Jay Ritchie

Jay Ritchie is a poet, critic, and teacher.

I earned my PhD in Literature from McGill University, where I examined how text and other art forms intersect in contemporary poetic practices. My dissertation develops the terms critical intermedia and socially engaged poetics to describe poetry that seeks to influence the relationships between author, art, and audience in pursuit of social change. This research was funded by a SSHRC CGS Doctoral Scholarship, a Wolfe Fellowship in Scientific and Technological Literacy, and other awards.

My most recent book is the poetry collection Listening in Many Publics (Invisible Publishing, 2024), a finalist for the 2024 A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry. I have also published the poetry collection Cheer Up, Jay Ritchie (Coach House Books, 2017). I hold an MFA in Poetry from UMass Amherst, where I won several awards, including the Daniel and Merrily Glosband MFA Fellowship in Poetry.

From 2015-2017 I was the Assistant Editor for Metatron Press. From 2021-2022 I was the Managing Editor for Vallum magazine, as well as Manager for the outreach program of the Vallum Society for Education in Arts and Letters.

I have taught courses in English, Composition and Rhetoric, and Creative Writing at McGill University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Bishop’s University, Vanier College, and in a community context for various organizations. I currently teach at Université Laval.