Vivian Wagner

I grew up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and attended the University of California, Irvine, where I got my B.A. in English in 1989.  That June, I loaded up my Mustang with books and an old Mac and drove to Ohio to start graduate school at The Ohio State University, where I got my M.A. in English in 1991.  Then I moved to Illinois, where I got my Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, specializing in American literature and popular culture, in 1996.  After grad school, I became a freelance writer, working for various national newspapers, magazines, and websites, and in 2003 I was hired by Muskingum University to teach journalism and direct its interdisciplinary journalism program.

My work has appeared in a variety of publications, including American Profile, Bluegrass Unlimited, Geek Monthly, Kenyon Review Online, The Pinch, Relish, VegNews, and many others.  One of my pieces, "Under the Gun," was shortlisted as a notable essay in Best American Essays 2007, and I am the author of FIDDLE: One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music (Citadel/Kensington, 2010).