Beyond my Wildest Dreams: Queer Joy at 60

Mary Vermillion and Ben Thiel

This April brought me two new joys. I turned sixty, and I made my debut in Sinister Wisdom, the oldest lesbian literary journal in the U.S. me with Sinister Wisdom 132photo by Ben Thiel When I was in my thirties and forties, I never imagined that I’d be happy about turning sixty. In fact, I … Read more

National Coming Out Day at a Mercy University in the Red State of Iowa

LGBTQ Mount Mercy

How should we celebrate National Coming Out Day in 2023 in the red state of Iowa? This was a key question at the most recent meeting of Mount Mercy University’s Faculty and Staff GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance). Let’s start with logistics: we’re marking National Coming Out Day after fall break because the actual day, … Read more

First Day of School Never Gets Old

Mount Mercy University hill

This year marked my 29th first day of school as a professor at Mount Mercy, and my 37th as a teacher. If you count my student years, it was my 55th first day of school! That fresh fall start never gets old. Sure, there is sadness about leaving summer behind and having less time to … Read more

Queer Visibility at a Small Catholic University

MMU faculty staff GSA at Lavender Commemoration

This Pride month, I want to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its many allies at Mount Mercy, a small Catholic university in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I’ve taught English there my entire career. Twenty-seven years! As a Queer elder, I’ve enjoyed witnessing and contributing to the increased visibility of the LGBTQ+ community on campus. Queer Visibility … Read more

In Praise of In-Person Readings

When my friend Mary Helen Stefaniak launches her third novel, The World of Pondside, her April 19th reading will be the first in-person author event I’ve attended at Prairie Lights since COVID. This momentous occasion has led me to reflect on the many readings that have enriched and shaped my life—both professionally and personally. Professionally, … Read more

My Summer in Tokyo

It was 1984, the summer between my sophomore and junior years at Saint Mary College, and I was twenty. Along with another Saint Marian, Diane, I was an exchange student in an international program at Sophia University in Tokyo. I took two courses, Japanese Religion and Japanese Literature. The literature professor had translated one of … Read more

White Fragility, Antiracism, Teaching, and Me

white fragility how to be an antiracist

Amazon has sold out of antiracist books. Topping the bestseller lists are two titles I read this past semester before the pandemic hit: Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility (2018) and Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be An Antiracist (2019). This post is my response to the pairing. But first, what to make of the book news? … Read more

In Praise of Alliteration: Scriptotherapy and the Pandemic

alliteration and the pandemic

You may be thinking, Alliteration? Really??? During a pandemic laced with murderous racism and police violence against the press? Let me explain. First of all, I started this post before George Floyd was murdered. And even before the pandemic, I felt like I was playing catch up—my writing unable to keep up with my thoughts, … Read more