Blake Piel is a DPhil student in English at Oriel College, supervised by Nicholas Gaskill, and a Clarendon Scholar. His dissertation examines how American modernist literature enacts philosophical positions on masculine selfhood, with a focus on Hemingway, Faulkner, and Hart Crane in relation to American philosophical and aesthetic traditions. Originally from Mississippi, he holds a BA from Brown University and an MA from the University of Edinburgh, where his dissertation addressed Hart Crane’s sublime. He also holds a master’s degree in teaching. Before beginning his doctorate, he taught high school English for seven years in Brooklyn, New York.Â
