Alumni Interview: Quinn Lewis

Quinn Lewis graduated the UAB Department of English Creative Writing Program in 2010 and is now working on her MFA in Poetry at the University of Oregon. She recently talked about her experiences with graduate student Halley Cotton.

When did you attend UAB and what was your course of study?

I came to UAB in 2008 as a transfer student, graduating in 2010 with a BA in English and Concentration in Creative Writing. I participated in the Honors Program in Creative Writing, completing a poetry thesis with my faculty advisor, Adam Vines.

What are you doing and where are you now?

I’m currently living in Eugene, Oregon, as an MFA candidate in poetry in the University of Oregon’s Creative Writing Program. I’m finishing up my second year of graduate school, working on my poetry thesis, teaching composition, and graduating from the program this June.

What made you choose UAB?

UAB is at once inspiring and completely unpretentious. It’s always struck me as a school for people who love what they do and whole-heartedly want to learn.

Who is your favorite writer? Why?

That’s a tough question! For poetry — Elizabeth Bishop, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Jack Gilbert, and Mark Doty, all for the profound way they attend to language and feeling. Kazuo Ishiguro and Tolstoy, for their stories.

What are your hopes for the future?

I’d like to do so many things — travel, be accepted for fellowships that support time to write, teach poetry to undergraduates or in a community program, pursue my interests in wildlife and the environment, spend time tucked away in the woods writing, and publish a first collection of poems.

What was your favorite thing about the UAB creative writing program?

My absolute favorite aspect of the program was the opportunity to work one-on-one with my thesis advisor. Having that individual attention given to poems, and conversations about poetry, is invaluable. Oh, and the UAB Writers’ Series!

If you could say anything to prospective UAB creative writing students, what would you say?

Getting back into poetry at UAB really changed things for me in terms of direction, career possibilities, and outlook. It’s a beautiful, caring program with an absolutely amazing faculty.