Dr. J. Thomas Dukes

Dr. J. Thomas Dukes

Title: Professor Emeritus, Senior Lecturer
Interim Director of the ELI
Interim Director, The School of Music
Dept/Program: English
Office: Olin 344, Olin 302
Email: jdukes@uakron.edu

Biography

Thomas Dukes is Professor of English and teaches business and professional writing, modern literature, the Bible as literature, and other courses. His poetry collection Baptist Confidential (Bluestem/Emporia State U) came out in 2007, and he is the author of a memoir Sugar Blood Jesus: A Memoir of Faith, Madness, and Cream Gravy (OSL/Upper Room Books, 2009). He has published in a variety of journals including Poetry, New Orleans Review, Women’s Studies, Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, The Journal of Florida Literature, and others. He is a member of the Northeast Ohio Romance Writers Association and the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society He enjoys maintaining elitist cultural standards while sampling the vulgarity of modern culture on an almost daily basis.

Research

AWARDS

2003 Excellence in Education Award from OHIO magazine

2002 Outstanding Teacher Award, The University of Akron Alumni Association (The University of Akron’s Campus-Wide Teaching Award)                
2002 Chairs’ Award, Outstanding Achievement, Teaching, Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Akron

Poetry Prizes

“A Woman Bathes in the Ohio River [on Sunday Afternoon].”  Finalist. The Lantern Awards. 2010.

“Guys with Their Hands in Their Pockets.” Second Prize. Second Annual Muse Literary Competition, 2010.

“Canal in Akron, Ohio.” Wayne College Regional Writing Awards. Second Prize. 2009.

“A Woman Bathes in the Ohio River on Sunday Afternoon”. First Prize and “Stealing Lumber on a Sunday Afternoon.” Second Prize. First Annual Muse Literary Competition. 2008.

“An American in Ohio Ballet.” First Prize, Poetry, Wayne College, Regional Writers’ Conference, 2008.

Poetry, First Place, Certificate for Poetry, Sandhills Writers’ Conference, 2008.

“Many Bright Mansions Above.” First Prize, Poetry, Poets’ and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland Best of Ohio Writers Competition. 2007.

“Lambing in Ohio.” First Prize, Poetry, Wayne College Regional Writers’ Competition. 2007.

“Etudes for El Paso and Spanish Guitar.” Editors’ First Prize, RHINO. 2007.

“Lambing in Ohio.” Honorable Mention. Poets and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland. Best of Ohio Writers Competition. 2006.

Three Poems, First Place Certificate for Poetry, Sandhills Writers’ Conference: 2005.

“After the Fall, Angels Guard the Gates of Eden” and “January in the Ohio River Valley” both Honorable Mention, New Words Competition, 2005.

“Havana Afternoon.”  First Place. Poets and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland Best of Ohio Writers Competition: 2004.

“Honky Tonk Jesus”  Second Prize, New Words Competition, 2004.

“Persephone in South Akron.” Honorable Mention, New Words Competition, 2004.

“Whale Song.” Honorable Mention, Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, 2004.

“Some of You Folks Got to Say Amen.” Second Place. Poets and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland Best of Ohio Writers Competition, 2003.

Creative Non-Fiction Prizes

“Memoir of a Soldier’s Son.” Second Place. Sandhills Writers’ Conference. 2008.

“Lost in the Outfield.” Second Place. Poets and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland. 2006.

Short Story Prize

“How Wanda Kaye Mullins Came to Say a Bad Word for the Second Time.” Second Prize, Children’s Literature. Sandhills Writers’ Conference, 2008.

“Baptist Boys.” First Prize, Fiction. Wayne College Regional Writers’ Conference, 2008.

 

Publications

Books

  • Sugar Blood Jesus : A Memoir of Faith, Madness, and Cream Gravy White Sulphur Springs, WV :  Order of St. Luke Press/Upper Room Books. 2009.
  • Baptist Confidential. Emporia, KS : Bluestem/Emporia State U, 2007. [poems]
  • Winner of the 2005 Bluestem Poetry Prize

Creative Non-Fiction

  • “How I Got Over Feeling Wretched About Christian Charity.” Sacramental Life. 20.3 (Summer 2008): 25-29.
  • “Lost in the Outfield.”  Muse.  April, 2008: 18-20.

