Teaching interests: Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Modern Poetry, Creative Writing, Contemporary Novel, Modern Novel, US Literature

Research interests: Poetry (Writing and Pedagogy), Poetry Translation (Lithuanian), Poetry of Alberto Ríos, Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Brief biography: Irena Praitis earned her PhD and MFA degrees from Arizona State University.  In the spring of 2005, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania.  Her poems, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in journals such as Rattle, Mochila Review, Mid-America Poetry Review, International Poetry Review, Cold Mountain Review, The Iconoclast, The Connecticut River Review, and Cultura, Lenguaje, y Representación.  Her collection of poems, Touch, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2004, and her collection of poems, Branches, was published by D-N Publishing in 2007.