COLLEEN SHOSHANA MCKEE, MFA

misscolleenmckee@yahoo.com - 314.898.8289 

Editing/Fact-checking I have over twenty years of experience editing for a variety of literary/arts journals; not-for-profit organizations, such as the Saint Louis Art Museum; and newspapers. I have also professionally edited manuscripts of poetry, fiction, memoir, and scholarly writing, as well as business and other professional websites, UX/UI, ad copy, and other writing. Additionally, I have supervised staff writers and collaborated with other staff in publishing. I am very familiar with Chicago Manual of Style, MLA Style, and APA style. 

Teaching I am a dynamic instructor who has taught liberal arts, creative writing, composition, English as a second language, research skills, and women and gender studies at the college level. I have also served as a support teacher at the college and high school levels. Additionally, I have taught US Citizenship Test preparation. I am experienced in onsite and online teaching. 

Tutoring I am a seasoned writing tutor who has patiently helped to make students’ writing as creative and articulate as it can be. I have tutored students, both native and non-native speakers, with grammar, speaking, reading comprehension, Art History, Architecture, and Women and Gender Studies. I am especially proud of my work with students with autism, visual and hearing impairments, brain injuries, and learning disabilities. I am experienced in onsite and online tutoring.

Publications My latest collection of poetry, Routine Bloodwork, was a finalist in the Charlotte Mew Contest from Headmistress Press. Four more of my poetry, fiction, and memoir collections have been published with reputable presses: The Kingdom of Roly-Polys (Pedestrian Press, 2016), My Hot Little Tomato (Cherry Pie, 2007), A Partial List of Things I Have Done for Money (JKP/Saint Louis Projects, 2011), and Nine Kinds of Wrong (JKP/Saint Louis Projects, 2013). I have co-edited a book of creative nonfiction, Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America (PenUltimate, 2008). Also, I have written curricula and other educational materials for adults and children. My creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, scholarly work, and arts reviews have appeared in a variety of journals, anthologies, and newspapers. 

EDUCATION

University of California-Berkeley

Certificate of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (in progress)

Completed classes: Grammar Fundamentals for ESL Teachers, Teaching Pronunciation as a Communicative Skill, Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition

University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)

Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing

Completed 2005. GPA 3.9.

Field of Concentration: American Poetry of the Twentieth Century.

Awarded 2002 Graduate Poetry Award, 2003 Institute of Women and Gender Studies

Graduate Creative Writing Award, 2004 Graduate Essay Award.

Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, and Vienna, Austria

Bachelor of Arts, Literature and Language, Minor in Women’s Studies 

Completed 1996. Graduated cum laude, with GPA of 3.9 and honors in both departments.

EDITING EXPERIENCE

Freelance/Remote, June 2001-present.

Editor/Proofreader. Edit creative writing, scholarly writing, and business writing for individual authors and businesses. 

PenUltimate Press, St. Louis, June 2006-Nov. 2010.

Editor. Co-edited a book on women and health care entitled Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America. Solicited submissions, reviewed submissions, communicated with the publisher, book designer, cover photographer, and the other editor and contributors. Reviewed galleys. Sent out review copies. Promoted the book in readings and at conferences across the U.S.

Natural Bridge, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Sept. 2002-Dec. 2002.

Fiction Editor. Selected work for the journal, reviewed galleys, and helped organize readings and events. 

Confluence (St. Louis newspaper, now defunct), July 1999-Sept. 2002.

Editor/Writer. Wrote and edited both hard news articles and arts coverage/reviews for the environmentalist newspaper. Worked with other writers and editors; organized weekly meetings. Also helped organize and publicize fundraising events for the newspaper

Education Department, Saint Louis Art Museum, Feb. 1999-December 1999.

Wrote and edited materials for curriculum kits, label copy, “information sheets” on art for visitors and educators, and for museum records. Worked with educators, curators, and the publication department.

Salamander Magazine, St. Louis, June 1995-June 1997.

