PhD, University of Houston
MFA, New York University
BA, University of California, Riverside
AA, Riverside City College 

 

Biography

Janine Joseph is a poet and librettist born in the Philippines. She is the author of Driving Without a License (Alice James Books), winner of the Kundiman Poetry Prize, and Decade of the Brain, forthcoming in January 2023 from Alice James Books. Her poetry, essays, and critical writings have recently appeared in The Nation, The Georgia Review, Orion Magazine, Pleiades, The Atlantic, Copper Nickel, Poets & Writers, The Poem’s Country: Place & Poetic Practice, and the Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day series. A librettist, Joseph’s commissioned work for the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco include In Our Care, What Wings They Were: The Case of Emeline, “On This Muddy Water”: Voices from the Houston Ship Channel, and From My Mother's Mother. A MacDowell Fellow, she is an organizer for Undocupoets and serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Poets & Writers in Tulsa. 

 

Areas of Interest & Expertise

• Poetry and Poetics

• Libretti

• Undocumented Immigration and Immigration Literatures

• Creative Nonfiction

Recent Courses Taught

Undergraduate

• Advanced Poetry Writing: Wellspring Texts

• Poetry Writing: Me, My Selves, and My Disguise

• Poetry Writing: Poetic Forms

Graduate

• Studies in Poetry Writing (variable topics: Substructure & Sottonarrativa; First Books; Project Books; What Happened, What Didn't Happen, Who Does It Matter To?)

• Craft & Forms of Poetry: Traditional and Invented Forms

Selected Publications

Books:

• Decade of the Brain. Forthcoming in January 2023 from Alice James Books.

• Driving Without a License. Alice James Books, 2016. 

Co-edited Anthology

• Undocupoetics: An Introduction. Under contract with HarperCollins/Harper Perennial.

Poetry:

• "My Chiropractor Gives Me a Name." The Rumpus, National Poetry Month feature, April 2021.

• "House Hunters." The Nation, Sept. 7/14 2020 issue.

• "Love In the Time of Vertigo." MumberMag, issue 2.

• "Near the End of Our Time." Copper Nickel, issue 31.

• "Stillwater." Orion Magazine, issue 39.2. 

• "American Sentences" and "Coup-Contrecoup." Pleiades: Literature in Context, issue 40.2.

• "In the Ecotone." The Georgia Review, issue 74.1.

• "The Persistence of Symptoms." Quarterly West, issue 96. Reprinted by the Academy of American Poets March 2019.

• "New Patient Intake Form" and "You lose your keys, too, and." World Literature Today, March-April 2018.  

• "Ivan, Always Hiding" Southern Humanities Review, April 2016. 

• "Four Darks in Red," "Reading the Bleed," "Cerebral Edema," and "Human Archipelago." Waxwing, issue VIII. 

• "Circuitry." The Academy of American Poets: Poem-a-Day. February 4, 2016. 

• "You Lie" and "The Part of the Water." The Adroit Journal, issue 13. 

• "Landscape with American Dream." The California Journal of Poetics, issue 1. 

• "Homecoming." Drunken Boat, issue 20. 

• "Tago Ng Tago (TNT)," "Arrival," "Move-In," "Snakes In the Grass," and "Bonfire." Connotation Press: An Online Artifact (featured on “A Poetry Congeries”). July 2014. 

• "‘More milk, more milk makes it better’" and "Where There’s Smoke." Eleven Eleven, issue 17. 

• "Chain Migration." Hyphen Magazine, August 2014. 

• "Between Chou and the Butterfly" and "About the Visas." The Journal, issue 38:2. 

• "Electromyography." The Collagist, issue 55.

• "Shift." Painted Bride Quarterly, issue 88. 2013. Reprinted by Poetry Daily, May 2016.

• "Swarm" and "Leaving the Non-Profit Immigration Lawyer's Office." Kenyon Review Online. Summer 2013. 

• "Exchanging Vows." Asian American Literary Review, issue 3:2. 
  

• "Comeuppance" and "Narrative." Lantern Review, issue 4. 

• "Wreck." Hayden’s Ferry Review, issue 48.                                      

• "What after." Third Coast, issue 27.

Poems in Textbooks and Anthologies:

• "Assimilation." Border Lines: Poems of Migration. Michael Waters and Mihaela Moscaliuc, eds. Everyman's Library: NY, 2020. Pocket Poets Series.

• "Extended Stay America." Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience. Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond, eds. Triangle Square: NY, 2019.

