Kennedy will join the faculty of the creative writing department as a visiting professor for one year, beginning this Fall term. Kennedy will be Dartmouth's first self-proclaimed non-fiction specialist, offering two courses in the genre in addition to serving as a thesis advisor.
"Year after year, [students] have asked for non-fiction courses," professor Cleopatra Mathis, the director of the creative writing program, said. A non-fiction writer is an asset that the creative writing department sorely lacks. Beyond the introductory course on literary non-fiction, the College currently offers no courses on the topic. "We're really excited to be able to open that door," Mathis said.
Earlier this year, an anonymous donor provided the department with the funds necessary to hire a visiting non-fiction writer for one year. Professor and fiction writer Thomas O'Malley first suggested Kennedy for the position, and her work quickly won the approval of the other faculty members.
"What I read of Pagan's, I really liked," Mathis said. "She has incredible range. She's gone after tough subjects and asked tough questions."
As Mathis pointed out, Kennedy certainly has sunk her teeth into a huge variety of material, illustrated by a few of her books: "The First Man-Made Man" (2008) is a biography of the first female-to-male transsexual; "Confessions of a Memory Eater" (2006) is a novel about a fictional drug that allows users to re-experience any memory they wish; and "'Zine" (1995) is a memoir of Kennedy's own time spent in the underground publishing business.
Kennedy is excited to belong to Dartmouth's tight-knit community and is looking forward to working closely with student writers, but she expressed concern about the transition from her current life in Boston to Hanover.
"This will be the first time I've ever lived in the country," Kennedy said. "Can I borrow your snow shoes?"
Despite Kennedy's huge range, all of her writing has one thing in common: the articulate, graceful and humorous manner with which she approaches all of her subjects. Kennedy imbues her writing with a certain candidness that would impress even the most indifferent of readers. Her humor spills over into anything she puts her pen to. Even the FAQ blurb on Kennedy's web site reads, "Pagan Kennedy is not a New Age cult, a punk band or a motorcycle gang."
Kennedy has contributed to a number of prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Phoenix. Some of her pieces are human interest, some are autobiographical and some are just plain quirky -- a profile of the smartest bird in the world, for example. Most recently, Kennedy has worked as a biweekly columnist for the Boston Globe's Ideas section.
Kennedy got her own start at Wesleyan University as a biology major. But since then, Kennedy has gained a vast experience in writing, which she will share next year at Dartmouth.
Aside from the introductory literary non-fiction course, Kennedy will teach a course titled "Profiles of the Dead," in which students will each write a narrative about a deceased individual. The nature of such a topic -- adopting a creative approach when treating serious topics -- will be perfect for Kennedy.
