Remembering Bruce Ballenger

"A blank page is room to roam. Silence is a quiet place to sit, without panic, as we listen for the words to come, and they always will if we are patient enough." -Bruce Ballenger

Emeritus Professor Bruce Ballenger, a beloved teacher and mentor, prominent scholar in the field of Rhetoric and Composition, accomplished creative nonfiction writer, co-founder of the MFA in Creative Writing, former director of the First-Year Writing Program and department chair of English, died on July 6 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. In each role, he brought people together, modeled curiosity and learning, and kept students and teaching at the center of the work.

Bruce joined Boise State's English Department in 1995 after earning his Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire, where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist Donald Murray. Before retiring in 2018, he taught courses on creative nonfiction, composition and rhetorical theory, American literature, first-year writing, the radio essay, and more. One of his students won the President's Writing Award nearly every year, and many of his graduate students have become published essayists, earned Ph.D.s and MFAs, and gone on to teach at colleges nationwide.

Bruce authored seven books, including the best-selling textbooks "The Curious Researcher" and "The Curious Writer," used at universities across the country and internationally as far away as Nepal. The Curious series shifted writing pedagogy toward an inquiry-based approach that Bruce described as "open-ended, exploratory, and driven by the desire to discover rather than to prove." Through these books, he shaped how thousands of instructors teach writing. In fact, many of his former students have become teachers. One former student reflected: "As one of his students, he encouraged me to write what I thought and felt, and as a teacher he taught me to invite my students to do the same. His approach and philosophies have molded me into a teacher who loves teaching."

Each day of his life, Bruce lived his inquiry-based pedagogy. Whether he was working on an essay, teaching a seminar, or walking along the Greenbelt with colleagues, he was fully present and always learning. He asked excellent questions and listened closely. Many of his students felt seen as writers for the first time. One student recalled, "I learned to trust myself as a writer. This may very well be the biggest take-away I will receive from my college education." Another still turns to his mentorship when stuck, joking she imagines "a bumper sticker that says 'WWBD?' - What Would Bruce Do?" Bruce's words were always invitations, his voice a gentle guide taking writers into the vulnerable, risk-taking spaces necessary for meaningful writing and research.

A curious writer himself, Bruce embraced vulnerability and risk-taking in his own work. Over 30 years as an essayist, he published in The Sun, River Teeth, Fourth Genre, The Boston Globe and elsewhere; his essay "Return to the Typewriter" was named a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2018. He wrote to discover, following each sentence toward surprise, expecting the unexpected. He continued writing in retirement through a Substack on craft, creative nonfiction and essay writing. Even in his final weeks, Bruce was still dreaming up new ways to support writers.

There will be a celebration of Ballenger's life and career on Thursday, December 3. Please RSVP to receive more information.

To learn more about Ballenger's life and career, his daughter, Becca Ballenger, wrote a beautiful obituary. As she puts it: "He leaves behind an indelible legacy: a dedicated teacher who never stopped learning, a loving friend and devoted husband and father, and a curious, brilliant man who believed everyone had a story worth telling."

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