Kathryn Pratt Russell, Ph.D. is among academics who will be presenting papers during Words & Music, 2010. She will be discussing Lord Byron’s fascination with the 19th century wars between the Orthodox Christians and the muslims and the inspiration of these wars on his work. Dr. Russell is an Associate Professor of English at Clayton StateUniversity, where she teaches Romantic Literature and Critical Theory. As a child of military parents, Russell grew up in the Philippines and Britain, as well as in many Southern U.S. states. At the age of 13, she moved to north Louisiana, where she spent her teen years. At 16, she enrolled in a publicly-funded boarding school for gifted and talented students, the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, where a gifted teacher, Dr. Art Williams, introduced her to Byron’s poetry. At LSU, she met her husband, the novelist Josh Russell, author of Yellow Jack (1999) and My Bright Midnight (2010). Josh is also presenting at Words & Music this year. Kathryn earned her Ph.D. in Literature at Vanderbilt University, where she completed a dissertation on melancholia and Romantic culture. Kathryn became interested in the poetry of contemporary war poet Brian Turner after reading an article about him on the NPR website. She has published scholarly articles, poetry, and short fiction in nationally recognized journals including Studies in Romanticism, Black Warrior Review, and Chelsea. Kathryn is pictured here with the Russells’ literary poodle Adiel, named after the faithful seraph in Milton.