Writing in Practice: The Craft of Academy English Teachers

Faculty scholars in the English Department shared their work outside of teaching in the classroom, ranging from poetry collections to novels, course policies to critical essays.

Alex Myers

English Instructor Alex Myers has published three novels—Revolutionary, Continental Divide and The Story of Silence—and is currently working on a fourth projected to arrive this fall. His newest nonfiction book, Supporting Transgender Students: Understanding Gender Identity and Reshaping School Culture, comes out on June 1, 2021. In addition, Myers has written numerous essays and opinion pieces on gender identity.

“I enjoy the long form of novels, really exploring character and place and idea. I favor historical settings though my two most recent have been fantasy (as well as historical, kind of),” he said. “I write because I find it both fun and satisfying – it makes my mind feel good.”

Todd Hearon

English Instructor Todd Hearon is the author of three poetry collections: Strange Land, No Other Gods and Crows in Eden. He has also published a novella entitled Do Geese See God, as well as a number of plays and essays. 

Hearon particularly enjoys singing and songwriting. “This spring while on sabbatical, I’ll be working on an album of original songs, tentatively titled Where the Well Don’t Run Dry,” he said.

When asked why he pursues writing, Hearon answered, “I’ve never really asked myself why... I guess one answer would be that I enjoy putting things together, experience and imagination, in interesting, compelling and (hopefully) durable ways.”

Chelsea Woodard

English Instructor Chelsea Woodard has published two poetry collections—Vellum in 2014 and Solitary Bee in 2016. 

In the past year, she completed a manuscript of poems, called At the Lepidopterist’s House, which was inspired by her visit to Nabokov’s house and museum in St. Petersburg. Woodard said, “the piece explores various types of collectors and subjects from the natural world.”

“I’m working on a new project now, just going poem by poem. I’m also working on a group of essays about my father,” Woodard said.

When asked why she writes, Woodard responded, “I write to think more clearly about things I see, experience, or struggle to understand.” She continued, “I write, too, to record what is amazing or resists language––when contrary truths exist at the same time, or when something occurs in the human or natural world that is too great for words––the ineffable.”

Woodard remarked. “Writing provides me a means of looking more closely at others, the world, and myself. It also provides a rich imaginative outlet for which I am grateful.”

Rebecca Moore

English Instructor Rebecca Moore bases her writing around being a teacher and educator. “I write course work, policy and pieces about educational pedagogy as a member of the English department,” Moore said. “It communicates my experience and thoughts.” 

Moore noted that writing is a great way to understand herself and others. “[Writing is] a means to express myself so that I may engage with others and they with me; clarity for ideas —‘how do I know what I think until I see what I say?’” she said.

Courtney Marshall

English Instructor Courtney Marshall uses writing as a tool to confront injustices of society. “I am a Black feminist critic, and I’ve spent 20 years thinking and writing about Black women’s literature,” Marshall said. “I used to write a lot on the prison system and cultural representations of prisons.”

Marshall is currently working on two projects. “The first is an exercise journal filled with inspirational quotes and photos. I’m writing this because it’s a book I want to have exist for myself. I’m also writing a series of critical essays on Black women, fatness, and fitness,” Marshall said.  

Marshall's favorite piece is an essay about the TV show, The Wire. “I wrote about the show’s female characters, and while I would probably write something very different today, those essays show how I’m always looking for the roles that Black women play in the media even when they aren’t the main characters,” she said. 

“Writing is the way I find out what I think about a topic. It’s how I connect to other people who have thought about similar things,” Marshall said. “I also write with the knowledge that for so long it was illegal for Black people to learn how to read and write. My literacy is miraculous to me. I don’t take it for granted.”