Introduction
Joanna Brooks (born September 29, 1971) is an American author and professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University. She is a frequent media commentator on faith in American life, particularly in relation to her own Mormonism. Politico named her one of 2011's "50 politicos to watch" for her Twitter feed @askmormongirl.
Mormonism
Brooks writes extensively about Mormonism and Mormon feminism and is often quoted in the media related to issues regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The Huffington Post writes, "Brooks specializes in explaining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to non-Mormons, and in presenting a different way to be Mormon to those steeped in its orthodoxy." She wrote a question-and-answer blog from 2010-14 called "Ask Mormon Girl" with the tagline "unorthodox answers from an imperfect source". She also wrote as a senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches from 2011–14, frequently addressing Mormon issues. In early 2012, she self-published a memoir called The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith, which was later picked up by Simon & Schuster and published by them in August 2012. Brooks was noted as one of "13 Religious Women to Watch in 2012".
Brooks sits on the Board of Directors for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Brooks is described as a feminist and liberal Mormon, in contrast to the predominantly conservative culture of Mormonism.
Personal life
Brooks is married to David Kamper and has two daughters. She holds a degree from Brigham Young University and a PhD from UCLA. She is a member of the LDS Church.
Works
- "Face Zion Forward": First Writers of the Black Atlantic, 1785-1798 (Editor, with John Saillant). Northeastern, 2002. ISBN 978-1-55553-539-1
- American Lazarus: Religion and the Rise of African-American and Native American Literatures (Author). Oxford, 2003. ISBN 978-0-19-533291-9. Winner of the Modern Language Association William Sanders Scarborough Award.
- The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century America (Editor). Oxford, 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-517083-2
- Transatlantic Feminisms in the Age of Revolutions (Editor, with Lisa L. Moore and Caroline Wigginton). Oxford, 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-974349-0
- The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith (Author). Free Press, 2012. ISBN 978-1-451-69968-5. Winner of the Association for Mormon Letters memoir award.
- Why We Left: Untold Stories and Songs of America's First Immigrants (Author). Minnesota, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8166-8125-9
- Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings (Co-Editor). Oxford, 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-024803-1