Scholars of Sturges: TaTyana Payne (’21) on The Writing Life

I’ve always had an interesting relationship with writing. I often have periods of loving it so much that I can’t stop writing and then other periods of not liking it at all. The difficulty lies in what I like to write. Usually, when I come up with a story idea, I think of the exciting event that kicks off the story or that ends it.

Scholars of Sturges: Faith Wogan (’20) on The Writing Life

When it comes to writing I have always done things differently than what teachers say to do–start with characters, plot, theme, et cetera. I don’t always think before I start writing. Once I’ve got the beginning, I go until I find the middle and the end. My mind flows so fast and I get lost in my own world it’s like when I get absorbed in TV.

Abby Dockter (’12): How to Keep Writing After You Graduate

I don’t want to dwell on how terrified I was when I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2012, but I had a lot of fears. And I don’t want to parse out which ones were irrational, but I was really, really afraid that I would stop writing.

Leaving the environment where writing is due and workshops full of people read my work regularly, it was hard to imagine other writing communities.

Reports from Abroad: Rebecca Gerrish (’19)

Who are you and where did you study abroad?

My name is Rebecca Gerrish (’19) and I’m an English major. I studied in Cork, Ireland, at the University College Cork through an Arcadia University program.

Why did you want to study abroad and how did you decide on a program?

The main thing that interested me about studying abroad was the opportunity to immerse myself in a culture that I was completely unfamiliar with.

Reports from the Field: Michael Barr (’18)

On his first semester of grad school: Last spring, Dr. Allison mentioned to me that the highs of graduate school are higher and, inevitably, the same can only be true of the lows. For my first semester in the English Department at SUNY Buffalo, I could not have agreed more. Life after undergrad has used angst to prove the law of conservation of mass which may very well follow from the ending of OWU, the beginning of grad school, and the short months between them, but the feeling after the first semester is like wanting to get back onto a roller coaster I had been needlessly screaming on, and realizing afterwards that I had actually been laughing.…