English

Name: Kasey Perkins

Degrees: BA in English, MA in English, both from Truman State University.

Major/Program: MFA in Poetry

Academic Focus/Interests: creative writing (obviously), creative writing pedagogy, composition studies, and teaching in general. Also interested in world literature, contemporary literature, eastern religion, and philosophy. 

How I write: That's an extremely difficult question. As far as creative writing is concerned, I'm very guilty of not writing anything until my ideas have sufficiently incubated, even if that means long dry spells. I think this incubation period is part of the reasons why I may not revise as much as I should, but I'm working to break that habit. As far as academic writing is concerned, I almost always work from an outline and from annotations, and lapse into pretty casual language far more than I probably should. I love accessible writing that has a point and keeps your interest. 

Name: AJ Arena

Degrees: B.A. English/Creative Writing from Webster University

Major/Program: M.A. English Composition

Academic Focus/Interests: At UMSL, I am focusing on composition, teaching composition, and gender studies. I also love creative fiction and nonfiction, Southern writers, modernism, and British humor. 

How I write: Crazily! I believe in scribbling, freewriting, outlining, and writing horrible first drafts. When it comes to my own papers, I spend a lot of time reading background, writing pages of notes, and thinking (yes, thinking!) before I actually start typing. I turn these into some sort of outline--usually just with pen and paper, but I have been known to spread index cards across the floor or use crayons and construction paper for particularly stressful assignments. In my first draft, I type without paying too much attention to things like citations and run-on sentences. This draft is always, without a doubt, horrendous. After sleeping on it, I comb back through my draft, paragraph by paragraph, and smooth out transitions. In doing this, I typically end up rewriting a lot of what I had, and in turn, writing a whole lot more. Finally, I read the finished product outloud, changing things here and there as my ear suggests. When I'm done, I clap and/or tell myself I'm awesome, then typically have to race to class to turn it in. If you have tons of ideas that need organizing and like crayons, I'm your girl!

Name: Micheal Smith

Degrees: B.A. in English (minor in creative writing) from the University of Central Missouri

Major/Program: English M.A. (Composition and Rhetoric)

Academic Focus/Interests: I enjoy reading Modernist and Post-Modernist literature.  My favorite fiction writer is Thomas Pynchon, and my favorite poet is Rainer Maria Rilke.  My non-fiction interests range from modern physics and neurochemistry to post-structuralist philosophy.  In my spare time I write poetry and songs (acoustic guitar).  Additionally, I have done some freelance writing and editing, mostly of web content, and I spent four semesters interning as an assistant editor for Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing.  I enjoy connecting with people through the learning process, and I would like to make a career out of doing so. 

How I write: I approach each writing project differently, but each one starts with a central idea.  When writing an essay, I tend to let that idea lead the project, whereas when writing a poem or a song, I tend to let the language take control of the idea to a certain extent once I get started.  More than anything, though, the idea of the mind as a breathing entity leads my process.  In other words, I like to distinguish between two different types of thinking: creative and analytical.  If I spend too much time thinking analytically, I start to run out of metaphorical breath, and find that it is helpful to take a break, relax my mind, and let it inhale, so to speak, as the creative part of the brain takes over.  On the other hand, if I spend too long thinking creatively, I find that my ideas lose their sharpness and direction, and it is helpful to force some "air" out, to switch back to a more analytical, productive state of mind.  I find that looking at writing and thinking in this way helps to keep me from getting frustrated when I feel like I am at a dead end, when I feel like I'm simply out of breath.  So, in a sense, the central tenet of my writing philosophy is this: remember to breathe.  

Name: Jessyka D'Souza

Degrees: BA in Creative Writing / Screenwriting from The University of South Florida

Major/Program: MFA in Fiction from UMSL

Academic Focus/Interests: Reading, writing, learning, teaching, growing as a human. 

How I write: I write realist literary fiction and try to keep a strong discipline. I write as often as I can and always do so with a cup of coffee and a scone.