Denise Du Vernay

Denise Du Vernay (aka "Du") was born and raised in Minnesota. She earned her B.A. from the University of South Dakota with an English major and a minor in Earth science and her master's in literature from Florida State University. At Florida State, Denise met her best friend Karma Waltonen where they discovered their shared joys of literature, teaching, sushi, cats, and Simpsonology, the latter they've put together in their books "The Simpsons in the Classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield" (2010) and "The Simpsons' Beloved Springfield: Essays on the TV Series and Town That Are Part of Us All" (2019). Follow them on Facebook and Twitter @Simpsonology. In her free time, Denise watches television; visits breweries; reads; and writes about Margaret Atwood, film, television, social media, and linguistics. She has contributed to three anthologies: "SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy" (2011), "Breaking Bad and Philosophy" (2012), and "Homer Simpson Ponders Politics: Popular Culture as Political Theory" (2013). Denise has been an officer with the Margaret Atwood Society since 2007; she is currently the society's treasurer, website manager, and social media manager. Denise works at Loyola University Chicago and lives on Chicago's north side with her husband, who is allergic to dogs and cats.