Articles in Refereed Journals

  • “Mappings of Secrecy and Disclosure: The Swimming Pool Library.” Journal of Homosexuality 31.3 (1996): 95-107.
  • “From Fairy Tale to Film: The Completion of E. M. Forster’s Maurice.”  West Virginia University Philological Papers 38 (1992/1993): 91-98.
  • “Place in Fiction: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Eudora Welty.”  The MKR Journal of Florida Literature 3 (1992): 7-19.
  • “Evoking the Significance: The Autobiographies of Rumer Godden.”  Women’s Studies 20.1 (1991): 15-35.
  • “Desire Satisfied: War and Love in The Heat of the Day and Moon Tiger.”  War, Literature, and the Arts 3.1 (1991): 75-97.
  • “Patterns of Alienation in Cross Creek.”  The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature 2 (1989-1990): 89-108.
  • “The Unorthodox Plots of Elizabeth Bowen.”  Studies in the Humanities 16 (June 1989): 10-23.
  • “Christianity as Curse and Salvation in The Sound and the Fury.”  Arizona Quarterly 35 (1979): 170-181.  Reprinted in The American Classics Revisited: Recent Studies of American Literature.  P. C. Kar and D. Ramakrishan, eds. Hyderabad: American Studies Research Center, 1985, 468-477.

Book Chapters

  • “Christopher Isherwood.”  Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Travel Writers 1910-1939.  Ed. Barbara Brothers and Julia M. Gergits.  Vol. 195.  Gale: Detroit, 1998:168-178.
  • “Introducing Gay/Lesbian Issues in Freshman Composition.”  Ideas for the Working Classroom: Classroom Practices in Teaching English.  Ed. Kent Gill.  Urbana: NCTE, 1993: 34-41.

Reference Book Entries

  • “Edward Albee.”  Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights: An A-Z Guide.  Ed. Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport: Greenwood, 2003.1-10.
  • “Christopher Durang.” Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights: An A-Z Guide. Westport: Greenwood, 2003. 141-146.
  • “Harvey Fierstein.” Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights: An A-Z Guide.  Westport: Greenwood, 2003. 153-161.
  • “Broadway Musicals.” Lesbian and Gay Studies.  Chicago:  Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. 97-98.
  • “Truman Capote.”  Lesbian and Gay Studies.  Chicago:  Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. 114-115.
  • “E.M. Forster.”  Lesbian and Gay Studies.  Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. 222-224.
  • “Christopher Isherwood.”  Lesbian and Gay Studies.  Chicago:  Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.  308-309.
  • “Truman Capote.”  Gay Histories and Cultures.  George E. Haggerty.  New York: Garland, 2000.  169-170.
  • “Elizabeth Bowen.”  The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage.  Ed. Claude J. Summers.  New York: Holt, 1995: 110-111.
  • “Truman Capote.”  The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage.  Ed. Claude J. Summers.  New York: Holt, 1995: 141-142.
  • “Musical Theater.”  The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage.  Ed. Claude J. Summers.  New York: Holt, 1995: 497-499.
  • “David Plante.”  The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage.  Ed. Claude J. Summers.  New York: Holt, 1995: 546-547.
  • “Harlan Greene.”  Contemporary Gay American Novelists.  Ed. Emmanuel S. Nelson.  Westport: Greenwood, 1993: 172-177.
  • “David Plante.”  Contemporary Gay American Novelists.  Ed. Emmanuel S. Nelson.  Westport: Greenwood, 1993: 309-315.

Refereed Proceedings

  • “Differences in Stylistic Perceptions Between Students in Undergraduate Courses and Those in Industry Seminars.”  Proceedings of the Association of Business Communication 52nd Annual and 14th International Convention: 1987.
  • “Whar Yew Frum?  Teaching Cultural Differences in the Business Communication Classroom.”  ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) #ED304899.  September 1988.  Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Eastern Michigan University Conference on Languages for Business and the Professions.  9 pages [FL 017 839].

