About

Hi! I’m Matthew W. Schmeer. I’m a Professor of English at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, where I teach a variety of writing courses. I also run Rended Press, an independent hobby publisher for tabletop role-playing game materials. I’m also the former editor and publisher of Poetry Midwest, an online poetry journal that ceased publication in 2013.

I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, a BA in English, and a Writing Certificate, all earned at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

When I’m not in the classroom or tutoring students, I write and publish micro-fiction, brief creative non-fiction, poetry, and cooperative role-playing game materials. I’m the author of the chapbook Twenty-One Cents (Pudding House, 2002), co-editor of Petty Gods: Revised & Expanded Edition (ORC, 2015), and my work has appeared in numerous national and regional literary publications in print and online, including Cream City Review, Natural Bridge, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Kansas English, and The Connecticut River Review. I also contribute the occasional book review to various online publications as well.

I’ve presented at several regional and national teaching conferences, including The Cavalier Conference on Writing & Literature, KATE, TYCA-Southeast, TYCA-Midwest, Southwest PCA/ACA, and AWP. I’ve served on the advisory board or review team for several textbooks, including The Harbrace Guide to Writing, 1st ed. (Wadsworth/Cengage, 2008), The Writer’s Way, 7th ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 2009), Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing, 1st ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2012), Pocket Keys for Writers, 5th ed. (Cengage, 2015), The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, 11th ed. (Bedford/St. Martin’s 2016), Envision In Depth, 4th ed. (Pearson, 2017), and The Blair Reader, 9th ed. (Pearson, 2017).

Prior to joining JCCC, I was an Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator of the All Campus Tutoring Center at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. Before that, I taught Composition courses at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, St. Charles Community College, and the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

Prior to teaching and writing, I was the Managing Editor of the nationally-distributed literary journal Natural Bridge (now folded into Boulevard), a project supervisor and technical writer for a privately-held workers’ compensation insurance company, and a marketing coordinator for a business-to-business telemarketing firm.

I live in Overland Park, Kansas, and I’m available for talks and workshops about writing essays & imaginative works with interested schools, community groups, and charitable organizations.