Assistant Professor melba@uab.edu
University Hall 5046
(205) 934-4250

Research and Teaching Interests: The Essay, Rhetoric & Composition, Creative Nonfiction, Flash Fiction and Nonfiction, Spoken Word Poetry, Dystopian Literature, LGBTQ+ Literature, Alabama Literature, Southern Gothic Literature, Animal Studies

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:

• B.A., Union Institute & University — Vermont College, Writing & Literature
• M.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Rhetoric & Composition
• MFA, Antioch University Los Angeles, Creative Nonfiction

I specialize in creative nonfiction with a particular focus on the essay. My final project at Vermont College explored the significant role personal narrative plays in human existence. While at Antioch University Los Angeles, I examined how storytelling works to create social justice and began writing a collection of essays. Pieces related to this collection have appeared in The Citron Review, Southern Women’s Review, Lunch Ticket, and the G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South) Anthology. Immediately after receiving my MFA, I entered UAB’s graduate program in English, where my attention shifted to rhetoric and composition and the art of teaching.

I view composition classes as entry-level courses in the exciting, complex, viable genre of nonfiction. In designing my classes, I tailor readings and assignments to students’ interests, incorporate contemporary creative nonfiction texts, and employ modified creative writing practices. Not only do my classes teach students various ways of acquiring, analyzing, and evaluating information, they also afford them the opportunity to confront new ideas and different points of view, while developing their unique voices and increasing their authority as writers.

When not teaching, reading, and writing, I enjoy gallivanting with my phenomenal canine companion Nikita. In March of 2020, Nikita and I became certified as a Hand in Paw Therapy Team.