Laura Donnelly ’01
Laura Donnelly ’01, an associate professor of
English and creative writing at SUNY Oswego,
returned to Hope electronically on Nov. 10,
when she paid a virtual visit to the poetry
class taught by Pablo Peschiera ’93. This
fall also saw the publication of her new poetry
book Midwest Gothic, which explores themes
of place, religion, and family history with a
particular focus on the lives of her mother and
grandmothers in rural northern Michigan. The
book received the Snyder Prize from Ashland
Poetry Press, selected by bestselling author
Maggie Smith, and was also a finalist for the
Poets Out Loud Prize and the Lexi Rudnitsky
Editors’ Choice Award. The collection’s launch
on Nov. 5 was a virtual event moderated by
Katherine Bode-Lang ’02. Laura and Katie
had both read at Hope through the Jack Ridl
Visiting Writers Series in September 2014.