Mary Swander is a nationally and internationally known award-winning author of non-fiction, poetry, drama, and journalism. Her latest books are The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism (Viking, 2003). She is also best known for her memoir Out of This World: A Journey of Healing and her poetry collection Driving the Body Back.  Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, U.S.A. Today and NPR radio. She has received a Whiting Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and two Ingram Merrill awards. She gives readings and conducts workshops and seminars throughout the U.S.  

 Mary's Swander's most recent work is a forthcoming book of poetry entitled The Girls on the Roof (Turning Point Press, 2009). This long narrative poem is the story of a mother and daughter stuck on top of the roof of catfish dive on the banks of the Mississippi River for three days during the 1993 flood. There, they discover they’ve both had an affair with the same man. 

Office/Office Hours

• office: 105 Landscape Architecture
• office hours:
• office phone: (515) 294-3373
• email: mswander@iastate.edu
• home page: http://www.maryswander.com

Interests

• Poetry
• Non-Fiction
• Drama
• Journalism

Selected Publications

• The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism and Miracles (Viking, 2003).
• Out of this World: A Journey of Healing (Viking, 1995)
• Driving the Body Back (Alfred Knopf, 1986)
• Parnsips in the Snow (U. of Iowa Press, 1990).

Affiliations

• Associated Writing Programs

Degrees

• B.A., University of Iowa
• M.F.A., University of Iowa Writers Workshop