I believe that written, spoken, and signed words are powerful, and I hope to instill a respect and love for words in students. I think that given time, practice, and encouragement anyone can write well and find an appreciation for the skill. I read widely and value introducing my students to nontraditional texts as well as contemporary regional writers and publishers, writers of color, queer writers, female writers, disabled writers, and other marginalized writers. My current nonfiction writing projects focus on the skills, possessions, and beliefs previous generations do or do not impart on later generations as well as how loss affects later generations. I have enjoyed teaching at UMD since 2013. Outside of my work at the university, I help screen submissions as an assistant editor at Split Rock Review and keep busy with my family.
Education
MFA, Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction, Minnesota State University Moorhead, 2013
BA, English Literature, Concordia College, 2010
Courses Taught
WRIT 3140: Advanced Writing: Human Services
Research Interests
Professor Jacobson maintains a broad curiosity in creative nonfiction and a specific interest in memoirs and personal essays delving into the themes of grief, inheritance, feminism, blue-collar work, and water.
She has presented at professional conferences and workshops in the following subjects, among others: Constraining vs. Liberating Textual Models; The Power of Words; Changing Campus Climate: The Role of Campus Change Teams; Local Publishing / Civic Writing; The Skill and Value of Letter Writing; Incorporating Creative Writing Workshop Models into First-Year Writing; Student Support Strategies; Visual Communication in the Writing Classroom; Multiple Definitions of Literacy.
Selected Publications
Creative Nonfiction
- “How I Am.” How We Are. June 2020
- “Racking-up Signposts.” Punctuate. A Nonfiction Magazine. May 2019
- “Death’s Mementos.” Feminine Collective. January 2019
- “Car Tracks.” The Thunderbird Review. 6th edition. 2018
Poetry
- “Cognition.” Likely Red Press. November 2018
- “Dear Girl,” “For her,” “I am.” Voice of Eve. Issue 4. 2018
- “Ich bedauere...(I regret...).” the Same. Issue 13.4. 2018 *Poetry contest finalist
- “Postcards: Cabin Report.” Wanderlust-Journal. September 2018
- “Deliquescing Firmament.” Co-written with Nayt Rundquist. Up North Lit. August 2018
Reviews
- “Shoreline Review: Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts, and Fictions by Sheila O’Connor.” Split Rock Review. May 2020
- “Shoreline Review: Fluid States by Heidi Czerwiec.” Split Rock Review. July 2019
- “Shoreline Review: All the Wild Hungers: A Season of Cooking and Cancer by Karen Babine.” Split Rock Review. January 2019
- “Writer to Read: Kao Kalia Yang’s The Latehomecomer.” Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies—In the Classroom Blog Series. October 2018