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November 16, 2023 English Corner Faculty Voices

Dr. Erin Slaughter on the Writing Life

Dr. Erin Slaughter always knew writing would play a huge part in her life; however, she never could have imagined the scope of the role it would eventually have. Dr. Slaughter, originally from north Texas, joined CCU this year as Visiting Assistant Professor of Fiction and Creative Writing. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Western Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in creative writing from Florida State, where she was awarded the Edward H. and Marie C. Kingsbury Fellowship, bestowed annually on the graduate student who completes the best original manuscript. She is managing editor of Autofocus and co-founder of The Hunger, both online literary journals.

Creative writing was not Dr. Slaughter’s original plan, however. She first went to school for neuroscience before discovering her passion for writing, which went hand-in-hand with the solace she found in books. Her writing is inspired by gender and feminist ideals, as she finds herself able to relate to these topics and learn how her own experiences are part of a larger story. Dr. Slaughter said, “every good and meaningful thing in my life has come from writing, one way or another.”

Dr. Slaughter has been shaped immensely by the writing community in which she became immersed through her M.F.A., Ph.D., and teaching. All these experiences guide her down an incredibly important path that allows her to share this part of herself with others and guide them as well. In speaking with Michael Wheaton on the podcast “The Lives of Writers” about her journey through writing, Dr. Slaughter explained how she started her career through “trial and error and taking little bits of information and insight along the way.”

When Dr. Slaughter first became a creative writing major, she quickly realized that if she applied the experiences, discoveries, and knowledge that she found along the way of her creative writing journey, she would eventually find something that stuck. This insight has remained with her and her teachings, as she puts an emphasis on just writing on what you think you know or don’t know, and seeing what story comes out of it.

In Dr. Slaughter’s Intro to Creative Writing classes, she also hopes to leave her students with the idea of sharing personal stories and “not being afraid if something is bad or not, and to just be willing to try.”

Dr. Slaughter has released poems that provide incredible insight into her life, The Sorrow Festival being a prominent example, so she has experienced the fulfillment of sharing personal works, and she knows the value of “being vulnerable and open to yourself, spiritually and emotionally and physically.” However, as she grows into her writing, she also wants to treat herself with more dignity and self-love and hopes to emphasize that through her future work.

Dr. Slaughter has used her skills and experiences to publish numerous works, including short story collection A Manual for How to Love Us (2023); poetry collections The Sorrow Festival (2022)and I Will Tell This Story to the Sun Until You Remember That You Are the Sun (2019); and poetry chapbooks GIRLFIRE (2018) and Elegy for the Body (2017). Dr. Slaughter completed a press tour for her short story collection earlier this year and highlights the story “We Were Wolves” as one of her favorites in the book.

Dr. Slaughter is currently working on her first novel and credits the work she does for it as a “humbling experience in a necessary way.” She is extremely excited for the remainder of this semester and semesters to come.

November 16, 2023 English Corner Faculty Voices

Dr. Jess Hylton’s creative work-in-progress

Digital Writing and English Lecturer Dr. Jess Hylton, who joined CCU last year as writer-in-residence in 2022-23, is currently using her impressive skills to work on a very exciting project. Hylton studied professional writing and literature before graduating at 19. She earned her master’s degree from Radford University and her Ph.D. in poetry from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She wrote her thesis in fiction, and her new project seems to be taking a windy path among different creative writing genres.

Dr. Hylton is using her PhD to create a collection of poetry that is centered around punctuation marks, all while following a romance that eventually dies, titled A Love Story – Punctuated. The uniqueness of this story mixed with Hylton’s creativity and talent make for an exciting proposition of the story to come.

Hylton is currently a Lecturer here at CCU who teaches Composition and Critical Reading and Film, New Media, and Culture, is teaching her students to follow their passion in life, and to not let anyone force them to deny it. Hylton is doing just that with her work-in-progress, and we all look forward to its release.

