Doug Swift

Doug Swift holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars and an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. He has published poetry and fiction in such publications as the American Poetry Review, PIVOT, the Artful Dodge, West Branch, and many more. He transitioned to documentary film storytelling, created Wild Iris Video, a vehicle to tell local stories to a local audience, and project those stories to larger audiences. Some of his longer documentaries include Up River, about the Newark Think Tank on Poverty, and Breathe Free, about artists in Central Ohio advocating on behalf of refugees in the community. He partnered with journalist Jack Shuler on his current film, ‘Til the Wheels Fall Off, about a semi-pro football team in Portsmouth, Ohio, which serves as a surrogate family in a region ravaged by the opioid crisis. A teacher dedicated to passing on the skills of storytelling, in all its forms, he has taught for over 30 years at Muskingum University, Ohio University Zanesville, and Denison University.