Spencer Lane Jones
@spencerlanejones.bsky.social
VAP in English at the University of Iowa. Writer. https://www.spencerljones.com/
Pinned
I’m thrilled to share that part of my MFA thesis was selected by John Jeremiah Sullivan as the runner-up essay in the 2024 nonfiction contest @ The Sewanee Review!
thesewaneereview.com/contest
thesewaneereview.com/contest
can we get a new rap with nani in gracie mansion though
November 5, 2025 at 3:23 AM
can we get a new rap with nani in gracie mansion though
The @weilsociety.bsky.social is hosting its annual colloquy at Texas A&M in April '26, as well as an online conference. This group was invaluable for me during my MFA program and thesis-writing process as I read work by and about Simone Weil. Register, and as Weil would say, attend.
October 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
The @weilsociety.bsky.social is hosting its annual colloquy at Texas A&M in April '26, as well as an online conference. This group was invaluable for me during my MFA program and thesis-writing process as I read work by and about Simone Weil. Register, and as Weil would say, attend.
I really enjoyed this interview with Adam Current! A Mango-Shaped Space is a fantastic novel and Adam’s new cohort of eighth graders are lucky to read it this year! open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
The Book Talks, Vol. 6
Middle School Teacher Adam Current on Wendy Mass's A Mango-Shaped Space (2003)
open.substack.com
August 20, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I really enjoyed this interview with Adam Current! A Mango-Shaped Space is a fantastic novel and Adam’s new cohort of eighth graders are lucky to read it this year! open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
My MFA program, the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, is hiring a new Director. Check it out.
www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
Assoc or Full Professor, MFA Program Director - HigherEdJobs
Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.
www.higheredjobs.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:07 PM
My MFA program, the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, is hiring a new Director. Check it out.
www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
I’m a proponent of teaching lots of classics *and* lots of contemporary literature to high school students. In case you’re looking for some contemporary (or at least mid-late 20th century) additions to your high school curriculum, check out this list!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
The Top 10 Books I Read in My MFA Program That I'd Teach to High School Students
And a couple of honorable mentions...
open.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:17 PM
I’m a proponent of teaching lots of classics *and* lots of contemporary literature to high school students. In case you’re looking for some contemporary (or at least mid-late 20th century) additions to your high school curriculum, check out this list!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
I finished my MFA! Quite excited about spending a *fourth* year at the University of Iowa as a Visiting Assistant Professor of English! I'll be teaching Introduction to Rhetoric and Advanced Nonfiction Writing to English majors! Looking forward to Year 11!
June 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I finished my MFA! Quite excited about spending a *fourth* year at the University of Iowa as a Visiting Assistant Professor of English! I'll be teaching Introduction to Rhetoric and Advanced Nonfiction Writing to English majors! Looking forward to Year 11!
I wrote an academic paper about the Trojan Horse Affair's fantastic model of journalism. It's out now in Radio Journal. More journalists should take notes from @brihreed.bsky.social and Hamza Syed.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
Transgressive (un)scripting: Metajournalistic discourse and ‘sonic friendship’ in The Trojan Horse Affair | Intellect
This article analyses metajournalistic discourse between a ‘core actor’ and a novice reporter in The Trojan Horse Affair, a 2022 podcast from Serial Productions and the New York Times about a faked co...
intellectdiscover.com
May 29, 2025 at 3:31 AM
I wrote an academic paper about the Trojan Horse Affair's fantastic model of journalism. It's out now in Radio Journal. More journalists should take notes from @brihreed.bsky.social and Hamza Syed.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
What are the best book stores in Salt Lake City?
May 29, 2025 at 2:11 AM
What are the best book stores in Salt Lake City?
Extremely grateful to be recognized in this way by @weilsociety.bsky.social, especially after writing about Weil as a schoolteacher for the past three years. Thank you so much!
May 7, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Extremely grateful to be recognized in this way by @weilsociety.bsky.social, especially after writing about Weil as a schoolteacher for the past three years. Thank you so much!
“Tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy…its final result ought to be the reinforcement of the onlooker’s brightest opinions of the human animal...it is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies.” The Book Talks, Vol. 4.
The Book Talks, Vol. 4
High School Teacher Mark Sibley-Jones on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949)
spencerlanejones.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 10:13 PM
“Tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy…its final result ought to be the reinforcement of the onlooker’s brightest opinions of the human animal...it is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies.” The Book Talks, Vol. 4.
Loved this interview with @anniesand.bsky.social, on Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." The Book Talks, Vol. 3 on Substack now.
