My Story
I grew up in the Carolinas, with some of my closest memories rooted in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The particular light here, the way the land holds you through the changing seasons. I came to creative nonfiction because I needed a form as layered and patient as the questions I was carrying: about care, about bodies, about how we remain with each other and the places that made us. My research and creative interests live at the intersections of lyric essay, environmental writing, and disability studies, and lately I’ve been drawn to gentleness as a mode of inquiry. The idea that care itself is a kind of radical attention. In the classroom, I try to practice what I study, to teach with the same care and patience I ask of the work. I came to Warren Wilson because I believe that writing, service, and ecological responsibility are not separate commitments. They are the same one, practiced differently.
Bailey PittengerWhat I love about teaching creative nonfiction at Warren Wilson is that students here already understand that writing is a form of attention. My hope is to help them trust that gentleness and rigor are not opposites--that care is its own kind of precision, and often a movement towards change.
Education
- B.A. and M.A. in English, Wake Forest University
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing, University of Notre Dame
- Ph.D. in Literary Studies and Creative Writing, University of Denver
- MDiv, Wake Forest University
Research Interests
- Caregiving
- Environmental Writing
- Disability Narratives
Courses Taught
- WRI 1132: Forms and Theories in Creative Nonfiction
- WRI 3000: Literary Magazine History and Editing
- WRI 3160: Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Crews and Other Activities
- Disability Rights North Carolina