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Donora Shaw
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Alma materKing's College, Rutgers University-Camden, Wilkes University, Wayne State University
Period2006 – present

Donora Shaw (née Hillard) is an American writer and editor. She was first made notable in the fields of institutional critique and trauma studies, specifically for her first full-length collection of poetry published when she was 27 years old.[1] Her projects have appeared on CNN,[2] WBEZ Chicago,[3] and MSNBC.[4]

Shaw is the author of several 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.[5] She has also modeled in book trailers. In 2016, Cobalt Press published her most recent full-length poetry book, Jeff Bridges.

Early life

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Shaw was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. "Home for me," Shaw 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."[6] Some of her earliest works of poetry were recognized locally.[7]

Shaw 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.[8]

Academic career

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After completing her BA in English from King's College (Pennsylvania) in just under three years, Shaw went on to pursue an MA in creative writing with a fellowship from Rutgers University-Camden. She would later finish that degree and also receive her MFA in creative writing from Wilkes University in 2008.

It was during her tenure as an English instructor at a private Roman Catholic high school near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she had the experiences that would later inform Theology of the Body.

In 2014, while teaching composition and literature at Lawrence Technological University near Detroit, Shaw's work The Aphasia Poems was published by S▲L.

After moving to Northeast Ohio, Shaw completed the requirements for her PhD in English from Wayne State University.

Personal life

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Following the sudden and unexpected death of her mother in June 2019, Shaw permanently relocated back to Pennsylvania on July 15, 2019.

She is married to Cameron Shaw, with whom she has two children including an adopted son through marriage.

In January 2021, Shaw announced via her website that she was pregnant for the first time. On July 15, 2021, she gave birth to a daughter, Merrin.

Selected works

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  • Theology of the Body (Gold Wake Press, 2010; rereleased as Covenant, Gold Wake Press, 2012) is a response, through the fragmentation of form and memory, to the teachings of Pope John Paul II, also published under the same name (Theology of the Body).[9] This work of hybrid text would lead one staff reviewer at Kill Author to claim, "I think Donora Hillard has visionary powers."[10] In summarizing her own belief structure, Shaw has said that it "hinges upon the Gospel of Thomas and the phrase 'Talitha cumi,' which is Aramaic for 'Girl, get up.'"[11]
  • The Aphasia Poems (S▲L, 2014) is a collection of poems adapted with permission from Shaw's clients with linguistic disabilities, to whom she was a disability advocate and mentor in Wayne County, Michigan.[12] According to one reviewer, while some writers might be inclined to "speak about or for these individuals, Hillard allows them to speak for themselves."[12]
  • Jeff Bridges (Cobalt Press, 2016)

Bibliography

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Poetry

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  • Parapherna (dancing girl press, 2006)
  • Exhibition (Gold Wake Press, 2008)
  • Theology of the Body (Gold Wake Press, 2010)
  • Covenant (with Zachary C. Bush) (Gold Wake Press, 2012)
  • The Aphasia Poems (S▲L, 2014)
  • Jeff Bridges (with illustrations by Goodloe Byron) (Cobalt Press, 2016)

Play

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  • The Plagiarist[5] (2015)

Articles

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  • "'But this is a world': Alzheimer’s writing and punk pedagogy" (Lybba, 2012)
  • "Interfaces and Infrastructures: Examining New Media Objects in the English Studies Classroom" (Pedagogy, 2012)

Anthologies

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Awards and recognition

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  • 2010 – "Departure" was included in Norton's first anthology of hint fiction.[13]

References

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  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. ^ a b "The Big Read One-Act Plays". April 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Hillard, Donora. "The Blair Witch Project". Nightlightcinema.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. ^ "ONLY YESTERDAY: Steve Skammer pitched no-hit game in Wyoming Valley Baseball League 1975". Times Leader. May 11, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Faux, Sandra (March 4, 2004). "KING'S COLLEGE RECOGNIZES STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS". Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Castillo, Elaine (October 29, 2010). "Elaine Castillo on Donora Hillard". Kill Author. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  11. ^ Keating, Andrew. "Interview: Donora Hillard". Cobalt Review. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Veladota, Christina (July 27, 2014). "The Aphasia Poems". maybesopoetry. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  13. ^ "Departure", books.google.com; accessed June 6, 2017.
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