Rick Van Noy

American Literature - "Awakenings" (ENGL 240): This course charts attempts by American writers to alert readers to different realities: spiritual, political, economic and social. What is the American Dream? How has it changed over time? We consider American literature that attempts to mediate our ideals and the realities of our daily lives.

Fiction Writing (ENGL 309): We learn to craft and shape stories--using scene, dialogue and other techniques--and how to give and take feedback. On the way, we read as writers. What makes a good story? What are the ingredients and parts? Good stories do not resolve mysteries but render them.

Creative Nonfiction (ENGL 312): In this course, we write about events with the same tools as fiction writers and poets. The "creative" includes the art of balancing a crisp, clear, forceful narration of the factual situation with the emotional depth of the story.

The American Renaissance (ENGL 443): Exploring literature from approximately 1830 through the Civil War, this course captures the maturation of American literature, when intellectual and political energy generated a fresh expression. We trace the artistic and philosophical patterns in the literary works of this period and how it influenced what we now consider distinctively American conflicts and ideals.

Modern American Literature (ENGL 445): This course examines major poets and novelists from 1900 through World War II, focusing primarily on the period of 1910-1935. Using an interdisciplinary approach that includes art, film and literature, we explore how American Modernism developed alongside new and challenging phenomena in the fields of economics, psychology, philosophy and technology.

Literature and the Environment (ENGL 454): In this course, we explore writing that concerns the relationship between humans and their environment, broadly speaking. We read both landmark and nonfictional works of an emerging ecological ethic, as well as some fictional and poetic works that imagine alternative futures.

Honors Faculty Fellow: Appointed for a three-year term (2025-2028), I teach one course per year in the Radford University Honors College and provide academic advising for honors students.

Blue Ridge Discover Center Board Member: I serve on the board of the Blue Ridge Discovery Center, which inspires curiosity, discovery and stewardship of the Blue Ridge region by providing opportunities for ecological awareness and outdoor education in order to deepen an appreciation and understanding of place.

Friends of the New River Board Member: I serve on the board of the Friends of the New River, which advocates for the health and accessibility of the New River by promoting the conservation and enjoyment of its natural, cultural, recreational, scenic and historic values.

• Borne by the River: Canoeing the Delaware from Headwaters to Home. Cornell / Three Hills UP, 2024.
• "Creative Responses to Climate Doom: Lessons from the Void." Teaching the Literature of Climate Change, ed. Debra J. Rosenthal, MLA, 2024.
• "Tilt Toward the Sun." Still: The Journal, 2023. https://www.stilljournal.net/rick-van-noy-fiction2023.php.
• Sudden Spring: Stories of Adaptation in a Climate-Changed South. Georgia UP, 2019.
• A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons. Georgia UP, 2008.
• Surveying the Interior: Literary Cartographers and the Sense of Place. Nevada UP, 2003.

• Ph.D. in American Literature, Case Western Reserve
• M.A. in English, Western Washington University
• B.A. in English, The Colorado College

Hiking, biking and paddling in the mountains of the New River Valley and elsewhere.