Linda Russo, clinical associate professor of English, has won the 2019 College of Arts and Sciences Mid-Career Clinical and Instructional Achievement Award. Russo teaches Introduction to Creative Writing as well as Intermediate and Advanced Poetry.
Megan Kaminski, a poet at the University of Kansas who nominated Russo, writes that “Linda’s three recent books, Participant, Meaning to Go to the Origin in Some Way, and To Think of Her Writing Awash in Light have had a significant impact on the poetry world.”
Kaminski also recognized Russo for her co-edited volume Counter-Desecration: A Glossary for Writing Within the Anthropocene, stating that the book “re-visions current understandings of the ecological in literary studies… and does important work in decolonizing the often very white male world of nature writing.”
Russo’s collaborative digital mapping, ecology, and arts project has brought together students and community members, as well as forging valuable connections between the arts, humanities, and sciences, allowing her to connect with a wide range of students. She also serves as Director of Creative Writing for the Department of English. In addition to her work at WSU, Russo’s teaching extends beyond the classroom into her “EcoArts on the Palouse” project and “Open Mic at Café Moro,” which is attended by students as well as community members.
“Linda’s teaching, research, and service embody the mission of a land grant university, and her award was well deserved,” said D.L. Potts, professor and chair of the WSU Department of English.
