John S. O'Connor has taught English for the past eighteen years in a wide variety of settings and at every level from sixth grade to college, including Penn State University and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He has published in English Journal, Shakespeare, and OAH Magazine of History and has written two books--Wordplaygrounds and This Time It's Personal.
In addition, he has published poems in Rhino, Heron's Nest, and Modern Haiku. John has been a featured speaker at state English Council Conferences, the Harold Washington Library for National Poetry Month, and poetry teacher workshops. His book Wordplaygrounds: Reading, Writing, and Performing Poetry in the English Classroom was published by NCTE in 2004, followed by This Time It's Personal: Teaching Academic Writing through Creative Nonfiction in 2012.