LYNN ELLIOTT'S BIO

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I was born in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and earned my undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham before pursuing graduate studies in the United States, where I completed both an MA and a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara. An old photograph of my mother, my elder sister, and me taken more than sixty years ago reminds me of how far that journey has taken me. My younger brother, who arrived twelve years after me, and my sister both still live in the United Kingdom.
As a Welsh-born immigrant whose first name is traditionally male in my homeland but often mistaken for female elsewhere, I have long been interested in what it means to live between identities and cultures. This sensibility shapes much of my writing, whether in comic or serious dramatic form, as I often return to stories of individuals who, by choice or by chance, find themselves “strangers in a strange land” sometimes even within the borders of their own country. Like many immigrants, I understand the challenge of navigating an unfamiliar cultural terrain while attempting to reconcile inherited traditions with newly adopted values and perspectives.
I am Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing at California State University, Chico, where I had the privilege of teaching for many years. My academic career, like my creative work, has always been guided by a fascination with how language and story give shape to identity, belonging, and the ongoing negotiation between past and present.
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Even though I’m officially retired, I still find myself in the classroom these days with seniors, and mostly online. I teach what I’ve always loved: the myths, legends, and history of the Celtic peoples, Shakespeare’s life and plays, and the art of writing for film and stage. My teaching career has stretched across Shakespeare, medieval and Restoration drama, Native American and Celtic literature, critical thinking, and the humanities.
Away from teaching, I try to live in ways that keep both body and spirit engaged. I sing tenor in a choir, practice Sinmoo Hapkido (I hold a black belt), and each week I volunteer at a Community Food Locker, helping to serve food and breakfast to those in need. My wife, Dani Elliott, and I live in Chico, California, though I often return to Britain to see my sister and brother.
I’ve always been drawn to the idea that stories give shape and meaning to our lives, perhaps because they allow us to resist the weight of nothingness. One of my favorite reminders of this comes from André Malraux, who wrote:
“The great mystery is not that we should have been thrown down here at random between the profusion of matter and that of the stars; it is that from our very prison we should draw, from our own selves, images powerful enough to deny our own nothingness.”