About
To reiterate from my introduction on my homepage, my name is Derrick Paulson and I am an author, editor, and teacher of communication arts and literature. Below is a brief personal bio as well as a few links.
In 2002, after graduating from Brainerd Senior High School in Brainerd, Minnesota, I attended Central Lakes College, where I received my Associate in Arts degree in 2005. In the Spring of 2006 I transferred to Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) where I received my Bachelor of Arts in English and my Certificate in Publishing in 2008, and my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2011. After that I moved to Little Falls, Minnesota, where my girlfriend, Krista, and I got married and began our family. Though I had expressed repeatedly my desire to have girls, the Lord blessed us instead with two amazing boys: Micah and Caleb. Micah was born in 2012; and, in the Spring of 2014, partway through my first semester at St.Cloud State University (SCSU), where I later received my Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts and Literature, Caleb was born.
During my time at MSUM, in addition to writing and cartooning for the student newspaper, The Advocate, I created a chapbook of my poetry for a select few relatives and friends in lieu of more expensive Christmas presents. After my first published poem received an undergrad honorable mention in MSUM's Red Weather Journal in 2008, not to mention some very reassuring commentary by the guest poetry judge, I began submitting poetry and prose online frequently, utilizing such databases as Duotrope and Poets & Writers. My poems and short prose have since appeared multiple times online and in print, including on the Metro Area Transit of Fargo/Moorhead via the North Dakota State University “Poetry on Wheels” campaign.
My Master's thesis, a collection of poetry entitled "Kissing the Earth," was, I admit, heavily influenced by such poets as Robert Frost, Minnesota's own Louis Jenkins, and James Tate to name a few. For a great listening experience I highly recommend James Tate's archived audio file on the Key West Literary Seminar website. For an exhaustive list of my own poetry, click on my "Publications" link at the top of this page.
In the summer of 2013, after one of my poems was accepted online at Annapurna Magazine, I stumbled into a freelance editing gig through the independent publisher, Red Dashboard, which also oversees Z-Composition Magazine and cowboypoetrypress. Since then I have edited numerous flash fiction shorts, dime novels, full length novels and poetry anthologies for all four sites. I even had the chance to collaboratively write a Renga chain with two other fellow poets (one of which is none other than my chief editor) which was published in 2014. Red Dashboard continues to be a good outlet for me to hone my skills and I am glad to be a part of a growing company that is churning out awards and poet laureates left and right.
In addition to editing, I also became an active volunteer, spending a few hours weekly at the Little Falls branch of the Great River Regional Library chain in the summer of 2014. That year, in addition to helping with pull lists and other housekeeping duties, I led both a poetry camp for children and a teen/adult writer's workshop.
Volunteering again in the summer of 2015, I was placed in charge of "Battle of the Books," a summer reading program sponsored by the library (see the gallery at the bottom). I created and led these events both as a way to interact more directly with my community and as a precursor to my student teaching in the fall of 2015. As luck would have it, not to mention a little hard work and networking, I ended up gaining a part-time position at the library as a library assistant this past fall just as I was beginning my student-teaching.
In addition, my first book, Hot Potato, was recently published in 2016 and is available for purchase through Red Dashboard directly as well as through Amazon! (Click a link. Buy a copy. You know you want to...)
As someone who takes a constructivist view of learning, I believe that every experience has the potential to make future learning that much easier. Activities like playing trivia or strategy boardgames with friends, attending improv, comedy, and play performances, and even attending the Minnesota Renaissance Festival (in full regalia) have all contributed to the man I am today and will no doubt contribute to the teacher I am becoming. That said, some resources, such as those found on the National Education Foundation website, or even those from the cutpurse that is Pearson have all had incredible impact on my development and understanding of what it really means to be a teacher. A teacher is not simply someone who knows the content, but someone who can adapt it to be what each student needs, and someone who will continue to try, again and again if needed, until something sticks.
In 2002, after graduating from Brainerd Senior High School in Brainerd, Minnesota, I attended Central Lakes College, where I received my Associate in Arts degree in 2005. In the Spring of 2006 I transferred to Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) where I received my Bachelor of Arts in English and my Certificate in Publishing in 2008, and my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2011. After that I moved to Little Falls, Minnesota, where my girlfriend, Krista, and I got married and began our family. Though I had expressed repeatedly my desire to have girls, the Lord blessed us instead with two amazing boys: Micah and Caleb. Micah was born in 2012; and, in the Spring of 2014, partway through my first semester at St.Cloud State University (SCSU), where I later received my Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts and Literature, Caleb was born.
During my time at MSUM, in addition to writing and cartooning for the student newspaper, The Advocate, I created a chapbook of my poetry for a select few relatives and friends in lieu of more expensive Christmas presents. After my first published poem received an undergrad honorable mention in MSUM's Red Weather Journal in 2008, not to mention some very reassuring commentary by the guest poetry judge, I began submitting poetry and prose online frequently, utilizing such databases as Duotrope and Poets & Writers. My poems and short prose have since appeared multiple times online and in print, including on the Metro Area Transit of Fargo/Moorhead via the North Dakota State University “Poetry on Wheels” campaign.
My Master's thesis, a collection of poetry entitled "Kissing the Earth," was, I admit, heavily influenced by such poets as Robert Frost, Minnesota's own Louis Jenkins, and James Tate to name a few. For a great listening experience I highly recommend James Tate's archived audio file on the Key West Literary Seminar website. For an exhaustive list of my own poetry, click on my "Publications" link at the top of this page.
In the summer of 2013, after one of my poems was accepted online at Annapurna Magazine, I stumbled into a freelance editing gig through the independent publisher, Red Dashboard, which also oversees Z-Composition Magazine and cowboypoetrypress. Since then I have edited numerous flash fiction shorts, dime novels, full length novels and poetry anthologies for all four sites. I even had the chance to collaboratively write a Renga chain with two other fellow poets (one of which is none other than my chief editor) which was published in 2014. Red Dashboard continues to be a good outlet for me to hone my skills and I am glad to be a part of a growing company that is churning out awards and poet laureates left and right.
In addition to editing, I also became an active volunteer, spending a few hours weekly at the Little Falls branch of the Great River Regional Library chain in the summer of 2014. That year, in addition to helping with pull lists and other housekeeping duties, I led both a poetry camp for children and a teen/adult writer's workshop.
Volunteering again in the summer of 2015, I was placed in charge of "Battle of the Books," a summer reading program sponsored by the library (see the gallery at the bottom). I created and led these events both as a way to interact more directly with my community and as a precursor to my student teaching in the fall of 2015. As luck would have it, not to mention a little hard work and networking, I ended up gaining a part-time position at the library as a library assistant this past fall just as I was beginning my student-teaching.
In addition, my first book, Hot Potato, was recently published in 2016 and is available for purchase through Red Dashboard directly as well as through Amazon! (Click a link. Buy a copy. You know you want to...)
As someone who takes a constructivist view of learning, I believe that every experience has the potential to make future learning that much easier. Activities like playing trivia or strategy boardgames with friends, attending improv, comedy, and play performances, and even attending the Minnesota Renaissance Festival (in full regalia) have all contributed to the man I am today and will no doubt contribute to the teacher I am becoming. That said, some resources, such as those found on the National Education Foundation website, or even those from the cutpurse that is Pearson have all had incredible impact on my development and understanding of what it really means to be a teacher. A teacher is not simply someone who knows the content, but someone who can adapt it to be what each student needs, and someone who will continue to try, again and again if needed, until something sticks.
Library Photo Gallery
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his needs, is good for him.
--Maya Angelou
--Maya Angelou