Joyelle McSweeney
William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English; Chair, Department of English
Award-winning poet Joyelle McSweeney draws inspiration from the landscape around her, particularly the St. Joseph River that runs through South Bend. Over two decades at Notre Dame, she has written eight books here, transforming observations of the natural and human worlds into poetry that explores their connections to something larger.
For McSweeney, the St. Joseph River is a particularly rich source of creative inspiration, constantly changing with the city, seasons, light, and weather while connecting South Bend to places far beyond it.
“The St. Joseph River that runs through South Bend is my muse. Walking along the river makes me want to write,” McSweeney said. “I love that it's a city river, revealing new scenes and sightlines as it moves through South Bend. It seems to be holding some private dialogue with the sky, changing with the light and weather from a swirling bottle green to a flat slate grey, and hosting life as diverse as algae and swans. I love that it comes someplace, and that it's going some place else, someplace bigger than us. It's what links us to the cosmos.”
McSweeney, chair of the Department of English and the William P. and Hazel B. White Chair of English, sees Notre Dame’s support for creativity alongside research in the sciences and humanities as central to the University’s pursuit of truth.
“In my 20 years here at Notre Dame, I’ve been inspired and supported by so many colleagues in every discipline, by the students who come through our doors, by staff who hold deep knowledge of the University, by the stories woven into the campus, the river, South Bend itself,” she said. “Notre Dame is distinguished by this sense of common purpose, as exemplified in the University's exceptional support for research and creativity across science, humanities, and the arts. We need every route to Truth, and we need to do it together.”
