I’m a writer living in Central Pennsylvania, and teach English at Penn State. I also founded and served as Editor in Chief for the chapbook press, Paper Nautilus (2011-2023).
I earned my degrees from Westfield State University and Southern Connecticut State University. I commuted all through undergrad, attended a community college for a year while on hiatus from my bachelors, and, later, excelled in a corporate career at a Fortune 100 company while completing my full-residency MFA. I also quit my job to be a “professional adjunct” for a year. You could maybe say I’m a fan of the unconventional route.
Most of my books are of poetry, but I write essays as well (and, once upon a time, short fiction). I am currently working on a book-length poem about chronic illness, as well as an essay collection about thrift stores.
Teaching is a huge source of joy in my life, and not something I stumbled into accidentally. Beyond being work I enjoy, teaching (hopefully) makes me a better listener, which in turn makes me better able to hear what’s missing in my own drafts. Which is to say, teaching and writing are interwoven for me, and it’s hard to imagine doing one without the other.
Outside of writing and teaching, you can also find me knitting, repairing secondhand clothing and purses, listening to audiobooks, or playing with my 4-year-old son.
Lisa Mangini 