Non-Refereed Articles  

  • “Should We Teach Software Use in Business Communication?”  Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication 56.3 (1993): 34-35.
  • “I Uphold the Patriarchy in my Business Communication Classroom—Why Can’t I Stop?”  Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication 52.1 (1989): 38-41.
  • “The Wall Street Journal in the Business Writing Classroom.”  Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication 51.1 (1989): 25-26.
  • “Notes from a Technical Writing Institute: Preparing Writers for the Real World—and Other Nonsense.”  The Technical Writing Teacher 16 (1989): 153-154.
  • “Business Writing and the Loss of the University.”  The CEA Forum 19.3-4 (1989): 3-5.
  • “I Was a Victim of the Process Approach.”  The Technical Writing Teacher 15 (1988): 78-83.
  • “Freshman Composition Can Prepare Students for Real Life.”  Teaching English in the Two-Year College 15 (1988): 153-154.
  • “Writing and Responsibility: A New Emphasis for the Student ‘Company.’”  Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication 51.2 (1988): 10-11.
  • “Using Microcomputers in School Administration.”  Educational Technology 23 (1983): 38-39.  (Co-authored with Ken Jones).
  • “The Writing Lab as Crisis Center: Suggestions for the Interview.”  Writing Lab Newsletter 5 (1981): 4-6.

Workbook

  • Study Guide to Accompany Business Communication: Skills and Strategies.  New York: Harper and Row, 1990.

Poetry

  • “For the Queens Who Dragged Marlene’s Furs Across My Life.” The South Carolina Review. (Spring 2009) 41.2, 20.
  • “A Woman Bathes in the Ohio River on Sunday Afternoon” and “Stealing Lumber on a Sunday Afternoon.” Muse. (January 2009). 2.1: 16-17, 22.
  • “Try Me” and “Coyote Walk up Oakdale Street on Christmas Eve.” Whiskey Island Magazine. Fall 2007/Spring 2008: 69-70, 71-72.
  • “Many Bright Mansions Above.” Ohio Writer. 21.5: 4.
  • “A Horticulturalist’s Guide to Gay Marriage in Ohio.” The Connecticut Poetry Review.  2007. 29.
  • “Odella at Eighty.” The Texas Review.  27:3&4. Fall/Winter 2006. (appeared summer 2007). 116.
  • “Deer Crossing Broadview Road at Dusk” and “Deer in the Cornfields of Everett, Ohio” in Tributaries. (2007) 9.38-39
  • “Etudes for El Paso and Spanish Guitar.  RHINO. 2007. 27-31.
  • “Knives.”  Plainsongs. 27.2: 13.
  • “Abiding Light.” The South Carolina Review.  39.1. (Fall 2006): 204.
  • “I Need from You an Advisement.” Tar River Poetry. 45.1 (Fall 2005):14-15.
  • “Invitation.” Red Rock Review. Issue 17 (Summer 2005): 94.
  • “Havana Afternoon.” Ohio Writer. 19.1:6.
  • “Wild Turkeys at Brokensword Creek.”  The South Carolina Review. 37.1. (Fall 2004): 123.
  • “Writing Daddy”  War, Literature, and the Arts.  16:1&2:84-85.
  • “Whale Song.” ICON. 37.1 (Spring 2004): 3.
  • “After Winter.”  South Dakota Review.  40.1 (Spring 2002): 156-157.
  • “Mennonite Funeral in Southwest Ohio.” I Have My Own Song for It: Modern Poems of Ohio.  Eds. Elton Glaser and William Greenway.  Akron: The University of Akron Press, 2002.
  • “Desire.”  Jabberwock Review.  21.2 (Spring 2000): 6-7.
  • “Minerva, Ohio.”  Poetry 162 (September 1993): 345.
  • “Snow in Ohio.”  Poetry 161 (December 1992): 143.
  • “Museum of Science and Industry” and “Holmes County, Ohio.”  New Mexico Humanities Review 34 (1992): 100-102.
  • “For Ray” and “Riot in New Delhi.”  The Rio Grande Review 11.2 (1992): 82-83.
  • “The Realms of Glory.”  New Jersey Poetry Review 3 (1984): 81.
  • “June 31.”  Kansas Quarterly 11.1-2 (1979): 183.
  • “Transfer.” Forum 15.2-3 (1977): 73
  • “His Hands.”  Attention Please 20.2 (1977): 27.
  • “Irish Ships.”  Cedar Rock 1.3 (1976): 9.
  • “Houston Retreat.”  Gone Soft 2.1 (1975): 49.

