Students and faculty find their writing niche:
Writers talk of inspiration, hard work

By Derek Garcia
Staff Writer

"One of the striking things about Wes students is, no matter what other interests they might have, a number of them also have an interest in writing. It’s real common to bump into an economics or physics major that still has an interest in writing. It’s not a freak situation at all."

Anne Greene, adjunct professor of English and director of the Wesleyan Writers’ Conference

"Writers are respected here. [Wesleyan] is a good place because there’s traditionally a contact with the real world, which is good for writers."

Phyllis Rose, professor of English and specialist in fiction, family biography, and book reviews

"Writing is my life... one has an inclination to express oneself through writing, just like sports or music or anything else."

Richard Slotkin,
Olin Professor of English

"I end up exploring things that are disturbing. A lot of times I write and it makes me so emotional that I can barely spit it out on the page. I get to understand my world, and I find peace in that even if the reality is not totally positive. Somewhere in what I’m writing I’m able to discover something."

Danielle Heard ’02, a member of the advanced fiction writing workshop class

"Writing is the way that I express my deepest thoughts and feelings about life, relationships, spirituality, and community."

Gwendolyn Parker, visiting writer in English

"I write because I’m a lousy speaker... I write because I have total control over how it comes out. I can revise and revise until it’s accurate and it comes out right. Most writers simply feel more comfortable when they write."

Rose

"Writing is central, and what I want to teach people to do is to say clearly and forcefully what they think. What they think, and not what they think the teacher wants them to think... I really believe in literature as a way of finding out about life...I want people to have a sense of narrative voice, scene construction, point of view, and what good dialogue is."

Rose

"One of the goals I have is to make it possible for all students who are interested in writing to graduate with a sense that they are beginning to be critical of their own work."

Greene

"My main goal is to encourage young writers, either people who might become a writer as a career, or just to help people get more enjoyment out of their writing – to give students a role model."

Parker

"Writing is about self revelation, exploration, and creative output."

Elliott Brown ’03, a member of the advanced fiction writing workshop.

"[My English] class is a good environment because everybody is very serious and sensitive to each other’s work."

Heard

"The best thing in the world you can have is honest criticism...Writing is a chance to get all the clutter in your head out into the world, without expecting the world to take it too seriously. I look at stories I read now as extending beyond fiction. It’s something out of nothing, and it’s all there for a reason."

Sam Morley ’01