Education

M.F.A. Creative Writing (Poetry), University of Maryland

B.A. English, Wheaton College

Professional Experience

Aaron joins LeTourneau after spending four years at Sterling College as a Professor of Writing and the Language & Literature Department Chair. A creative writer, Aaron has been published in national literary magazines such as World Literature Today, Portland Review, Sojourners, RELEVANT, and Image. His poetry collection, Acacia Road, won the 2016 Gerald Cable Book Award and the 2018 Nelson Book Award. Having grown up overseas in Chad, Africa, Aaron is passionate for students with an international background, and his research and writing often explore themes of transnational identity, postcolonialism, and displacement.

You can read more of his writing at www.aaronbrownwriter.com.

Personal Background

Aaron sees LeTourneau as an exemplary Christian institution where education is fundamentally liberating rather than limiting. Aaron likes to weave creativity, imagination, and humor into his classroom. Outside of the classroom, Aaron loves playing with his young son, reading books, biking, or enjoying an espresso at Silver Grizzly. You may even find him on the basketball court, where he is always ready to do some “schooling.”

Publications (Selected)

Books

• Acacia Road, poetry collection, Silverfish Review Press, 2018
• Winnower, poetry chapbook, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2013
• Bound, novella, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2012

Essays

• “‘Love of the Thing Sung and Not of the Singing’: On Ambition,” Ruminate, March 2019
• “Review of Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities,” Englewood Review of Books, March 2019
• “Being and Existence: An Interview with Chigozie Obioma,” Fiction Writers Review, March 2019
• “Review of Vedran Husić’s Basements and Other Museums,” The Millions, October 2018
• “New Geographies: Navigating the Uncertainties Between a First and Second Book,” Entropy Magazine, November 2018
• “Family Politics: Negotiating the Family Unit as a Creative Force in Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen and Ben Okri’s The Famished Road.” Art, Creativity, and Politics in Africa and the Diaspora. Ed.
• Abimbola Adelakun and Toyin Falola. London: Palgrave, 2018.
• “On Masculinity,” Ruminate online, February 2018
• “Poetry as a Mode of Being: The Theology of Li-Young Lee,” Relief online, Spring 2017
• “Writing in an Age of Doubt,” Ruminate online, August 2015

Anthologies & Awards

• “On Mediation,” Far Villages: Welcome Essays for New & Beginner Poets. Abayomi Animashaun. Black Lawrence Press, 2019.
• 2019 Best of the Net nomination, “The Hedgehog Eats Peanuts,” Whale Road Review.
• 2018 Nelson Poetry Book Award, Acacia Road.
• Verse Daily publication (“The Bird”)
• 2016 Gerald Cable Book Award, winning manuscript: Acacia Road, Silverfish Review Press
• 2016 Best of the Net nomination, “Ceremonial” in apt
• Semi-Finalist, 2016 St. Lawrence Book Award, Black Lawrence Press
• Finalist, 2016 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, Crab Orchard Review
• Paul Mariani Fellow, 2016 Glen Workshop, Image Journal
• Semi-Finalist for Powderhorn Prize, Poetry Manuscript, Acacia Road, Sage Hill Press
• Honorable Mention, July Open Reading Period, Poetry Manuscript, Acacia Road, Tupelo Press
• Pushcart Prize nomination 2015, “Memory Palace,” jmww
• Lannan Fellow, Folger Shakespeare Library, Spring 2015
• Academy of American Poets Award, Honorable Mention, University of Maryland, 2015
• “N’Djamena Morning,” “Twin,” and “Song of the Workers” (poetry), Best New African Poets 2015, Langaa Press, 2015.