Alexander Weinstein

Assistant Professor of English

Education

BA: Naropa University
MA: Indiana University
MFA: Indiana University

Awards and Distinctions: 

• Director: Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing
• Carl Ziegler Outstanding Instructor Award, Indiana University, 2010
• T.C. Steele Indiana State Historic Site Artist in Residence, 2009
• Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee, Indiana University, 2008
• Ernest Hemingway Fellowship in Fiction, Indiana University, 2005

Special interests: 

Jazz, piano and guitar, experimental literature, cooking, Danish culture, world spirituality
 
Teaching philosophy: 

"Writing should be enjoyable, and underlying my teaching philosophy is a sense of play. I invite students to take pleasure from the process, and I highlight the importance of writing not only as an art form and scholarly endeavor, but as an attempt to put personal experience into words. As I often tell my students, we all have important stories to tell. One of the writer’s roles is to translate the stories of humanity’s joys and struggles into his/her own personal language. My role as a teacher is to provide the tools and confidence to do so effectively."