Justin Wymer

Justin Wymer

Adjunct Instructor

Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, MFA Creative Writing (Low-Residency)

Dr. Justin Wymer is a poet, nonfiction and cross-genre writer, and educator. Born and raised in southwestern West Virginia, he holds degrees from Harvard University; the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; and the University of Denver, where he studied creative writing and literary arts with a focus on trauma studies, queer stylistics, and literature of excess and difficulty. A winner of the 2012 Captain Jonathan Fay Prize from the Radcliffe Institute for best thesis out of any discipline at Harvard College, Wymer has also received awards and fellowships from Harvard Office for the Arts, University of Iowa, University of Denver, Academy of American Poets, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Spanish Ministry for Culture and Sport. Wymer’s poems, interviews, translations, and essays have appeared in various journals, including The Adroit Journal, Atlantean Poets, Beecher’s, Boston Review’s Poet Sampler, Columbia: A Journal of Art and Literature, Conjunctions, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Kenyon Review, Lana Turner, Manchester Review (UK), Nat. Brut, Poetry Daily, The Rumpus, Souvenir Lit, and THRUSH Poetry Journal, and West Branch, among others. Recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, Image, an anthology on Appalachian labor poetics. Wymer’s debut full-length collection, Deed, won the 2018 Antivenom Poetry Award, chosen by Jennifer Franklin, and was published by Elixir Press in 2019. Learn more at https://www.justinwymer.com/

PUBLICATIONS:

  • Deed (Elixir Press)

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Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.  

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Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community,  “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom

The Naropa Difference

How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person. 

About Naropa

Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion. 

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Naropa Campuses Closed on Friday, March 15, 2024

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.