Congratulations Dr. Hylton!

need title still [JM1]

April 17, 2023 English Corner Student Voices

Outstanding English Student of the Year: Evelyn Scott

When Evelyn Scott arrived at Coastal Carolina’s campus for her first year, she never imagined she would make such an impact in her short time here. This year, as a senior, Evelyn Scott was named the Outstanding English Student of the Year. She feels truly grateful for the recognition.

“I feel honored, I feel proud, I feel grateful; I feel relieved, ultimately.” said Scott. “Just overall, I’m happy and I’m grateful for this opportunity to get this award.”

This honor did not come lightly, however, as she earned this accomplishment through hard work and talent. One of her professors, Dr. Steven Hamelman, provided insight into what kind of student Scott was through her time here.

“As a student, Scott was tremendous, all in, focused, fully prepared, and produced fabulous writing,” said Hamelman. “She had a real alertness, or mindfulness that makes you think ‘Woah, this is special. Where is her paper? I want to read it now. When that paper comes in, it’s going to be good.’”

Scott attributes her success to her ability to find a field that suited her, even when her original plan did not work out.

“At the beginning of my career here at Coastal, I thought, ‘I’m going to be a broadcaster in journalism,’” said Scott. “And then I found out my passion’s not there.” She declared a major in English instead, with a minor in journalism.

“I have a lot of passion for what I do,” said Scott. “I feel like if you don’t have passion in what you’re going to school for, you’re not going to have the energy to put that much into what you want to do. Passion is a big thing to reaching high in your career at Coastal.”

This passion she feels has taken her far, and she hopes to use it as she gets herself right into the field after graduation. Scott plans to get her hands dirty to use her freshly gained experience and work through her passion to see where it might take her.

Scott offered up her advice to future and current CCU students who hope to follow in her footsteps.

“You got to have your intentions there, and if you’re not passionate about it, you’re not going to push yourself. Be yourself in your writing; be yourself in class. It’s the little things also, like getting to know your professors, saying hi or good morning every morning, going to the office hours, talking to them if you see them at an event at Coastal. It’s really the small things I feel like that help you be recognized for your achievements.”

Scott and Hamelman both expressed the importance of having a known voice inside and outside of Moodle. This allows for the teacher to point you out in a crowd and be able to verbally express how much they loved having you in their class.

Scott also recommended that students who are aiming to achieve this honor not overwork themselves.

“It’s important to have a balance in your academic life, but also your personal life,” said Scott. “You need to get to know yourself as a person as well as an academic, and not just do one or the other. I feel like at Coastal it’s very important that you figure out who you are, especially when you’re becoming an adult. So, don’t break your back, take breaks when you need to, and take time for yourself when you need to.”

Scott’s reputation and impact will be remembered for a long time, and the people she met along the way will always recall and respect her amazing accomplishments.

March 22, 2023 English Corner Student Voices, Student Voices

A student-to-scholar transformation

Pictured L-R: Dr. Christian Smith, Dr. Emma Howes, Kelsie Crough, Jennifer Terry, and Peyton Barrett

For many student writers, attending a nationwide conference and presenting original work is one of the first steps to establishing their professional identities. On March 29-April 1, 2023, three students from the English department will, for the first time, attend a Sigma Tau Delta (STD) conference in Denver, Co. to showcase their work.

Sigma Tau Delta is an international English Honors Society that provides spaces for networking and honors graduate and undergraduate research in English studies. The conference invites its chapters and respective advisors from various universities across the globe to share experiences and ideas, be recognized for their achievements, and meet numerous respected authors. Aside from present their own work, students at this conference will celebrate Toni Morrison’s contributions to the English field; attend a lecture with Nicky Beer, writer and poetry professor at the University of Colorado Denver; and explore Brenda Peynado’s short story collection The Rock Eaters. We had a chance to chat with the three students attending, all of whom are also officers in the CCU chapter of Sigma Tau Delta: Jennifer Terry (president), Kelsie Crough (co-vice president), and Peyton Barrett (treasurer). The students discussed both their conference presentations and their expectations.