Founding co-editor. Supervised all staff writers for this arts/music magazine. Also contributed articles as a writer. Additionally, sold advertising and worked with distributors. 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Writing Coaching, May 2020-present

• Helping memoir writers and poets with their writing

Privately offered ESOL and US Citizenship Test Preparation lessons, online, June 2020-present.

• Teaching private international students/immigrants narrative writing, business writing, grammar, conversation, and pronunciation. Preparing them to pass the US Citizenship Test.

Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA, June 2011-May 2020; Feb 2023-June 2023

Instructor (onsite):

• English for Art Purposes Department (English for Speakers of Other Languages)

  • English for Art Purposes Level 604 (6 sections)

  • English for Art Purposes Level 4 (1 section)

  • English for Art Purposes Level 605 Writing (1 section)

• Liberal Arts Department

  • Composition for the Artist (1 section)

  • Fundamentals of English LA 103 (2 sections)

  •  Writing and Research for the Master’s Student (1 section)

• Support Instructor (online and onsite):

• Supported a variety of classes in nearly all majors including Acting, Advertising, Animation, Architecture, Fashion, Foundations, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Design, Liberal Arts/Graduate Liberal Arts, Motion Pictures and Television, Multimedia Communications, and Web Design and New Media. 

• Helped students in the classroom to understand lectures, class material, vocabulary, critiques, and assignments. Also led study sessions outside the classroom, assisting students with presentations and writing assignments.

California College of the Arts, Writing Department Sept. 2022-May 2023

Have taught Writing for Multilingual Students 1; and Writing for Multilingual Students: Seeing Heroes, Villains, and Antiheroes.

Independently offered online creative writing classes, January 2021-March 2023.

Taught poetry and memoir writing workshops in which we learned about techniques and creative processes. We studied published work and critiqued the writing we did each week.

California College of the Arts (CCA), San Francisco Summer Start Program, July-Aug 2019.

English Language Specialist

• Taught English as a second language classes, was a support teacher in a digital mapping and sound design class, and tutored students with their writing and presentations. 

The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) English Department, Gender Studies Department, and Pierre Laclede Honors College, Aug. 2003-May 2011.

Instructor: English as a Second Language/Composition, Undergraduate

• Freshman Composition for International Students (18 sections)

• Advanced Expository Writing for International Students (7 sections)

Instructor: Creative Writing, Undergraduate

• Introduction to Poetry Writing (2 sections)

Instructor: Literature, Undergraduate, Honors

• American Literature by Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Authors: The Activist Eighties and Nineties (1 section)

• Gay and Lesbian Literature After Stonewall (1 section)

Instructor: Composition, Undergraduate

• Advanced Expository Writing (6 sections)

• Freshman Composition (9 sections)

Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO, Jul. 2005-May 2011.

Instructor: English Preparedness Program (English as a Second Language), Undergraduate

• Academic Writing for Non-Native Speakers (6 sections)

• Spoken Communication for Non-Native Speakers (3 sections)

• College Composition for Non-Native Speakers (1 section)  

Guest lecturer: Creative Writing, MFA Department

• Literary Journalism (2 talks)  

Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan (in partnership with UMSL) July-Aug. 2010.

Instructor:  Business School Summer School Program (held in St. Louis, MO), Undergraduate

• Spoken Communication in a Business Setting (ESL, 2 sections)

  • Taught Spoken Communication class

  • Led students on many tours of St. Louis tourist attractions and business-related field trips

Washington University, St. Louis, MO, Evening College, English Department, Nov. 2008-Nov. 2010.

Guest Lecturer: Creative Writing Workshop, Undergraduate

• Annual talks on creative nonfiction

Independently Offered, St. Louis, MO, June 2007-Aug. 2009.

Instructor: Creative Writing Workshops for Adults

• Poetry Writing (2 workshops)

• Memoir Writing (1 workshop)

Cor Jesu High School, St. Louis, MO, Apr. 2006-Apr. 2008.

