Turning attention to writing poetry after over forty years of teaching medieval literature and working in higher education administration, Susan K. Hagen began publishing poems in journals such as Haiku Journal, Ephemerae, Cattails, and The Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poetry. Bringing that interest in writing together with her interests in literary gardens of the Middle Ages and horticultural gardens stemming from her work as a Master Gardener, she also launched a blog on gardens and their cultural significance, After Eden (aftereden.blog). The site remains active and led to a speaking schedule on gardens, native plants, and pollinators. Already interested in the writings of the medieval mystics, such as Julian of Norwich, Susan became intrigued with the work of the thirteenth-century Persian poet Rumi during a trip to Turkey in 2014. Soon after, she discovered the work of a next-century Persian poet and mystic, Hafiz. Affinities with these three writers, the English metaphysical poets, and long-lived literary and cultural associations of gardens became the inspiration for Shall We Dance? Susan's academic publications, including Allegorical Remembrance, focus on medieval allegory, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Julian of Norwich. She received her undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College, her master's degree from the University of Maryland, and her doctorate in medieval literature from the University of Virginia. She holds the title Mary Collett Munger Professor Emerita of English at Birmingham-Southern College, a private liberal arts college in Alabama. She lives in Birmingham but spends much time at a small lake house where she gardens and finds motivation for her poetry.
