Joanne B. Mulcahy grew up near Philadelphia, then ventured to the Arctic, Europe, Australia, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America. Her travels and study of anthropology and folklore inspired Writing Abroad: A Guide for Travelers (with Peter Chilson). Birth and Rebirth on an Alaskan Island and Remedios: The Healing Life of Eva Castellanoz each chronicles the life of a traditional healer. Mulcahy’s essays appear in varied anthologies and journals, including The Stories that Shape Us: Contemporary Women Write about the West, Resurrecting Grace: Remembering Catholic Childhoods, Women Writing Women: A Frontiers Reader, and These United States. (See “Essays and Other Writing”).
Numerous organizations and fellowships have supported her work, including The Alaska Humanities Forum, The British Council, the New Letters Nonfiction prize, Oregon’s Literary Arts Nonfiction fellowship, and Fulbright-García Robles. She’s been a resident at Caldera, Hedgebrook, The Mesa Refuge, The Millay Colony, Playa, and UCross, among other artists’ retreats.
For nearly thirty years, Mulcahy has been based at the NW Writing Institute of Lewis and Clark College, where she also taught anthropology and gender studies. Additionally, she taught classes for The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, and in libraries, prisons, and varied community settings. In 2013, she taught at La Universidad Latina de América in Morelia, Mexico (See “Workshops and Events” for notice of upcoming workshops).
photo courtesy of Judy Blankenship