Frances Cannon
Visual Arts and English Instructor - Appointed 2020
Graduate Degree
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Iowa Nonfiction Program
Undergraduate Degree
- B.A. in English and Art, University of Vermont
Activities in College
- Editor of Vantage Point – A Literary Magazine
- Food writer for Seven Days Newspaper
- Member of performance art groups “Ooh-la-la, C’est Cher,” and “The Unbearable Lightness Brigade,” and builder of puppets and props.
- Biking, Hiking, Backpacking
- Poet and printmaker for the Barn Owl Poetry Newsletter
Inspirational Quote
“The work of art in and of itself, and then also the work of making art, is a source of value that often seems to me infinite. I think art’s role is to make us uncomfortable in certain ways, to make us dwell in the discomfort of knowing that our moral vocabulary or our tools for moral thinking are inadequate in certain situations. I think that’s one way art helps us live.” -Garth Greenwell
Hobbies and Interests
Drawing, painting, reading, biking, swimming in ponds and rivers, hiking, cooking, walking my dog Tintin.
Brief Biography
I am a writer, artist, and teacher, and I’m currently juggling teaching jobs: visual art here at VCS, as well as creative writing and literature courses at Champlain College and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I have an MFA in creative writing from Iowa and a BA in poetry and printmaking from the University of Vermont. I have a few books out in the world, including: Walter Benjamin: Reimagined, MIT Press, The Highs and Lows of Shapeshift Ma and Big-Little Frank, Gold Wake Press, Tropicalia, and Uranian Fruit, Honeybee Press. I’m also a juggler of places—I’ve moved more times than I can count, and have lived in Utah, Oregon, Vermont, California, Maine, Iowa, Italy, Guatemala, France, and Mexico, making art and writing books. I’m ready to settle for good here in Burlington with my little dog Tintin.