Chiyuma (Chi) Elliott, professor in the English department, was drawn to CWRU for many reasons, including the English department’s long-running colloquium that brings impressive speakers to campus. Originally from California, Elliott’s favorite authors, C.S. Giscombe and Charles Chesnutt, are from Akron and Cleveland. On her first visit to campus, she got to see original Chesnutt materials in Special Collections at Kelvin Smith Library. 

But, it was the existing undergraduates that sealed the deal for her. When Elliott met the aspiring doctors, scientists and lawyers passionate about creative writing, translation and so much else, she knew CWRU was the place for her.

Now at Case Western Reserve, Elliott is excited to join such a strong creative writing faculty and to teach a new iteration of a podcasting class she piloted last year. 

“My new colleagues are kind, creative and entrepreneurial,” Elliott said. “I can’t wait to see what we dream up together!” 

Over the years, Elliott has built an impressive lineup of fellowships from institutions such as the American Philosophical Society, Cave Canem and the Stegner program at Stanford University. She is currently the co-primary investigator of the African American Intellectual Traditions Initiative, and co-host of the podcast Old-School, which celebrates the intersections of African American studies and the classics.

With scholarly work that focuses on poetry and the Harlem Renaissance, Elliott is the author of The Rural Harlem Renaissance, forthcoming from Oxford University Press. In addition, she is the author of Blue in Green, the latest of her four books of poetry. The Rural Harlem Renaissance is the work Elliott takes most pride in as it took over a decade to research and write.

Outside of the classroom, Elliott is an avid gardener who loves writing poems about visual art. You will definitely find her at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and the Cleveland Botanical Garden. 

She schedules class trips to CMA, thanks to Dr. Kristen Windmuller-Luna’s willingness to share her knowledge about Harlem Renaissance-era African Art donations from local African American artists and art supporters.