• "Move-In." Poetry: A Writers' Guide and Anthology. Bloomsbury Academic: NY, 2018. 

• "Between Chou and the Butterfly." Best American Experimental Writing 2015. Douglas Kearney, ed. Seth Abramson and Jesse Damiani, series eds. Wesleyan University Press: CT, 2015. 

• “Wreck.” Best New Poets 2011.  D.A. Powell, ed. Jazzy Danziger and Jeb Livingood, series eds. University of Virginia Press: VA, 2011. 6. 

• "Junkyarding through the great Moreno Valley." Breathe: 101 Contemporary Odes. Ryan G. Van Cleave and Chad Prevost, eds. C & R Press: Chattanooga, TN, 2009. 109-10.  

• "Second Lesson (Circle Inn)," "Junkyarding through the great Moreno Valley," and "The Undocumented Immigrant Poem # 79." Bear Flag Republic: Prose Poems and Poetics from California. Christopher Buckley and Gary Young, eds. Greenhouse Review Press/Alcatraz Editions: Santa Cruz, CA, 2008. 218-19. 

• “Anilao, 1989." Homage to Vallejo.  Christopher Buckley, ed.  Greenhouse Review Press: Santa  Cruz, CA, 2006. 36-7. 

Libretti and Lyrics:

• Extraordinary Motion: Concerto for Electric Harp. Original concerto commissioned by Symphony New Hampshire. Music composed by D. J. Sparr. Forthcoming in April 2022.

• The Art of Our Healers. Original choral work jointly commissioned by Washington Master Chorale and Houston Grand Opera. Music composed by D. J. Sparr. 2021.

• "More milk, more milk makes it better." Poem adapted for "American DREAMers: Stories of Immigration." Music composed by Melissa Dunphy. 2018.

• "Between Chou and the Butterfly." Poem adapted for "DREAM Songs." Music composed by Reinaldo Moya. 2018.

• What Wings They Were: The Case of Emeline. Original libretto commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco. Music composed by John L. Cornelius II. 2016.

• "On This Muddy Water": Voices from the Houston Ship Channel. Original song cycle commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco. Music composed by D. J. Sparr. 2014.

• From My Mother's Mother. Original libretto commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco for the "Song of Houston: East + West" series. Music composed by Jeeyoung Kim. 2012.

Essays:

• "Recovery." The Poem's Country: Place and Poetic Practice. Shara Lessley and Bruce Snider, eds. Pleiades Press, MO: 2018.

• "Language of the Border." VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. VIDA Exclusive. May 2015. 

• "Forum: ‘MFA vs POC.’" The Asian American Literary Review. Fall/Winter 2015 issue. 

• "Undocumented, and Riding Shotgun." The Smithsonian’s What It Means to Be American project. January 2015. 

• "The Exemplary Poem and the Exemplary Life." First Light. The Press at California State University Fresno & Greenhouse Review Press: 2013.

Reviews:

• Review of Jose Antonio Vargas' Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. "What Happens After You Become the 'Most Famous Undocumented Immigrant in America." The Atlantic. October 2018.

• Review of Jerome Ruillier's The Strange. "The Strange: The Graphic Novel that Captures the Anxieties of Being Undocumented." The Atlantic. August 2018.

• Contributor. "Publishing During a Pandemic: The Effects of COVID-19 on the Business of Books." Poets & Writers. July/August 2020. 

• Co-Editor. "When Did You Recognize Me as Your Own?: A Folio of Undocupoets Fellows." Hyphen Magazine. 16 April 2020.

• Guest Editor. "Documentation." For Kundiman's Poetry & Democracy feature, as part of the Poetry Coalition. March 2019. 

• "Beyond the Finish Line." Poets & Writers. July/August 2017.

   

Selected Articles and Editorial Work:

• Invited Contributor. "What We Found in Writing: Authors on Creativity in Quarantine." Poets & Writers. July/August 2020. 

• Co-Editor. "When Did You Recognize Me as Your Own?: A Folio of Undocupoets Fellows." Hyphen Magazine. 16 April 2020.

• Guest Editor. "Documentation." For Kundiman's Poetry & Democracy feature, as part of the Poetry Coalition. March 2019. 

• "Beyond the Finish Line." Poets & Writers. July/August 2017.

Selected Invited Talks, Featured Reading, and Conference Presentations

• National Poetry Month Reading. Unbound Book Festival, Columbia, MO. April 2021. 

• Axton Reading Series. University of Louisville, KY: February 2021.

