Hi Amy! So happy to sit down with you after your first few weeks on Church Street. I was hoping we could talk about Iowa first—it’s played a significant role in your academic history. Could you talk a little about your journey and how you’ve come to the Obermann Center?

Sure! I went to Iowa as an undergraduate, double majoring in English and political science. I was drawn to campus from my hometown of Wichita, Kansas by Iowa’s reputation as the Writing University. I did all sorts of things as an undergraduate. I was a resident assistant, writing fellow, editor-in-chief of the undergraduate literary magazine, and research assistant on top of writing an honors thesis and taking graduate classes in English. 

After graduation, I really needed a break! I went away to travel, then pursued my PhD at Emory University and completed a postdoc at the University of Alabama. 

But Iowa called to me again. I returned to the university to work in the library in special collections and as a subject liaison for about five years. 

When I decided to leave the library, I stayed in the area working at various science companies and remotely for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. When a position opened at the Obermann Center, I thought it would be the perfect role for me due to my interdisciplinary background. I’m delighted that the university agreed! 

Do you find that Iowa City offers any especially meaningful opportunities or advantages to a community of researchers, writers, and thinkers?

We are the Writing University, so there’s just nowhere better to be if you are interested in writing. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translation, playwriting, screenwriting. All of it. 

As a place to conduct research and think, it’s also a wonderful place. Just small enough to really get a strong sense of connection to each other and the town but big enough to have folks from all over the world. Plus, we aren’t far away from major metropolitan areas. I love it here.  

Sometimes we’re lucky enough to find commitments or purposes that can guide us throughout our intellectual lives. What kind of engagement with the scholarly community has meant the most to you so far?

My most recent position was in the field of Open Education, which provides free, digital pedagogical resources to students of all ages. The Open Ed community was so warm and supportive of me as a person and a professional, plus I really admired how laser-focused Open Ed folks were on their mission of removing cost as a barrier to learning without compromising on quality. We all had the same values, and I'm lucky to have many friends from that era of my life. 

On the subject side of things, my first book Placing Papers: The American Literary Archive Market (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020) was about how literary archives—the papers of writers—come into institutional hands. As a result, I continue to be very invested in the discourse between literature, archives, and business. I’ve written a few articles and chapters on related topics since my book came out, and I look forward to publishing more in that disciplinary intersection. 

The year 2022 saw the publication of your book 1,000+ Tips for Life Inside and Outside the Academy. Could you talk about how that book came to be? What did that project ask of you? And what did you learn by reaching the other side of it?

We write the book we wish existed, right? 

In graduate school, I felt like I didn’t pick up on a lot of things or understood them only in retrospect. Then, as a librarian, I worked with a lot of people—undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. I saw them make the same mistakes and follow inefficient processes repeatedly. I also had a birds’ eye view of what people who are trained as academics think the working world is like versus what it's actually like. Plus, I am obsessed with the idea of minimalism (doing more with less) and the Pareto Principle (20% of the effort achieves 80% of the results).

All those thoughts created the concept of the book: one-page entries on each topic for succeeding inside and outside of university life. The format itself forced an economy. It can be overwhelming to try to do all the things. So here, just read my book, and get what matters most covered. 

What I learned after writing that book is that some career advice is evergreen and some of it is very, very seasonal. I was proud of my social media savvy when I published it, but that part now is dated to the point it should be disregarded. For example, Twitter isn’t even Twitter anymore! That’s not to say it wasn’t good content, but times change. Now we need to talk about Substack. We need to talk about artificial intelligence.

Is there any writing (or general!) advice you feel is applicable at all stages of an academic career?

Gnothi seauton, know thyself. Support the habits you already have. It was a revelation to me when I read somewhere that we spend too much time trying to fix what we're bad at. Focus on what you're good at and amplify that instead. 

Along that line, really embrace your intellectual quirks. What makes your perspective unique is what makes it valuable. Don’t try to ape those who have gone before you. Listen to yourself. If you feel overwhelmed by others’ influence (The “anxiety of influence” is real!), give yourself space and time alone.

How do you approach finding balance between research, life, and work?

It helps that I have a passion for research. I consider it my hobby. I did it even though my books and articles were never required for any position I have held. I do it because I want to do it. 

But back to minimalism. Spend time with the people who are most important to you. Do what is most important to you. Complete the tasks that are most critical. Sometimes there are seasons where one area of your life takes up more time or energy, and that’s okay as long as it balances out in the long haul and you clearly communicate your needs to others. 

Are there any research topics or fields that you feel are especially important for us, as scholars, to watch right now?

All the obvious ones: artificial intelligence, intellectual freedom, international affairs, the environment, human rights. 

For the humanities specifically, I think we are in a moment to define what is human in an era where we are preoccupied with the machine. It’s another Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution created great wealth and great poverty. It also saw counter-culture movements like the Arts and Crafts movement. I’d love for us to really dig into the value of the organic, the handmade, and connect ourselves back to the means of production in a human-affirming way. 

Your career has demanded an impressive range of intellectual fluency and skill. Is there a part of your work that makes you lose track of time, in a good way? Do you ever find a state of flow?

Like I said, I love research. I love pursuing new ideas. I love a good spreadsheet, the data adding up to something I suspected but couldn’t confirm. I love listening to other people’s good ideas and being excited to learn from them. There’s nothing better than a conversation where we really dig into a concept. If I were to retire, I’d probably just go back to school. 

Flow is honing into where your skill meets a challenge. It’s play. Anytime I get to do those things, I get the flow. That’s why I’m so excited to join the Obermann Center!