Contact
Research Areas
Arts and Public Policy; Poetry; Mixed Media Installation; Occupational Segregation; Medical Humanities
Education
M.F.A., Warren Wilson College
B.A., University of Michigan
Links
Susan Eisenberg
Susan Eisenberg
A poet, multidisciplinary artist, activist and educator, Susan Eisenberg re-imagines the everyday, playing with scale and juxtaposition to investigate issues of power and social policy. She has two touring art exhibitions, “On Equal Terms” and “Perpetual Care.” She’s the author of the poetry collections, Blind Spot and Pioneering, and the nonfiction, We’ll Call You If We Need You: Experiences of Women Working Construction, a New York Times Notable Book. She has recently completed a poetry manuscript, Perpetual Care.
Susan entered the construction industry in 1978, becoming one of the first women in the country to achieve journey-level status as a union electrician. She helped shape the cultural expression and analytical thinking of the tradeswomen’s movement nationally and internationally. Currently, she directs the On Equal Terms Project, that links touring the mixed-media installation, On Equal Terms, with programs that expand career opportunities for women and advance initiatives toward economic justice.
Her work has been awarded grants from Mass Humanities, Tyre, Tavris and Puffin Foundations, and two writing fellowship at Hedgebrook. Susan taught creative writing for more than a decade at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and works with students of all ages to develop tools for self-expression.
Current Projects
Susan’s research and art focus on employment equity and patient-centered medical care. She directs the On Equal Terms Project, using art and personal testimonies for public education, discussion, and action about occupational segregation. Through workshops, poetry and art installation she encourages a more open conversation about the chronic illness experience. She will be writing a series of narrative essays.
Representative Publications
Eisenberg, Susan. “On Equal Terms: Women in Construction 30 Years and Still Organizing”. A touring mixed-media installation: Kniznick Gallery, Brandeis University (2008); Adams Gallery, Suffolk University (2009); Michigan State University (2012); Main Gallery, Michigan State University Museum of Art (2012).
Eisenberg, Susan. Blind Spot. Omaha: Backwaters Press, 2006.