Dr. Allen Brizee
The Journey
I began my career teaching writing in 1996 as a writing center tutor at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) where I earned an AS in General Studies. During this time, I also worked as a technical writer for the federal government.
After transferring to Virginia Tech, where I earned my BA and MA in English, I continued tutoring writing in the university writing center and taught as a graduate TA.
After spending some time teaching writing as an adjunct and full-time non-tenure track instructor at NOVA, the University of Maryland, and the George Washington University, I began my PhD program in English focusing on rhetoric and composition at Purdue University. At Purdue, I also worked on the Purdue OWL.
After earning my PhD, I began teaching at Loyola University Maryland where I was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2016.
In 2021, I moved to Saint Louis University to serve as the director of writing across the curriculum, and eventually, director of the Walter J. Ong, S.J., Center for Digital Humanities.
While in the academy, I taught courses in rhetoric, writing, and dark academia, and I served in various administrative positions.
I also published and edited non-fiction books: Read, Reason, Write; Partners in Literacy, and Commitment to Justice. I continue to work on Read, Reason, Write, and the fourteenth edition of this award-winning textbook will be published in January 2027.
My work has appeared in various journals, including PMLA, and I have delivered key notes and presentations at international, national, and regional conferences.
When I wasn’t working, I was gaming, LARPing (Darkon), and reading across genres. While I love classical and contemporary literary work, my first loves were science-fiction and fantasy, beginning with Tolkien and Heinlein. And I suppose all of this brought me to where I am now - writing non-fiction and fiction.
I live in Baltimore with my wife, Stephanie, and my two sons, Harry and Charlie. A black, hypoallergenic Siberian Forest Cat named Bassi may be in our future.
If you’re interested in my academic work, you may read more about it on my Curriculum Vitae page. For more on my creative work, visit my Fiction page.