• Mark Allen Everett Poetry Series (virtual). The University of Oklahoma, OK. April 2020.

• “Poetry Off the Shelf: Sarah Gambito and Janine Joseph.” Poetry Foundation, Chicago, IL. November 2019.

• The Annual Sadock Women in the Arts Lecture Series. Union College, Schenectady, NY. May 2019.

• “Challenging Tokenization: Writers of Colors Respond.” Panelist with Leslie Sainz, Christopher Santiago, Analicia Sotelo, and Tiphanie Yanique. AWP Conference. Portland, OR. March 2019.

• “From Words to Music: Writers on Collaborating with Composers.” Panelist with Rebecca Morgan Frank, Jessica Murphy Moo, and Lloyd Schwartz, AWP Conference. Portland, OR. March 2019.

• “The Poetics of Fury: Creative Reading.” Panelist with Taneum Bambrick, Jennifer Maritza-McCauley, Jenny Molberg, and Kathryn Nuernberger. C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference, University of Central Arkansas, AK: November 2018.

• “Readings and Talks Series and Symposia at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice: Marcelo Hernández Castillo and Janine Joseph.” Georgetown University, Washington D.C.: October 2018.

• “Women Writers.” Panelist with Carmen Maria Machado, Rebecca Peters, and Ashley Lumpkin. Greensboro Bound Literary Festival. Greensboro, NC: May 2018.

• “Small Experiments with Radical Intent.” Panelist with Alicia Craven, Desireé Dallagiacomo, Kima Jones, and Ramiza Koya. AWP Conference, Tampa, FL: March 2018.

• “Convocation Series: Adventures in Interdisciplinary Studies.” Panelist with Purnaprajna Bangere and Jeffrey Lang. Franklin College, Franklin, IN: November 2017.

• Convocation Speaker. “Undocumented, and Riding Shotgun.” Pellissippi State Community College, Knoxville, TN. 5 September 2017.

• “Summer Literary Salon #3: Elizabeth Hazen and Janine Joseph.” Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College, Chestertown, MD: July 2017.

• “No Human Being is Illegal: Undocupoets Reading.” MOTUS Theater, Boulder, CO: April 2017.

• Inprint Poets & Writers Ball. The Houstonian, Houston, TX: February 2017.

• “Girlhood, Womanhood, Coming of Age.” Reader and Panelist with Aliki Barnstone, Laura Donnelly, Cornelius Eady, and Janet McNally. AWP Conference, Washington, DC: February 2017.

• “Asian American Literature Today: Janine Joseph and Aimee Nezhukumatathil.” Library of Congress, Washington, DC: October 2016.

• “Inspired by Wonder: A WITS Reading.” Panelist with Lacy M. Johnson, Marc McKee, and Renee Flagler. AWP, Los Angeles: April 2016.

• “The Poem and Social Space.” Panelist with Ken Chen, Randall Horton, and Lupe Mendez. Facing Race: A National Conference, Dallas: November 2014.

• “Migration Histories - Total Recall or Selective Amnesia? The Uses and Abuses of History in the Immigration Discussion.” Panelist with Israel Pastrana and Chris Newman. Weber State University Diversity Conference, Ogden: October 2013.

Selected Honors & Professional Service

• Advisory Board, Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa. Current.

• Finalist, 2021 Lyric Poetry Award, The Poetry Society of America.

• National Selection Panelist, 2021-2022 Tulsa Artist Fellowship. 

• English Graduate Student Association (EGSA) Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, Oklahoma State University, 2019-2020.

• Contest Judge, Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize, Franklin & Marshall College. June 2020.

• Spring Travel Award, College of Arts and Sciences, Oklahoma State University. 2020.

• Fellow, The MacDowell Colony. 2019.

• Residency. Bethany Arts Community, 2019.

• Contest Judge, Undergraduate Poetry Contest, Cameron University. 2019.

• Contest Judge, Backbone Press "Shared Dream" Chapbook Prize, 2018.

• Honorable Mention, 2018 Sheila Motton Poetry Book Prize (New England Poetry Club)

• Howard Nemerov Poetry Scholarship (Sewanee Writers' Conference), 2016.

• Robert M. Hogge Teaching Award for Outstanding Teaching, Weber State University, 2014-2015.

• Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (PAWA) Manuel G. Flores Prize, 2014.

• Inprint/Barthelme Fellowship in Poetry, 2013.

• Dissertation Completion Fellowship, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Houston, 2012-2013.

• Academy of American Poets Prize, 2010.

• Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, 2009-2011.