Rate My Professor Caitlin Maling

Dr. Caitlin Maling is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry within the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University, where she has been appointed since 2022. She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney on pastoral ecopoetics in the poetry of Randolph Stow, William Stafford, Tracy Ryan, and Juliana Spahr; an MFA in Poetry and Literature from the University of Houston; an MPhil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge; and a BA in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Melbourne. Previously, she served as an HDR Teaching Fellow at the University of Sydney. Maling specializes in poetry and creative nonfiction, both in writing and teaching, with a particular interest in environmental themes. She supervises research students and contributes to Curtin’s research output, earning recognition as one of the 2023 Curtin Research and Engagement Stars for outstanding partnership work.

Maling has authored five poetry collections: Spore or Seed (Fremantle Press, 2023), Fish Work (UWA Publishing, 2021), Fish Song (Fremantle Press, 2019), Border Crossing (Fremantle Press, 2017), and Conversations I’ve Never Had (Fremantle Press, 2015). Her poetry and essays have appeared in journals such as Westerly, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE), Meanjin, Australian Poetry Journal, and Cordite. Notable peer-reviewed publications include 'A Western Australian Pastoral of Rust and Dust' (ISLE, 2021), 'The Boy in the Bird, the Poem in the Parrot' (Westerly, 2022), and the 2021 Randolph Stow Memorial Lecture 'Mostly Private Letters' (Westerly, 2021). She has received numerous awards, including shortlistings for the Prime Minister’s Book Awards for Poetry (2023), Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Fellowship (2022, 2020), Dorothy Hewett Award (2020, highly commended), Val Vallis Award (2016), and Mary Gilmore Prize (2016). Fellowships and grants include the Marten Bequest (2017–2020, $50,000), Australia Council Individual Project Grant (2020–21, $10,000), and multiple Department of Culture and the Arts (WA) grants totaling over $65,000. Residencies at Yaddo, Varuna, VCCA, and Santa Fe Art Institute have supported her work. Her contributions extend to public lectures and editorial features in literary journals.