Terry will present three original poems: “Drifting Too Far,” “Pawn Shop Electric Bills,” and “Adoration of the Ages,” the latter of which has recently been published by LoftBooks. All three poems focus on the different manifestations of love. “Since poetry is part of who I am,” said Terry, “it made sense for me to submit [poems] to the conference.” Terry noted that since Coastal Carolina University’s chapter of STD has not been to the national conference in many years, she has high expectations for the event.

Since poetry is who I am, it made sense for me to submit [poems] to the conference.
Jennifer terry

“I am most looking forward to exploring a new place with Kelsie, Peyton, and the advisers while we interact with other chapters of the Sigma Tau Delta organization and listen to some great readings of all sorts of writing and research,” said Terry.

Crough will present “Fire in the Glass House,” an original short story she wrote in a Fiction II class with Jason Ockert, professor of creative writing. The second-person narrative employs magical realism in its exploration of Crough’s anxieties about losing a loved one. “I chose this piece for a few reasons,” said Crough. “First, I believed that it highlighted my skill as a writer and showed an emotional depth to my writing. Second, it was an unpublished piece that felt…ready for the world to see.” Like Terry, Crough is excited to meet and network with other writers, yet she is also eager to present her work to a large, professional audience for the first time. The conference presentation is “such a unique experience that not a lot of young writers get to do,” said Crough, “and I am looking forward to getting that experience and making memories that I can reflect on as I grow as a writer.”

*Crough presented her poem at a recent Brown Bag Lunch event, sponsored by the English department’s Student Success Committee*

Barrett will present an academic paper on discourse surrounding sexual violence, specifically regarding agency and how we can relocate that agency to benefit victims of sexual violence. Barrett’s interest in the topic stemmed from her composition and rhetoric course with Dr. Howes, a CCU associate professor in Composition and Rhetoric and one of the advisors for Coastal’s STD chapter. Through her research, Barrett found a significant lack of education surrounding sexual violence discourse—a fact she wanted to change. “I felt that this research was…something most people have never heard of or didn’t know much about,” said Barrett, “so it felt right to submit this paper for the Sigma Tau Delta conference.” Barrett is also excited to learn from the other writers presenting at the conference and to see what new conversations and pieces are entering English studies. “I know there will be a lot to learn and experience at this conference, and that’s probably the best part of this trip,” said Barrett.

*Barrett presented her academic work at the Brown Bag Lunch event as a preview to the conference.*

All three students said that support from their professors and friends, specifically Dr. Howes and Dr. Smith, another STD advisor and associate professor in Composition and Rhetoric, motivated them to attend this conference. “[Dr. Smith] was very encouraging to Kelsie, Peyton, and I about what we wanted to submit and was there for guidance if we needed it,” said Terry.

Smith urges current and prospective students in Sigma Tau Delta to submit their work to the next conference. “This is a fantastic opportunity,” said Smith, “and our students attend a school that sees that [and] is willing to help them get there.”

These students delivered a preview of their presentations at the recent departmental Brown Bag Lunch event, sponsored by the Student Success Committee.

January 23, 2023 English Corner Faculty Voices

Dr. Ellen Arnold on Banned Book Club: “The best thing we can do is keep reading the books.”

Coastal Carolina University’s Banned Book Club will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 4 pm in the Bryan Information Commons atrium. Copies of the book, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, will be available, and refreshments will be provided. The event will feature a panel of speakers: Anna Mukamal, CCU assistant professor of digital culture and design; Meredith Ritchie, Horry County Schools librarian; and Loren Mixon, CCU Outreach Librarian. Sponsored by English and DCD programs within the Department of English, the event is funded through CCU’s Quality Enhancement Plan.

