Between the Lines Issue 1
- 1. November 2011 Volume 1,Issue 1 Between the Lines Upcoming Events: • Novelist Joe Samuel Starnes is coming to Rowan Barnes and Noble November 10 at 6:30. • Rowan Writers & Poets Club meetings: November 11 November 18 December 1 December 9 December 16 • Email Heather Mallette, Rowan Writers & Poets club president, for details ruwriters@gmail.com Individual Highlights: Faculty Spotlight 1-2 Student Spotlight2-3 Poet’s Corner 3-4 Rowan University Writing Arts Department/ (856) 256-4345 Last year, Lisa Jahn-Clough joined the Writing Arts faculty as a full-time temporary professor teaching both undergraduate and graduate creative writing courses. “I just moved here literally like two days ago and now I’m here,” I remember her mentioning during her introduction for Fiction Workshop, the first of two graduate classes I would take with her. Over the course of the year, I grew to know Professor Jahn-Clough, not only as a professor, but as a fellow writer. This brief introduction is a chance for the rest of the Writing Arts department to do the same. Professor Jahn-Clough attended Hampshire College in Amhurst, Massachusetts. “It was a very unconventional school,” she explained. “There were no grades and I got to design my own major.” She wanted to focus on art, theater, and writing, and although she loved both art and theater, she ultimately decided to pursue writing. After completing a novel for her senior thesis and graduating, Professor Jahn- Clough took some time off to try to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. “It was really a dark time for me. My father died, I wasn’t really working, and I spent most of my time drawing, writing, and reading in the library,” she said. Faculty Spotlight: Writing with Lisa Jahn-Clough It was during this dark time that Professor Jahn-Clough discovered children’s books. “I didn’t really know about writing for children until that time between college and grad school,” she explained. “I remember not having enough money to buy my friend a birthday present, so I made her this little book—a glorified card really—and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.” Professor Jahn-Clough attended Emerson College for her MFA in Writing, and it was her mentor, Jack Gantos, who encouraged her to keep making her books. She explained, “A lot of my peers sort of looked down on my wanting to write for children, but he took me and writing for children seriously. I ended up writing a young adult novel for my thesis.” Encouraged by Gantos, Professor Jahn-Clough sent one of the books she created to Houghton Mifflin, which they accepted. By the time graduation rolled around, Professor Jahn-Clough not only had her MFA, but she also had her first book, Alicia Has a Bad Day, published. “Grad school enabled me to immerse myself in writing and that’s exactly what I wanted to be able to do,” she said.
- 2. Writing Arts “I’m notthe type of writer who has to write every day. I’m more of a binge writer.” Lisa Jahn-Clough After graduating, Professor Jahn-Clough accepted an open teaching position at Emerson. “I sort of fell into the position. But teaching and writing work well for me,” she explained. “It gives me the energy to keep writing.” Professor Jahn- Clough has been fortunate enough to have been teaching and publishing ever since. On the subject of her writing, I asked Professor Jahn-Clough to talk more about her writing career and her writing life. “I’m not the type of writer who has to write every day. I’m more of a binge writer. I need to fester, contemplate, exercise, and do things totally unrelated in order to process and pick my next project,” she said. One of Professor Jahn-Clough’s greatest pieces of advice is to not take writing too seriously and to do activities completely unrelated to writing. “Art helps to keep my creativity going, but it’s something that I’m not totally vested in so I don’t take it too seriously,” she said. Professor Jahn-Clough’s career, however, is something to be seriously proud of. “I just turned in a book last week,” she said when I interviewed her a couple of weeks ago. “It’s something Faculty Spotlight Continued Think you’re busy this semester? Kimberly Erskine is a master multi- tasker. The 21-year-old dual English and Writing Arts major with a concentration in Creative Writing is already dipping into professional world. With only a year left before she graduates, Erskine is franchise manager for BookRenter.com, a position she acquired after applying for an internship with the company on www.internship.com. The top 20 applicants for the internship were posted on Facebook and the 2 interns chosen were determined by Student Spotlight: Master Multi-Tasker Page 2 of 4 completely different than anything I’ve written.” Jahn-Clough mentioned that all of her previous books have had a deep personal connection to her life with many autobiographical facets embedded throughout the stories. “This book, Blue, is not all that connected to me, which kind of makes it more exciting. I wrote it because my main character was interesting to me. I wanted to know her,” she said. Rowan students at all levels benefit from Professor Jahn-Clough’s experience and passion for writing. She teaches a mixture of both undergraduate and graduate students. “Undergrads can be more playful and willing to try new things. Grads are usually older and come from different experiences, so with those classes it’s less professing and more discussing,” she explained. Jahn-Clough loves teaching creative writing classes and is looking forward to teaching a wide variety of classes in the future. “Most students are interested in creative writing,” she said, “and I love teaching anyone who’s interested.” Written by Julianna Lopez. Feel free to email me with questions and comments lopezj@rowan.edu. popular vote. She lost the internship, but gained the position of franchise manager. Erskine chuckled and said, “It’s been a long journey to get here, but the experience I’ve gained has been worth it.” Her daily responsibilities, now that textbook buying season has passed, include trying to implement BookRenter.com’s first buy back system, which will hopefully be fully functional by the end of November or early December. In her spare time, which she has little of, Erskine enjoys writing, reading, and
