Phil West

Bio

Phil West has been a college professor since 2000. He graduated from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas in Austin that year, focusing on poetry and playwriting. He loves teaching — specifically, to help students become better writers, readers, and critical thinkers, to use the rhetorical approach in those aims, to help students find and develop their voices, and to be pragmatic and organized in approaching writing assignments.

He has been writing professionally since his teens, and it's anchored distinct phases of his life: Covering the nascent Seattle music scene for newspapers (starting in college in the late '80s and into the mid-'90s), being part of the poetry slam movement upon arriving in Austin in 1994, running the still-active Puro Slam series in San Antonio from 2001 to 2006 when he lived in San Antonio, doing public relations and content management for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to independent authors and artist. He's currently found all over the internet writing about myriad topics, including soccer. (He has two books out on The Overlook Press covering the beautiful game, one  on the history of MLS, and one on the  U.S. Men's National Team's prospects for future success, he wrote and edited for MLSSoccer.com, the official site for Major League Soccer, and also brought The Striker to fans of some of MLS' and NWSL's most compelling teams. He's currently covering Austin FC for the independently-produced  Verde All Day.)

He lives in Austin with his amazing wife, one of two talented sons (the other has journeyed to Oregon), one magical daughter, and a pair of impertinent but lovable dogs.

For faculty syllabi and current course schedules, please visit Bluebook.