Readings

  • “Around Noon.” WCPN 90.3. Cleveland. March 5, 2009.
  • The Monthly Reading, Cedars Restaurant, Invited: April 18, 2007.
  • Others as part of awards celebrations,  radio shows (WORDPLAY, The Poetry Man), etc.

Journalism

  • “An Imperfect Church that Welcomes All.” The Plain Dealer. Saturday, June 11,2005.
  • Other journalism includes an editorial in the Akron Beacon Journal, a commentary about having Type I (juvenile)  diabetes in the Diabetes Forecast magazine (the magazine of the American Diabetes Association), book and performance reviews for The Purdue Exponent, etc.

Book Reviews

  • Now You’re the Enemy. 2007. in The Barnowl Review.  . 2009.
  • The Final Bell.  Boston: Alyson, 1994, in Aethlon: The Journal of Sports Literature. 13:2: 200-201.
  • Closet Writing/Gay Reading.  Chicago: U of Chicago, 1993, in Modern Fiction Studies 40: 921-923.
  • The Dreyfus Affair.  New York: Random House, 1992, in Aethlon: The Journal of Sports Literature. 10:150.
  • How Do I Look: Queer Film and Video.  Ed. Bad-Object Choices.  Seattle: Bay Press, 1991, in The Journal of Sexuality.  4: 475-478.
  • Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Fiction.  Madison: U of Wisconsin, 1991, in Modern Fiction Studies.  38: 397-498.
  • Gay Fictions: Wilde to Stonewall.  New York: Continuum, 1990, in Modern Fiction Studies.  37: 352-353.
  • Principles of Business Communication, R. E. Dulek and J. S. Fielden.  New York: Macmillan, 1990 and The Random House Guide to Business Writing.  New York: Random House, 1990, in the Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication, 53.3 (September 1990): 90-91.
  • Business Communication Today, C. L. Bovee and J. W. Thill.  New York: Random House, 1989; Effective Business Communications, H. A. Murphy and H. W. Hildebrandt.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988; Communication in Business, W. Wells. Boston: PWS-Kent, 1988, in the Bulletin of the Association of Business Communication, 52.2 (June 1989): 39-40.
  • Business and Technical Communication: A Bibliography, 1975-1985.  Debra L. Hull. Metchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1987, 243 pages, in Analytical & Enumerative Bibliography, 1.2: 78-79.
  • Business Writing Using Word Processing: Apple Writer Edition.  Arthur M. Segal.  New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1987, 131 pages (paper); IBM Wordstar Edition, 141 pages; IBM Easy Writer Edition, 141 pages, in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 25.1: 106-107.
  • Business Communication: Process and Practice, Arthur H. Bell.  Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1987, 601 pages, in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 25.1: 104-106.
  • Word Processing: A Formatting Approach, Roger F. Repohl.  Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1986, 260 pages (paper), in the in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 25.1, 107-108.
  • Competing in Time: Using Telecommunications for Competitive Advantage, Peter G. W. Keen.  Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1986, 235 pages, in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 24.2: 67-69.
  • Learning Activities for Business Report Writing, Mary J. Noblitt.  New York: John Wiley, 1986, 82 pages (paper), in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 24.2, 68-69.
  • The Business Communicator, Second Edition, Robert E. Swindle and Elizabeth M. Swindle.  Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1985, 562 pages, in the Journal of the Association for Business Communication, 22.4: 87-88.

Education

Ph.D., Purdue