In March, four Tech alumni returned to a classroom in Henderson Hall for a lesson in creative writing. This time, the former students – now published writers – weren’t after a grade.
They were there to help aspiring writers find their voices.
English graduates Anna Gilbert, ’95, ’11 M.A; Kelly Hanwright, ’14; Alvin Knox, ’96; and Jeff Baker, ’95, answered questions about writing and their careers from students and faculty.
As the discussion flowed back and forth, a student’s question nudged the elephant in the room: how can one make a career out of creative writing?
“Part of the trick of publishing is finding a niche, finding those who are interested in your work,” said Knox. “There are more poetry publications right now than there have ever been, but there are more people submitting to them.”
Knox, of Baxter, worked his way from writing haikus in fourth grade to reading beat poets in high school. He serves as poetry editor for 2nd & Church, a Nashville literary magazine, and teaches English at Middle Tennessee State University.
Hanwright said she remembered traveling as a child to the Houston library with a box to borrow 25 to 50 books at a time and reading poetry at open mic nights when she grew older. She is a substitute teacher for Warren County schools.
Gilbert, of Cookeville, wrote scraps of young adult literature as a girl. She served as creative director and editor for Home & Hill, a print magazine that shared stories, photographs and recipes from Tennessee.
Baker attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop after Tech and published his first collection of poetry, Whoop and Shush, in May. He provides IT and program support for the University of Virginia.
Though they came from different backgrounds and pursued divergent careers, they found a common home at Tech among a community of student writers and professors who supported them.
“The best criticism you can get is the criticism that feels the harshest,” said Hanwright. “The most unrelenting and harsh critic I ever met was Dr. Christianson. He’s also the person I learned the most from.
“When he tells you what’s wrong with the work, that’s the best gift he can give you.”
English professor Kevin Christianson mentored Baker during his formative creative writing years at Tech. They workshopped poems and discussed techniques to improve the young writer’s craft. Christianson retired this summer, but he was on hand to see Baker read his work at the Backdoor Playhouse after the panel.
Knox said his Tech professors made a difference in how he thought about writing.
“My composition teachers – Mary Padgett, Linda Null and Steve Steadman – taught me to control my prose. My literature teachers – Kelly Hood, Shirley Laird and Kurt Eisen – exposed me to a variety of texts and authors. All my professors contributed to a level of thinking that I hadn’t previously experienced.
“It was during those years that I truly began to develop as a writer.”
Knox and the other alumni had an outlet to display their work. Homespun, Tech’s student literary magazine, has a history of ups and downs. It has gone out of print, been revived and found a home online. All four alumni were first published in Homespun.
When Gilbert and Hanwright attended Tech, work on Homespun had ceased. They worked with a team of other students and Christianson to bring it back to life. Through fliers and word of mouth, they gathered submissions and created an online collection.
The most recent copy of Homespun is a 66-page digital document of Tech student poetry and short stories. Many of the pieces have won Tech writing awards. Despite the state Hanwright found Homespun in, she believes the collection’s legacy is long-lasting.
“When I was a Tech student, it seemed like readership was steadily growing,” she said. “It’s a quality publication that means a great deal to the students who get a chance to work on it. It’s ours.”
Most of Homespun’s submissions came from English students, but it is not an exclusive publication. That diverse interest in creative writing extends all over campus.
It is visible at nearly every event in the Backdoor Playhouse, which is usually packed for plays, readings and open mic nights. Baker’s poetry reading was no different, as people from across disciplines mingled and talked about his work when he finished.
Christianson moved between the groups, making sure everyone had been introduced. A mathematics student was paired with an English alumnus. A history faculty member was introduced to a few students in the back. The theater wasn’t packed during Baker’s reading, but for Christianson the number of attendees was not what mattered.
“Events like these are very dear to me,” he said. “For students to come out and see a Tech alum on stage reading the culmination of several years of effort, I hope it inspires others to go out and realize their creative potential.” V