Ellen Arnold, senior lecturer in Coastal Carolina University’s English department, said the idea for a banned book club began as a conversation among a few English and Digital Culture and Design faculty members.

“It was a small idea,” said Arnold. “We wanted to do something together–an activity, a meeting–and at the same time, the numbers of bans on books were increasing, so we thought of a banned book club. It’s a place to just sit down and talk about books.”

At its very root, banning books is undemocratic because it silences a voice.
Dr. Ellen Arnold

After arranging a banned books read-out during the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week in September 2022, Arnold realized how pertinent the freedom to read is to faculty, staff, and students across campus. “Over 70 people attended and over 20 volunteered to read,” said Arnold. “I was blown away by the number of people who wanted to get involved.”

Attendees of this event were invited to vote for the reading group’s first book, selecting the graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. “I was delighted that they chose [Gender Queer] because it was the most banned book in 2021,” said Arnold. “When we talk about banning books and silencing voices, it’s more likely those are going to be certain kinds of voices – the ones that are already less likely to be heard in books.”

Arnold notes the importance of diversity in literature, especially books for children and young adults. “It’s important for underrepresented voices to have mirrors; for everyone to see themselves in what they read,” said Arnold, “but it’s just as crucial for [readers] to see windows into the experiences of other people who aren’t like them. It can change people fundamentally by developing that sense of empathy that’s so important, the very thing that makes us human.”

“At its very root, banning books is undemocratic because it silences a voice,” said Arnold. “It’s important to learn what books are being banned and why, to share ideas about how we can make those books available, and to explore how we can speak out against their restriction. The best thing we can do is just keep reading the books.”

See more CCU creative and scholarly responses to contemporary trends in book banning:

Sarah Laiola: “A Rapid-Fire Overview of Data and Trends as Reported by Pen America”

Anna Mukamal: “Visualizing Book Banning Trends 2021-22”

DCD student interns: “DCD Visualizes Book Banning in the USA”

October 10, 2022 English Corner Faculty Voices

Alan Reid on philosophy, technology, and guns

Alan Reid, associate professor of English, is knowledgeable about technology and has a concern about guns and gun culture in the United States. These blended impulses led to the creation of his latest scholarly work, A Philosophy of Gun Violence.

In many ways a follow-up to his 2018 book The Smartphone Paradox: Our Ruinous Dependence in the Device Age, Reid applies the same philosophy of technology to guns.

“Our technological artifacts, like smart phones or guns, are non-neutral,” said Reid. “They are positively charged for a deliberate, specific use. Smart phones are intended for you to pick it up and scroll, and they are designed to hold your attention in those ways. Similarly, guns are designed for you to pick it up, hold it, and pull the trigger.”

In addition to his research background in the philosophy of technology, Reid’s interest in this topic generated from his concern as a citizen and a parent about increasing desensitization of gun violence, including nationwide increases in gun sales as a solution to that violence.

“It hit me after Sandy Hook in 2012 that we’ve really crossed a line in terms of normalization,” said Reid. “That, and the call for more firearms — more access to guns. It led me on a path of thinking, ‘This is not the approach we should take, and here’s why.’”

Reid incorporates concepts from a wide range of contemporary tech philosophers in presenting his case, including Bruno Latour’s Actor Network Theory (ANT) and the work of Peter-Paul Verbeek and Langdon Winner.

“Our technological artifacts, like smart phones or guns, are non-neutral. They are positively charged for a deliberate, specific use.”
Alan Reid

“The basic concept is that technologies invoke actions,” said Reid. “I’m not saying that guns make people kill people. But, they can change your perception of reality; they can distort your views of things. Especially when one is carrying a gun, open or concealed, it changes circumstances, and I think that’s really dangerous. I reference Latour, who said, ‘You are different with a gun in your hand, and the gun is different with you holding it.’”