Guest Speaker: Creative Writing/Literature, AP English

• Creative Nonfiction talk (two talks)

Forest Park Community College, St. Louis, MO, Upward Bound/Higher Education Consortium, June 2006-Jul. 2008.

Teaching Assistant: English, Summer High School Program

• Senior English (4 classes)

St. Louis Writers Workshop, Sept. 2005-May 2006.

Instructor: Creative Writing Workshops for Adults

• Writing, Illness, and Healing (1 workshop) 

• Creative Writing (Multi-Genre, 1 workshop)

Washington University, St. Louis, MO, Summer Writers Institute, June 2005.

Guest Speaker: Detail and Self-Disclosure in the Personal Essay

TUTORING

Academy of Art University Tutoring Labs (online and onsite) Aug. 2011-May 2020

• Brannan EAP Lab (Brannan St.)

  • Tutored students with their written assignments and presentations for the Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design, and Landscape Architecture and Design departments. 

• EAP Lab (New Montgomery St.)

  • Helped students with EAP (English for Art Purposes, or English for Speakers of Other Languages) class assignments including writing, grammar, pronunciation, and presentations. 

• Speaking Lab: Presentation Practice, Conversation Group, Art Critique

  • Tutored students with their presentations, helped students practice critiquing art and design, and led informal conversation groups for international students.

• Writing Lab

  • Helped native and non-native speakers with creative and academic writing. 

The University of Missouri-St. Louis Student Support Services/Disability Access Services, June 2007-May 2011.

• Individually tutored college students with learning and physical disabilities. I was a tutor in writing, and Women and Gender studies.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis Writing Lab, Aug. 2002-Aug. 2005

• Worked individually with undergraduate and graduate students, native and non-native speakers, helping them with creative and scholarly writing.

Webster University, St. Louis, MO Writing Center, Aug. 1993-Dec. 1994.

• Worked individually with undergraduate and graduate students, native and non-native speakers, helping them with creative and scholarly writing.

OTHER EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

University of Missouri-St. Louis, Gender Studies Department Affiliate Faculty, 2007-2011.

In addition to teaching classes cross-listed with Gender Studies, I organized and performed in poetry and creative nonfiction readings, helped organize a conference, and served as judge for student literary contests. As adjunct faculty, all but actually teaching courses was on a volunteer basis.

Bread and Roses Zine Library, Community Arts and Media Project Zine and Artist’s Books Librarian, 2001-2006.

Travelled and networked to acquire zines and artist’s books, mostly through donation, for new collection. Helped with fundraising for the arts collective that housed our collection. Solicited donations for the library. Cataloged and trained volunteers to catalog and care for these rare materials. Publicized the new collection. Acquired supplies and assembled shelves. Met with other members of the arts collective that housed our collection. Volunteer position. 

Washington University Interlibrary Loan Assistant, 1999-2002.

Assisted with borrowing and lending books. Scanned journal articles and sent them electronically to patrons.

Richardson Memorial Library, Saint Louis Art Museum American Art Slide Cataloguer/Reference Assistant, 1996-1999.

Researched and identified slides of American art, made slides, catalogued them, and checked them out to patrons. Assisted patrons, both museum staff and the general public, to give them information about art in general, and objects in our museum’s collection in particular.

Webster University, Women’s Resource Center Librarian, Events Coordinator, 1992-1996.

Acquired books for our collection, catalogued the collection, publicized the new collection, and maintained it. Circulated materials. Also acted as archivist for historical materials relating to feminism in the St. Louis area. 

PUBLICATIONS

(Note: None of the following are self-published, nor are any print-on-demand.)

Poetry Collection

• Routine Bloodwork. Sequim, WA. Headmistress, 2020.

Collections of Poetry and Memoir

• The Kingdom of Roly-Polys. Oakland, CA, Pedestrian, 2017. 

• A Partial List of Things I Have Done for Money. St. Louis, JKP/Saint Louis Projects, 2011.

