Susan Gunter, Ph.D.

About

I earned my Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in 1986, and in 1988 I started teaching at Westminster. During these years I have managed to raise two sons; publish poems, articles, and three books (one on-line); earn grants from the National Endowment from the Humanities and a merit award from the Utah Humanities Council; and work as a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at Sofia University in Bulgaria. Currently I am at work on a biography of Alice Howe James, William James's wife and Henry James's sister-in-law. I think she was the "engine" who pulled her husband's train, as well as a dynamic and strong-willed individual in her own right.
My hobbies include downhill skiing, snowshoeing, weight training, water aerobics, knitting, camping, and gardening. Occasionally I also find time to play the piano.

Research/Teaching Interests

I published two books with the University of Michigan Press: Dear Munificent Friends: Henry James's Letters to Four Women, and Dearly Beloved Friends: Henry James's Letters to Younger Men. (This second book was named one of the three most significant books for 2001-2002 by the press.) I also have an on-line book with the University of Nebraska Press, on Henry James's correspondents. Most recently I published articles in Igitur (Rome), Gay Lesbian Quarterly, and Henry James and Homo-Eroticism. My poems have appeared in such journals as College English, Poet Lore, Weber Studies, Ellipsis, and Sofia Literary Magazine (where two of my poems were translated in Bulgarian -- an interesting experience).
I continue to enjoy teaching writing and courses in American studies, but most recently I have been teaching courses in the area of gender studies and queer theory.