Cyn Kitchen

Assistant Professor of English

General Interests
"I love stories-mining for them, discovering the characters who abide in them, sifting through the grit and uncovering bits of shiny things hidden there. In my short story collection, The Right to Remain Silent, I explore the inherent darkness of human nature and its equal capacity for light. I am drawn to and driven by symbol, metaphor, and the deeper meaning all stories possess, the surprises that come out in the process of writing. I hope one thing for my characters and that is that they get to be who they are, no matter how insane, hopeless or plain their lives. William Gay, Flannery O'Connor, Kent Haruf, Cormac McCarthy, Raymond Carver and Toni Morrison are just some of the writers I admire."

Years at Knox: 2006 to present

Education
M.F.A., 2005, Spalding University.
B.A., 2000, Knox College.

Teaching Interests
Creative writing, beginning to advanced fiction and non-fiction taught in a workshop setting, composition and rhetoric, modern and contemporary American literature with an emphasis on Southern writers.

Recent Recognition
Awards
Top Ten Finalist 2009 storySouth Million Writers Award.

Post Graduate Residency Assistant, Spalding University, May 2008.

Commencement Speaker, Spalding University, May 2005.

Short-list, Raymond Carver Short Story Award, 2004.

Cum laude, Knox College, 2000.

Davenport Prize in Poetry, 2000.

Fellowships
Spalding University Graduate Student Fellowship, 2003.

Recent Accomplishments
Publications
Disaster Preparedness, essays, forthcoming.

The Right to Remain Silent, a collection of short fiction, forthcoming.

"Diagnosis" Ars Medica, Fall 2009.

"Period." Women. Period. An Anthology of Women Writers on Menstruation, August 2008.

"Breathless." Opium Magazine, September 2008.

"Nothing Could Prepare Me." The Louisville Review, forthcoming, Fall 2008.

"Every Earth is Fit for Burial." Menda City Review, Spring 2008.

"The Raccoon in the Wall." Minnetonka Review, Spring 2008.

"Ashes Ashes." The Louisville Review, Fall 2007.

"Disaster Preparedness." Blood Lotus, Fall 2007.

"You Made It, Whatever It Is." Keepgoing.org, Summer 2007.

"The Ugly Truth Behind My Adorable Neighborhood Coffeeshop." New Southerner, June/July 2006.

"Phone Marrow." Literary Mama, February 2006.

"Savior." Santa Fe Writers Project/sfwp.org, January 2006.

"Witness to a Family's Crushing Grief." Chicago Tribune, November 2005.

"How to Avoid Sex With a Man Who Weighs 300 Lbs. More Than You." Carve Magazine, September 2004.

Presentations
Readings, from my short story collection, Ten Tongues, Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky, 2008.

What Students Say
"Cyn is not only one of my favorite teachers, she is also one of the most inspiring people I have had the chance to meet. Her availability to her students is impressive on so many levels--not only is she more than willing to sit down for an hour or more to talk with you about your writing, she is also remarkably honest and upfront about her own past experiences, especially in her writing. Her ability to share so much of herself gives us, her students, the courage to dig deeper into ourselves, deeply enriching our own work with our unique pasts."
-Ashley Blazina, Environmental Studies major, English Literature minor

"Professor Cyn Kitchen is a mastermind of insight of which she clearly encourages her students to be as well. Cyn always comes into the classroom with new and exciting ways to start class so that the everyone is eager to get involved in discussion. Also, both inside and outside of the classroom, Cyn is light-hearted, laid-back, and helpful enough to always make herself available at the Gizmo when you're stuck with ideas for revision."
-Beth Root, English Literature and Educational Studies double major

Contact
309-341-7269
ckitchen@knox.edu