• My Hot Little Tomato. Glen Carbon, IL, Cherry Pie, 2007.

Collection of Memoir, Fiction, and Poetry

• Nine Kinds of Wrong. St. Louis, Saint Louis Projects, 2013.

Anthology of Personal Narratives

• McKee, Colleen, and Amanda Stiebel, editors. Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America, St. Louis, PenUltimate, 2008.

Other Personal Essays

• "Pistol Whipped.” Colossus, Spring 2023.

• “Fear/Safe.” The Los Angeles Press Journal, v. 6, 2022.

• “Excuse Me, I Hate to Ask.” The Bicycle Review, no. 32, 15 Feb. 2016, unpaginated. 

• “The Kingdom of Roly-Polys.” The Oakland Review, no. 1, 2015, unpaginated. 

• “Libby, the Only Punk Girl at Hixson Junior High.” Just Like a Girl, edited by Michelle Sewell, Washington, D.C., GirlChild Press, 2008, pp. 156-63. 

• “Libby, the Only Punk Girl at Hixson Junior High.” Lit-Cast, 30 Aug. 2006, www.lit-cast.com.

• “The Lure of Annihilation.” The Ecology of Absence, 30 June 2005, www.eco-absence.org.

• “The Lure of Annihilation.” Under the Arch: St. Louis Stories, edited by Paul Thiel, St. Louis, Antares, 2004, pp. 131-35.

• “My Season of Paper Dresses.” Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class, edited by Michelle Tea, Emeryville, CA, Avalon/Seal, 2004, pp. 103-08.

• “A Tour of the Forgotten.” Inter-Action St. Louis, vol. 1, no. 2, 2003, pp. 2-3.

• “With the Ten Thousand Things Under the Sun.” Delmar, vol. 6, 1997, pp. 61-63.

Other Poetry Publications

• “Collected Stories,” “Dirty Old Town,” and “In the Pink.” The Biopticon Review, Fall 2023.

• “After Hitting the Wall,” “in the Pink,” and “Maximum Setting.” The Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, vol. 36, 2021, p. 2, 6.

• “Lift Up Your Tongue and Say Ahh.” The Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, vol. 35, 2019, p. 10.

• “How Long Had She Lived in This Cave?” The Lindenwood Review, vol. 6, 2016, p. 9. 

•  “7 a.m., Columbus Street,” “This Banana Slug on Mt. Neahkahnie,” and “3 Pickles: Sour, Half-Sour, Dill.” The Bicycle Review, no. 32, 15 Feb. 2016, unpaginated. 

• “Solace is a Small Gray Stone.” Poem of the Week, Pedestrian Press. 7 Feb. 2016. PedestrianPress.Weebly.com/poem-of-the-week.html.

• “In the Glossy Green Heart of the Neighborhood.” Lavender Review: Poems from the First Five Years, edited by Mary Meriam, Sequim, Washington, Headmistress, 2015, p. 17.

• “At the Mouth of the Tunnel” and “My Marbles,” Oakland Review, no. 1, 2015, unpaginated. 

• “In the Glossy Green Heart of the Neighborhood.” Lavender Review, June 2012, Lavrev.net.

• “Tashlikh.” The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry, edited by Deborah Ager and M.E. Silverman, New York, Bloomsbury, 2013, p. 145.

• “This Slow Moving Body of Water,” and “The Spy with the False Eye.” Eleven Eleven, Winter 2012, www.elevenelevenjournal.com.

• “70 Grand to Grand and Iron,” and “The Small Lacerations of Everyday Life.” Bad Shoe, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 3-4, 41-42.

• “Blame It on the Foxglove,” “Front Stoop Poem for You, Two Days After Your Death,” “My Favorite Circus Freak,” and “What I Found on the Sidewalks of Portland.” Untamed Ink, Summer 2009, pp. 12-16.

