Matthew Irwin

I am a third generation Irish-American raised on Anishinaabe land in Toledo, Ohio. I played soccer, mowed lawns, and read Vonnegut. After undergrad, I moved to Wyoming to hike and ski. I became a journalist and spent a decade or so writing about art, culture, and environmental and social justice from the Mountain West to the Southwest and California. Today, I live and work on Kumeyaay land (San Diego, California) with my kids, my partner, and our dog Harley.

I joined Rhetoric and Writing Studies at SDSU as a lecturer in Fall 2021, and I teach Ethnic Studies at Cal State San Marcos. Previously, I taught American Studies, Native Studies, Cultural Studies, and Writing at the University of Wyoming, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Central New Mexico Community College, and the University of New Mexico, where I earned a Ph.D. in American Studies. I received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at SDSU in 2008. Clips and more can be found here: matthewjirwin.com.