The Book Talks, Vol. 3
University of Iowa Associate Professor of Rhetoric Annie Sand on Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" (1959)
open.substack.com
April 3, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Loved this interview with @anniesand.bsky.social, on Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." The Book Talks, Vol. 3 on Substack now.
"I get the sense from both sides of the political spectrum that I should perhaps be keeping my head down and teaching a "safe" class...Many parents would rather their children be credentialed than educated today."
Read my interview with Peter Shull now, on teaching Morrison's "Song of Solomon."
Read my interview with Peter Shull now, on teaching Morrison's "Song of Solomon."
The Book Talks, Vol. 2
High School Teacher Peter Shull on Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977)
open.substack.com
March 5, 2025 at 3:57 PM
"I get the sense from both sides of the political spectrum that I should perhaps be keeping my head down and teaching a "safe" class...Many parents would rather their children be credentialed than educated today."
Read my interview with Peter Shull now, on teaching Morrison's "Song of Solomon."
Read my interview with Peter Shull now, on teaching Morrison's "Song of Solomon."
Told my boyfriend about my Lent challenge for this year (not wearing headphones except for in the gym) and he got sassy
March 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Told my boyfriend about my Lent challenge for this year (not wearing headphones except for in the gym) and he got sassy
Check out The Book Talks, Vol. 1: My interview with 5th grade teacher Adrian Neibauer on teaching the 1975 children's classic, "Tuck Everlasting." open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
The Book Talks, Vol. 1
5th Grade Teacher Adrian Neibauer on Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting (1975)
open.substack.com
February 19, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Check out The Book Talks, Vol. 1: My interview with 5th grade teacher Adrian Neibauer on teaching the 1975 children's classic, "Tuck Everlasting." open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
My dad gets really confused by the term "creative nonfiction" and his brain trips it to "non-creative fiction"
February 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
My dad gets really confused by the term "creative nonfiction" and his brain trips it to "non-creative fiction"
Just going to throw out that "I don't want to" in response to "encouragement" to "synthesize AI use into your classroom and pedagogy" is a perfectly fine response
February 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Just going to throw out that "I don't want to" in response to "encouragement" to "synthesize AI use into your classroom and pedagogy" is a perfectly fine response
Honored to be featured this week on University of Iowa's 5Q interview series! writinguniversity.org/news-archive...
5Q Interview: Spencer Lane Jones, an MFA candidate in the Nonfiction Writing Program
"I became an early bird writer because I had to be, and it hasn't really left my body."
writinguniversity.org
February 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Honored to be featured this week on University of Iowa's 5Q interview series! writinguniversity.org/news-archive...
I disagree with a lot of this but it makes compelling points near the end. Makes for a powerful rebuttal to the Postman, Carr, and now Hayes claims. Worth a read (and a teach if you have anything related on your syllabus).
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
What if the Attention Crisis Is All a Distraction?
From the pianoforte to the smartphone, each wave of tech has sparked fears of brain rot. But the problem isn’t our ability to focus—it’s what we’re focussing on.
www.newyorker.com
January 24, 2025 at 2:38 PM
I disagree with a lot of this but it makes compelling points near the end. Makes for a powerful rebuttal to the Postman, Carr, and now Hayes claims. Worth a read (and a teach if you have anything related on your syllabus).
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
In case anyone was interested in Simone Weil’s thoughts on how to do the next four years
January 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
In case anyone was interested in Simone Weil’s thoughts on how to do the next four years
On sabbatical this semester. To stay connected with fellow educators and celebrate their work, I am launching "The Book Talks," an interview series in which I will talk to teachers about their favorite books to teach. Join me!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
Why Schools Should Assign Books
In the Schoolhouse, Vol. 9
open.substack.com
January 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
On sabbatical this semester. To stay connected with fellow educators and celebrate their work, I am launching "The Book Talks," an interview series in which I will talk to teachers about their favorite books to teach. Join me!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
I’m thrilled to share that part of my MFA thesis was selected by John Jeremiah Sullivan as the runner-up essay in the 2024 nonfiction contest @ The Sewanee Review!
thesewaneereview.com/contest
thesewaneereview.com/contest
January 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I’m thrilled to share that part of my MFA thesis was selected by John Jeremiah Sullivan as the runner-up essay in the 2024 nonfiction contest @ The Sewanee Review!
thesewaneereview.com/contest
thesewaneereview.com/contest
Greeting a cold, cold America again today. Thanks for the weekend, PR.
January 20, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Greeting a cold, cold America again today. Thanks for the weekend, PR.