• “The Garbage Bag Wardrobe,” “Natural Causes,” “A Partial List of Things I Have Done 

  For Money,” and “What We Had Instead of History.” Criminal Class Review, vol. 2, no. 3, 2009, pp. 1-14.

• “Nowy Swiat.” Kritya, vol. 4, no.9, 2009, www.kritya.in.

• “In Defense of Shitwork.” Sonnet Writers, Fall 2008, www.sonnetwriters.com.

• “The Appointment Book.” Sonnet Writers, vol. 1, no. 1, 2006, p. 12.

• “In the Briars.” Bellevue Literary Review, vol. 6, no. 2, 2006, p. 62.

• “In the Briars.” Poetry Daily, 24 Sept. 2006, www.poetrydaily.org.

• “Questions about a Mouse,” and “Surveying this Sunday Morning.” Eclipse, vol.16, no. 1, 2005, pp. 141-43.

• “The Dishes Have Been Piling Up.” Tattoo Highway, Aug. 2003, www.tattoohighway.org.

• “From the Shangri-La Trailer Court, with Love.” Breathing Out, edited by Becky Ellis and Nan Sweet, Glen Carbon, IL, Cherry Pie, pp. 45-6. 

• “From the Shangri-La Trailer Court, with Love.” Confluence, Winter Solstice, 2002, p. 11. 

Other Fiction

• Excerpt, The Strong Man and the Animals. Pedestrian #1. Thepedestrianpress.weebly.com

• Excerpt, The Strong Man and the Animals. The Sigh Press, Autumn 2018. Thesighpress.com

• “How to Make Kites.” Woman’s Work, edited by Michelle Sewell, Los Angeles, GirlChild, 2010, pp. 130-31.

• “Statues and Stones.” Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends, vol. 6, no. 1, 1996, pp. 67-71.

• “This Is a Story About You.” Salamander, vol. 2, no. 1, 1996, p. 1.

Scholarly Writing

• Devry Becker and Colleen McKee. “Where the Cool Kids Are.” And Finally We Meet:  Intersections Between Feminist Activists, Academics, and Students, edited by Alice  Ginsberg, Towson, MD, Institute for Teaching and Research on Women, 2011, pp. 107-19.

Graphic Novel Review

• Review of War in the Neighborhood: A Story of People in Struggle, by Seth Tobocman, Confluence, Autumn 2001, p. 13.

Visual Art Publications

• Untitled photographs and drawings. 2013-16. The Oakland Review, issue 3, Apr. 2016, nonpaginated.

• “Strange Orbits.” 2013. Lavender Review, June 2014, Lavrev.net. 

• Untitled photographs. 1995. Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends, vol. 6, no. 1,1996, pp. 67-71.

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

• Finalist, Charlotte Mews Contest, Headmistress Press, 2019.

• Honorable Mention, Prose Poetry Contest, The Lindenwood Review , 2016.

• Semifinalist, Perugia Press Award, 2011.

• First Prize, Wednesday Club Original Poetry Contest, 2009.

• Poetry in Motion Award, Metro Arts in Transit, 2008.

SELECTED GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS

• Yerba Buena Grant for BIPOC Artists, 2022.

• Professional Development Grant, Lindenwood University, 2011.

• Travel Grant, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2011.

• Institute of Women and Gender Studies Small Grant for Course Development, 2007.

• Teaching Fellowship and Scholarship, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2003-2005.

SELECTED RECENT READINGS

• San Francisco Public Library, 2023

• Beyond Baroque, Los Angeles, 2022.

• The Beat Museum, San Francisco, 2020.

• Oakland Peace Center, 2019.

• Lit Crawl, San Francisco, 2018.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

“The Bookstore Is Not Your Best Friend: Effective Small Press Marketing Strategies.” 

• Organized and chaired the panel at the Association of Writing Programs, Chicago, 2012.

“Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America.”

• Organized and chaired the panel, and presented at the Association of Writing Programs, Washington, D.C., 2011.

“Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America.”

• Presented at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Atlanta, 2009.

REFERENCES

Available upon request.