- 3. The Poet’s Cornerhighlights the work and success of Rowan’s student poets. I recently had a chance to sit down with MA students Samantha Brown and Rebecca Force, both recipients of Honorable Mention in the 2010 Denise Gess Literary Awards. I asked them about their award-winning poems, their writing processes, and their advice for fellow writers. Samantha Brown, a 4+1 student in her final year of the graduate program, received Honorable Mention for the 2010 Denise Gess Literary Award for Writing ArtsPage 3 of 4 anything to do with social media. Erskine has taken her love of social media and put it to use working with Web Services director Jennifer Bell and assistant director Frank Troiani as a social media coordinator for Rowan. “Working as a social media coordinator is really a lot of fun,” said Erskine. “I update the University’s Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare and post events happening on campus. I love being able to interact with all of the students and potential students and to give them more information about Rowan,” said Erskine. Erskine has also worked with Rowan Student Care, a club on campus dedicated to educating students about issues like drinking and suicide awareness. She is looking forward to getting involved with the group again, noting “I haven’t done it much this year because of conflicting schedules, but I’m hoping to get back into it soon.” In addition to her already full plate, Erskine is trying to meet the requirements to become a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Honor Society. She’s also trying to decide whether or not she wants to continue her education or begin looking for a job. Erskine explained, “I’m looking for a program that is creative Student Spotlight Continued Poet’s Corner: “Try everything. Even if you’re not sure it’ll be a good fit for you, you might be surprised. I was.” Kimberly Erskine writing and publishing both, but I’m trying to decide if I can afford to go.” Erskine’s aspirations for the future: she would love to work for “Entertainment Weekly.” “I love Hollywood, celebrities, and entertainment,” said Erskine, “and with feature writing you have more freedom with the stories you write.” Her greatest hope is to become a successful writer, and to become successful Erskine insists marketing is essential. She noted, “Marketing is very important. You have to be able to sell your stories and put yourself out there. You can’t just write anymore. Publishers expect you to be able to write, market, and be a social media expert.” When asked what advice she would give fellow students looking for jobs, Erskine said “Look for opportunities online. There are tons of internships available, most of them don’t pay, but the experience you’ll gain is what really matters. And try everything. Even if you’re not sure it’ll be a good fit for you, you might be surprised. I was.” Written by Julianna Lopez. Feel free to email me with questions or comments lopezj@rowan.edu. her poem entitled “Phase II.” The poem depicted Brown’s emotions upon seeing her 11-year-old cousin, Alexa Brown, just before she passed away. Alexa suffered from medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Rebecca Force, a Writing Center tutor who will be graduating from Rowan with her MA in May, also received Honorable Mention for the 2010 Denise Gess Literary Award for her poem, “Is It Better?”. The poem, which Force was able to read aloud during the award ceremony, explores her emotions while
- 4. at her sister,Ann’s, bedside soon before she passed away from an unknown cause. JL: When did you start writing poetry? SB: I was around 11 or 12-years-old when I wrote my first “real” poem. It was just a combination of words that I thought sounded good together. RF: I was 12-years-old when I wrote “Never Say Never.” I remember feeling so excited and thrilled about finding this whole new part of myself. JL: What inspired you to write these two award-winning poems? SB: My cousin was 11-years-old when she died from cancer. We were never really close because she lived so far away, but I saw her right before she died. I don’t know if that was my inspiration for writing, but I felt compelled to write about that experience. RF: This poem was actually a speech I had written for Dr. Hausman’s Nonfiction class. It wasn’t until I was finished with the assignment that I realized that it looked more like a poem to me. JL: How many drafts did you write before you decided it was finished? SB: I went through three drafts with some minor tweaking to the last draft. RF: To me, no poem is ever finished, nothing I write is ever complete. I obsess over the words, sometimes taking hours just to find Poet’s Corner Continued Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028 PHONE: (856) 256-4345 E-MAIL: lopezj@rowan.edu TWITTER: @RUMAWRiters FACEBOOK: Rowan University’s Master of Arts in Writing We’re on the Web! See us at: rowan.edu/writingarts ROWAN UNIVERSITY 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028 COMPANY NAME STREET ADDRESS CITY, STATE 00000 one right word. I don’t remember exactly how many drafts, but I’m sure there were a few. JL: How did you feel about submitting such a personal poem for the contest and about receiving Honorable Mention? SB: Submitting was sort of difficult because the poem was really personal. I mean, all writing is personal, but this was something really private. I was excited about receiving Honorable Mention though. When I received the email I was really, really happy. RF: Writing about something painful is easy. It helps me move past the pain. It’s a cathartic experience. I can release all of the pain and emotion and put it all in the poem. I wasn’t nervous about submitting, but I was nervous about the reading because it was something I had never done before. It was exhilarating. I was very excited about receiving Honorable Mention. I’ve been here since 2006, so I kind of wanted my writing to be recognized before I finally graduate. JL: Any advice you would give fellow writers? SB: I write my poems, get all of the words out, and then walk away. Because after I finish writing, I always feel like whatever I’ve written is great and there is no way I could make it any better, but when I reread it I always find things I can change. RF: Revise, revise, revise. I find that writers tend to get too attached to their first or second drafts. You have to be able to let go of certain parts, even the parts you may like the best. Your work can always be better.