Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Stempleman.
Hi Jordan , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Kansas City and graduated from Center High School. I earned a BFA in Fiction Writing and Poetry from Columbia College Chicago, and later an MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. After graduate school in 2008, I moved back to KC to teach in the Liberal Arts Department and Creative Writing Program at the Kansas City Art Institute, where I’ve been ever since.
I’m the author of the forthcoming poetry collection Spilt, winner of the 2025 Wishing Jewel Prize from Green Linden Press. I’ve also written nine other collections, including Cover Songs (The Blue Turn), Wallop, and No, Not Today (Magic Helicopter Press). I serve as an editor for The Continental Review, Windfall Room, and Sprung Formal, and from 2011 to 2025, I ran the Common Sense Reading Series in Kansas City.
I became the faculty editor of Sprung Formal, the Kansas City Art Institute’s literary arts journal, in the spring of 2011. The publication is the final outcome of The Literary Magazine course–an elective in which students from all departments at KCAI explore the history of small press publishing and the role of literary magazines, past and present. The course covers the rise of the small magazine, the mimeo revolution, and the zine movement, as well as alternative methods of literary publication, including new media, installation, performance, and sound. Through this process, students learn about little magazines and journals as they edit and produce the upcoming issue of Sprung Formal.
Over the years, I envisioned elevating the journal from a class project to a nationally recognized publication with both print and online editions. To further this vision and foster greater collaboration between departments, I partnered in the spring of 2022 with Adam Lucas (former KCAI Assistant Professor of Graphic Design) to create a joint initiative between the Liberal Arts and Graphic Design Departments. The results have been incredible. My students now focus on editorial responsibilities–including submissions, content selection, proofing, and assisting with the publication’s launch event–while the Graphic Design students handle interior and cover design, layout, website design, photo documentation, and lead the launch event. It’s a significant responsibility that teaches students how to manage a major project, meet strict deadlines, work as a team, and address the endless curveballs that inevitably come our way.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Never smooth. After high school–and before attending Columbia–I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I floundered. I got certified as an EMT before realizing I didn’t have the stomach for it, that I’d much rather pursue writing and literature. After graduating from grad school, I worked as an adjunct for many years before becoming a full-time instructor at KCAI. Like most writers, the publication rejection pile is a steadily growing organism.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a poet, editor, and teacher.
I’m most proud of three things related to those professions. As an editor, and as a curator of a reading series in KC that lasted roughly 15 years, I’m proudest of keeping the door open for other writers–of showcasing their work, building community, and supporting the often thankless, rough path of devoting oneself to writing. I’m proud that I’ve continued to write–that it’s been a steady part of my life for the past 30 years. And I’m proud to call myself an instructor, because I get to discuss writing and literature with deeply curious students all day, watching them develop into professional artists, writers, and kind, civic-minded humans. All of this has given me a ton of meaning in my professional life.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Oh, too many to name, but I’ll try to acknowledge some vitally important people. In undergrad: Paul Hoover, Tony Trigilio, Diane di Prima, and Tom Raworth. During my MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop: Dean Young, Brenda Hillman, Bob Hass, Jim Galvin, Marilynne Robinson—and all my peers in the program, many of whom have become some of my closest friends. My family, my colleagues at KCAI. All the writers I’ve read and continue to read. All of these people have added to what I know my “self” to be. They are as much me as I am.
Pricing:
- Sprung Formal issue 20: $15: https://www.sprungformal.kcai.edu/purchase
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jordanstempleman.com/ | https://www.sprungformal.kcai.edu/ | https://kcai.edu/academics/Majors_Minors/liberal-arts/ | https://www.greenlindenpress.com/
