Eli Arhelger

My writing and editing passion began when I was young, and as a teenager and college student my career goal was to be a book editor. I long believed this goal was out of reach, but I found I just can’t help myself: when something needs editing, there I am. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the best, leading me to where I am today.

• I find joy in editing doctoral dissertations because it balances the creative skill of fine-tuning a written work with the technical skill of copy-editing, while giving me the chance to work closely with a writer to ensure their voice is put on its best display.

• In 2023, I participated in the St. Paul Almanac’s Community Editing Apprenticeship Program, assisting in publishing their first online Magazine.

• In 2021, I graduated with my master’s in Educational Leadership from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

• In my roles in higher education, I have crafted and edited departmental, divisional, and college-wide communications for a variety of audiences.

• From 2018-2022 I co-hosted the podcast Lavender Lit Club with my best friend, where we read and discussed queer literature.

• In 2015 I had an internship at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC where I liaised with Congressional offices and wrote posts for social media accounts.

• My honors capstone project was an anthology, called Turn Left at Nowhere, of 80 poems from a span of 100 years about the city and area of Morris, Minnesota.

• While earning my English degree, I led the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society, Floating World poetry club, was published in the Floating World student literary magazine, and was head copy editor of the student newspaper.

• “Butterfly, butterfly, in the sky. What do you see up in the sky?” –The first poem I remember writing. Thankfully, no sign of it exists anymore, but in my childhood I was constantly reading, creating, writing, typing, and crafting with words. I wrote, drew, and published my own newspaper and themed magazine for many years.