#  Emma Winsor Wood 

Class of 2012, Modern Europe

Poet, essayist, and editor

 

 

 



   ![Emma Winsor Wood](/sites/g/files/omnuum4926/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/histlit/files/img_2904.jpeg?itok=MoMK5_aA) 

 



 





 

**Thesis Title:** Fleeing the Poetic Convent: Elena Shvarts's Works and Days and Problems of Female Authorship in the Late-Soviet Literary Underground

**What Now:** I have my MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a PhD candidate in Literature at the University of California Santa Cruz, where I completed a dissertation on a type of nonfiction currently being written by women that is at the intersection of poetry and the essay—or what I call the lyric diary. I still remember Jorie Graham telling me, when I was at Harvard, that she thought I would publish a book of poems one day—and I'm thrilled that I finally have! *The Real World* came out at the end of 2021.  
  
But poetry does not pay bills. To do *that*, I work as the editor-in-chief of [Stone Soup](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__stonesoup.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=JVn1Vz6qni5dqoP9wb8HHABLpDDKd1F3u8_MxbW3jQ8&m=afgry4535PU3Z8XbDy0t8QQliXyg2IfHcjUSPh3iTlzz0CQOZMJeLp9RzVQyp7eR&s=gzkrag46623DJSQEAbmflzm9hycr9gfubX82MJS4abY&e=), the literary magazine for kids 14 and under, and I work as a college admissions essay counselor. I recently (co)wrote a book about this process with my colleague: *The Complete College Essay Handbook*.  
  
I also utilized my Harvard/Hist & Lit Russian while co-translating [A Failed Performance: Short Plays and Scenes](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Failed-2DPerformance-2DScenes-2DDaniil-2DKharms_dp_0999724703_ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F4-3Fkeywords-3Dkharms-26qid-3D1564599074-26s-3Dgateway-26sr-3D8-2D4&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=JVn1Vz6qni5dqoP9wb8HHABLpDDKd1F3u8_MxbW3jQ8&m=afgry4535PU3Z8XbDy0t8QQliXyg2IfHcjUSPh3iTlzz0CQOZMJeLp9RzVQyp7eR&s=qsyxKl3WI_HKPzywA2n_yB249v5eLJ7BBdpMvPvqXQc&e=) by Daniil Kharms and translated a few poems by the Soviet poet Elena Shvarts for an anthology being compiled by BC professor Thomas Epstein.

**What Next:** I hope to finish my dissertation soon and publish another book of poems—I have a backlog of manuscripts!  
  
**Follow Me:** [@emmawinsorwood](https://twitter.com/emmawinsorwood) (Twitter)

**Read More:** Find more of my poetry and essays at [emmawinsorwood.com](http://emmawinsorwood.com/#writing).



 

 

 





 

 

- ## Career Paths
    
     [Arts and Entertainment](/alumni/arts-and-entertainment) [Academia and Education](/alumni/academia-and-education)