Michael Sowder

Biography

Michael Sowder is a poet and professor of English. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, an MFA from Georgia State University, and a J.D. from the University of Washington. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Yoga Studies program, and an affiliated faculty member of the Religious Studies Program. His books include the poetry collections, The Empty Boat, (T.S. Eliot Award); House Under the Moon; and A Calendar of Crows (New Michigan Press Award). His scholarly study, Whitman's Ecstatic Union was published by Routledge. You can find his essays and poems in such places as American Life in Poetry, Five Points, Green Mountains Review, Poet Lore, Sufi Journal, New Poets of the American West, Pilgrimage, The New York Times Online, Shambhala Sun, Poetry Kanto, The Bombay Review, and elsewhere. An unabashed Indophile, he was a Fulbright Fellow to India in 2014, and with two other faculty members, he led a study a study abroad trip to India in 2019. He teaches courses in poetry writing, American literature, and the history and philosophy of yoga.

Dr. Sowder is available to serve on graduate committees for theses in creative writing, American literature, the literature of South Asia, Religious Studies, and Yoga Studies.