate Assistant, English, with Concentration in Creative Writing, M.A.
Program, 2005 – Present
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Bachelor of Science,
Psychology, Minor in English, May 2005
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
THEORETICAL INTERESTS
American Modern, Contemporary, and Postmodern Poetry and Poetics
American Literature
Creativity and the Poetic Process
Evolutionary, Humanistic, and Cognitive Psychology
Feminist Theory and Poetics
Film History and Theory
Irish Literature and Film
Literature and Psychology
Marxist Theory
Postcolonial Theory
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
English 102: Writing and Culture, Spring 2007, forthcoming
English 223: Introduction to Creative Writing I, Fall 2006
English 101: Introduction to Academic Writing, Summer 2006
PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING
English 509: College Teaching Practicum II, Spring 2007 (forthcoming)
English 675: Teaching Literature at the College Level, (forthcoming)
English 509: College Teaching Practicum I, Fall 2006
English 499: Creative Writing Pedagogy, Fall 2006
English 501: Teaching College English, Spring 2006
TUTORING EXPERIENCE
University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Writing Center, Writing Consultant,
September 2005-May 2006
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
“Shot-Reverse Shot: The Translation of Images from Comic Book to Big
Screen” – The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference,
Atlanta, Georgia, accepted and forthcoming, 2007
“‘A Separate Country’: Age and Age Segregation in Jewett’s
Country of the Pointed Firs” – University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Graduate Student Conference, April 28, 2006
“Creative Writers Wanted: Stretching the Boundaries of the Writing Center”
– South Central Writing Centers Association Conference, Little Rock,
Arkansas, February 23-25, 2006
PUBLICATIONS
“Afterward: Before Weight,” poem, Temenos, journal,
Vol. 1 Issue 1, 2006.
“Displacement,” short story, Blood Lotus, online
journal, Vol. 1 Issue 3, August 2006.
“Afterward: Before Weight,” “Latchkey,” and “Remainder,”
poems, Temenos, online journal, Spring 2006.
“Bargaining,” poem, The Southwestern Review, journal,
2006.
“Latchkey” and “Referee,” poems, Standing
Strong, anthology, Sunday Evening Press, 2004.
“Objective Verse,” “Biohazard,” and “Performance
Pieces,” poems, Dirty Swamp Poets, anthology, Bloody Irish
Press, 2004.
Leaving Anhedonia, chapbook, Sunday Evening Press, 2004.
“Flaunt,” “Breaking Earth,” and “MWF Seeks
Other,” poems, The Southwestern Review, journal, 2004.
“Domestication,” poem, The Southwestern Review, journal,
2003.
READINGS/PERFORMANCES
Thursday Night Reading Series, Dramatic performer, November 16, 2006.
Thursday Night Reading Series, Featured Reader, October 19, 2006.
Deep South Festival of Writers’ Blue Moon Collaboration, Invited Performer,
April 8, 2006. “Life. featuring Extension.” Collaborative work
featuring poetry and abstract animation.
Thursday Night Reading Series, “The Fantastic Writing Center Gang,”
Featured Reader, April 6, 2006.
Rhonda-Maria Experience, Invited Reader, June 23, 2004.
2004 Deep South Festival of Writers’ Poetry Crawl, Invited Reader, April
23, 2004.
Thursday Night Reading Series, “A Night of Wild Women,” Featured
Reader, March 25, 2004.
Regular Contributor to the Open Mic, Thursday Night Reading Series, 2002-2003.
Louisiana Book Festival, Invited Reader, Fall 2002.
ACTIVITIES
Graduate Student Conference Co-Chair, Louisiana Graduate Conference on Language
and Literature 2007.
Graduate Committee Representative, 2006-present.
Vice President, Sigma Tau Delta-Lambda Zeta Chapter, April 2006-present.
Reader, Southwestern Review Selection Committee, 2007 Issue.
Interim Vice President, Sigma Tau Delta-Lambda Zeta Chapter, January 2005-April
2006.
Created and Implemented Creative Writing Program in the Writing Center of
University of Louisiana at Lafayette, January 2006.
Public Relations, Abstract, and Program Committees, University of Louisiana
at Lafayette Graduate Student Conference 2006.
Reader, Southwestern Review Selection Committee, 2006 Issue.
Graduate Assistant, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Fall 2005-present.
Reader, Southwestern Review Selection Committee, 2005 Issue.
Reader, Southwestern Review Selection Committee, 2004 Issue.
Deep South Festival of Writers Poetry Crawl, Organizing Committee, April 23,
2004.
TECHNOLOGY
Webmaster, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Department of English, 2006-present.
Maintained Website, UL Lafayette Creative Writing Department, 2005-2006.
AWARDS AND HONORS
The Darrell Bourque Award for Best Conference Essay 2006, University of Louisiana
at Lafayette Graduate Student Conference.
Syllabi for English 101: Introduction to Academic Writing and English 102:
Writing and Culture was chosen to be used in Departmental training of new
instructors.
MEMBERSHIPS
American Psychological Association.
Sigma Tau Delta-Lambda Zeta Chapter.
VOLUNTEER WORK
Child Visitation Supervisor, Avec Les Enfants, 2002-2003.
Organized and executed canned food and toiletries drive for Faith House, a
local shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children, 2006.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Research/Teaching Assistant, Creative Writing Department, Dr. Jerry McGuire,
September 2005-May 2006.
Research Assistant, Cognitive Evolution Group, Dr. Daniel Povinelli, January.
The English department will become your extended family. There is the welcome party at the beginning of the year, the Christmas party, the Wisely party at the end of the year, and all the parties and events that fall in between. This familial atmosphere is part of the culture in South Louisiana, something that our out of state graduate students are glad to be a part of, especially if they are far away from home. Just as it is said that you can attend a different festival somewhere in Louisiana every weekend of the year, you can attend a different literary event/gathering/party associated with our department almost every week if you chose to.
Overall, my time in the UL English graduate program has been a wonderful experience. Both my creative and scholarly work have benefited from my graduate studies. The faculty is outstanding. They are extremely helpful to the graduate student in need, but they also demand high quality work, which I love. Also, our faculty members welcome interdisciplinary work, which I believe to be very important (take it from an interdisciplinarian). You are going to love our Creative Writing faculty in particular. I wish that I could be fortunate enough to stay in such an atmosphere the rest of my academic career.
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