Alumni
From Provo, Utah, to Beirut, Lebanon, our alumni work and teach all over the world and publish widely in their respective fields. We are proud of the contributions they continue to make to the academy and the community, and are pleased to highlight their accomplishments
Feel free to browse through the alumni bios below to get a sense of professional opportunities for students after graduation. If you are an alum, and wish to be included here, or if you want your information updated, please fill out our information form.
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Spotlight
An Interview with Tom Noyes
Dr. Tom Noyes completed his PhD in English Literature and Creative Writing at Ohio University in 2000. He has taught at Indiana State University, Concordia College, and currently teaches at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. His work has appeared in a variety of literary journals and last year he published his second story collection, Spooky Action at a Distance and Other Stories. We recently caught up with him via a brief email interview.
Can you tell us a little about working at Penn State Erie?
It’s tough getting a creative writing job, and tougher getting a tenure-line creative writing job, and even tougher getting a tenure-line creative writing job at an institution that invests in and values literary art. So, professionally-speaking, I feel pretty lucky at the moment.
Your new book was nominated for a few awards before Dufour picked it up.
Before landing with Dufour Editions, the manuscript had been named runner-up for AWP's Grace Paley Prize and a finalist for Notre Dame University Press's Richard Sullivan Award. These close calls are nice on the one hand--they're affirming--but, on the other hand, they make me anxious and impatient. It was a relief when the book was taken. Now I can once again be anxious and impatient about writing fiction rather than things like book contracts, reader reports, and submission letters.
What’s next on your writing plate then?
In January, I was awarded a Pennsylvania Individual Artist's Grant that is going to allow me more writing time than usual in the coming months, so, in terms of my writing, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about my next project.
And what is the new project?
Well, right now I’m still thinking in terms of another story collection, but this new collection would be anchored by a long, novella-type story. Who knows, though. To this point in my writing career, planning doesn’t seem to have much bearing on production.
You’ve been away from OU for a while now. What do you still carry around with you from your time in the program here.
Three things come to mind. First, OU was where I began to understand what kind of teacher I was going to be. Also, working on the editorial team of Quarter After Eight, I gained a lot of respect for editors, especially editors of shoestring-budget publications. Finally, I became a first-time father in Athens, so there was a lot I needed to hurry up and learn on that front. A lot I still need to hurry up and learn.
How has parenthood changed your writing life, both practically and creatively?
Well, of course, parenthood is another responsibility to juggle, and there’s no denying that sometimes it keeps me from writing when I’d like to be writing. That said, when I do get to write, I think I’m more focused now than I was before becoming a father. I know that I don’t have all the time in the world to sit there and fiddle around, so I probably spend the time I do have more productively, more intensely. And, of course, having a kid can be a pretty great thing for a writer in terms of seeing the world. Watching my kid grow up is like déjà vu—in a sense, I’m constantly reviewing and being reminded of my own history. On the other hand, I can’t help but be struck by the differences between the world in which she’s growing up and the world in which I grew up. In this sense, I think having a kid has increased my awareness, made me more alert, increased my sensitivity. As a parent, perhaps one feels doubly invested in watching history unfold.
What do you wish you would have known as a grad student that you know now as an academic professional?
Enjoy the time you have left as students. There's nothing like being a student in a great workshop or seminar. I like teaching a lot, but being a student is tough to beat. I miss it more than I thought I would.
How do you balance your personal writing goals with your other academic responsibilities?
I'm not sure I ever will achieve true balance between my teaching and my writing. If I'm honest, I'd have to admit that I always feel guilty about sacrificing one for the sake of the other; sometimes I feel like it's my writing that's suffering, and sometimes I feel like it's my teaching. The tug-of-war isn't always fun. That's academia, though.
For previous alumni spotlights, visit our archive page.