Reid also offers a background on technology and how he defines it, incorporating concepts from the field of semiotics that categorize items as a thing, an object, and an artifact. A “thing” is an item with no prescribed meaning or definitive use. An “object” takes on meaning for the user because it has an identified particular use or purpose. An item becomes an “artifact” when individuals in society generally agree upon a single purpose for that item.

“What makes a gun an artifact is that we all collectively understand that it’s meant to be aimed and fired…. I’m interested in it as an artifact in that it drives you toward its use. It does have an agenda. It wants to be used, and it wants to be used in a specific way; that way is to fire a projectile. It does want you to use it in that way and in no other way.”

Reid consulted with numerous gun manufacturers and high-profile gun rights advocates in researching his book to learn their perspective and offer his philosophy.

“I wanted to understand their view and encourage them to understand mine, that a gun changes one’s perception when it’s in their hand,” said Reid.

In the end, a gun works as a technology just as a cell phone does, said Reid, and that technology has an effect on its user.

“People might say, ‘Oh, it’s just a smart phone; it’s an instrument.’ But so much research shows it’s not just an instrument. It persuades you to do things you might not otherwise have done. The difference is that using a gun is quite a bit more lethal than checking your smart phone.”

September 20, 2022 English Corner Faculty Voices

Looking Beyond Ourselves: For Dan Albergotti, poetry is a gateway to navigating the wonder and chaos of our world

To Dan Albergotti, professor of poetry in Coastal Carolina University’s Department of English, poetry is a way to see our world through a different lens, to make connections from the past to the present, and to understand the capacities and limitations of human life.

“I remember reading poems when I was a teenager for English classes and feeling like I was discovering something there,” said Albergotti. “It didn’t feel like I was studying something ancient. I felt like I was getting insight through the poem into the life of a human being that happened a long time before I was alive, and yet I recognized it.” Like time capsules, poetry can capture a snapshot of history on a page, transcending the limits of verbal communication over time.

In his most recent chapbook, Circa MMXX , Albergotti considers the year of chaos, panic, and political violence that was 2020. He puts into verse his thoughts concerning the world and humanity during that year and how it connects across our cosmic past.

“It’s got stuff about the pandemic in it. It’s got stuff about the very violent ideological politics of the time—the destruction of a lot of democratic norms over four years from 2016 to 2020,” said Albergotti. “So the poems are very topical and informed by a moment, but I’m always trying to find a way in them to see beyond that, to see a larger relevance, to connect it to something beyond the moment.”

Drawing inspiration from various poets, Albergotti shows within Circa MMXX how the past tends to reinvent and reconnect itself to our present lives through poetry. For example, Philip Larkin’s “MCMXIV” [1914] inspired the last poem of Albergotti’s chapbook, “MMXX.”

Albergotti notes that in remembering the thousands of lives lost during World War I, “Larkin’s poem ends, ‘Never such innocence again.’ And the idea behind it is that after such a cataclysmic event, no one could be innocent to the world again,” said Albergotti. In “MMXX,” Albergotti makes a similar connection, using two men fishing as a metaphor. “The last two lines are, ‘The fish drifts back toward the hook, no longer afraid, such innocence, ever again,’” said Albergotti. “The idea of going back towards the hook and not heeding your fear, or not really understanding the danger you’re putting yourself in, is that other kind of innocence which is ignorance. It’s like saying, ‘What have we learned? Here we are100 years since the flu epidemic that killed a whole lot of Americans and people worldwide, and here we are again100 years later.’ We just forget. We let it seep out of our consciousness, and we don’t prepare.”

In writing about timely topics within this collection, Albergotti hopes to challenge his readers to view the events of 2020 differently and to view poetry as a way to take control over the chaos of life.

“There’s this one thing that Robert Frost said about poetry that stuck with me,” said Albergotti. “He said, ‘It’s a way of taking life by the throat and not letting life get away with skirting around you. You take it by the throat and say, “This is real. This is it.”’”

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