Although creative writing types tend to be easily stereotyped, Victoria Schacht '08 (Rome, N.Y.) shows that the creative writer, like the field itself, is more complex than the prevailing image of an author in black with a notebook. The English major has an Emerson grant this summer to work on found literature and build creative writing pieces from old periodicals.
"What captivates me about periodicals," Schacht wrote in her grant proposal, "is their absolute transience." Unlike other permanent works of literature, periodicals are written to be out of date in a short period of time. "What happens then to the feature stories, the book reviews, the exposes, and even the advertisements?" Schacht asked.
Found literature is a genre of creative writing in which the text of the pieces is taken from previously-existing sources. Schacht works with periodicals from the basement of the Burke library and her own home, and uses headlines, articles, and advertisements as start-off points for her writing. She described one such project, her fourth of five planned pieces, in which she took advertisements from interwar women's magazines as a starting point for short pieces of experimental feminist prose. "They were a challenge to write," Schacht said of her non-linear pieces, "but it was fun."
It's not all sitting around waiting for inspiration, though. Schacht explained that her work this summer is "very process oriented" and that she spends a lot of her time reading rather than writing. The reading list includes both the periodicals themselves and an array of books on literary theory, criticism, and short stories. Schacht, for instance, noted that in creating the above project, she had been reading books on feminist theory and Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons, a collection of word-portraits of objects.
Schacht, a rising senior who plans to attend graduate school in English, was drawn to her first summer of research through a life-long fascination with periodicals. After a year abroad at England's Oxford University, Schacht had discovered that she enjoyed literary research, but that she needed a break. "I really wanted to write some stories," she said, explaining why she chose to do creative writing work this summer.
Chatting with Hamilton's English department, Schacht found her project adviser, Assistant Professor of English Tina Hall, who also works in found literature from periodicals. Hall's work deals with science journals but Schacht has found her to be an excellent resource, especially for the hard part of writing: the feedback. "She's great," said Schacht, and praised Hall's specificity in her comments and revisions.
Has the summer turned her into a writer for good? Schacht is unsure. "It's great you can have a project with an academic element – a project that's more aesthetic than plot-oriented," Schacht said. She looks forward to more research in graduate school and a possible teaching career.
When she is on campus, Schacht is active in Hamilton's literary circle as a writer for the Spectator and the workshop group Writer's Bloc. She is also a barista at Café Opus, a Project SHINE tutor, and a member of Students Against Violence.
Schacht's research this summer is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which provides students with significant opportunities to work collaboratively with faculty mentors, researching an area of mutual interest. Recipients typically undertake some combination of fieldwork, laboratory investigation, library research and the development of teaching materials. A public presentation of their findings is required of all Emerson Scholars during the academic year.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
"What captivates me about periodicals," Schacht wrote in her grant proposal, "is their absolute transience." Unlike other permanent works of literature, periodicals are written to be out of date in a short period of time. "What happens then to the feature stories, the book reviews, the exposes, and even the advertisements?" Schacht asked.
Found literature is a genre of creative writing in which the text of the pieces is taken from previously-existing sources. Schacht works with periodicals from the basement of the Burke library and her own home, and uses headlines, articles, and advertisements as start-off points for her writing. She described one such project, her fourth of five planned pieces, in which she took advertisements from interwar women's magazines as a starting point for short pieces of experimental feminist prose. "They were a challenge to write," Schacht said of her non-linear pieces, "but it was fun."
It's not all sitting around waiting for inspiration, though. Schacht explained that her work this summer is "very process oriented" and that she spends a lot of her time reading rather than writing. The reading list includes both the periodicals themselves and an array of books on literary theory, criticism, and short stories. Schacht, for instance, noted that in creating the above project, she had been reading books on feminist theory and Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons, a collection of word-portraits of objects.
Schacht, a rising senior who plans to attend graduate school in English, was drawn to her first summer of research through a life-long fascination with periodicals. After a year abroad at England's Oxford University, Schacht had discovered that she enjoyed literary research, but that she needed a break. "I really wanted to write some stories," she said, explaining why she chose to do creative writing work this summer.
Chatting with Hamilton's English department, Schacht found her project adviser, Assistant Professor of English Tina Hall, who also works in found literature from periodicals. Hall's work deals with science journals but Schacht has found her to be an excellent resource, especially for the hard part of writing: the feedback. "She's great," said Schacht, and praised Hall's specificity in her comments and revisions.
Has the summer turned her into a writer for good? Schacht is unsure. "It's great you can have a project with an academic element – a project that's more aesthetic than plot-oriented," Schacht said. She looks forward to more research in graduate school and a possible teaching career.
When she is on campus, Schacht is active in Hamilton's literary circle as a writer for the Spectator and the workshop group Writer's Bloc. She is also a barista at Café Opus, a Project SHINE tutor, and a member of Students Against Violence.
Schacht's research this summer is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which provides students with significant opportunities to work collaboratively with faculty mentors, researching an area of mutual interest. Recipients typically undertake some combination of fieldwork, laboratory investigation, library research and the development of teaching materials. A public presentation of their findings is required of all Emerson Scholars during the academic year.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
