Meet Our Professors: Prof Jerry Wemple

Where are you from?

I grew up in the nearby towns of Danville and Sunbury, but also spent part of my childhood in southwest Florida. As an adult, I have lived in several different parts of the US and visited about 12 countries. I left after high school and only came back to this area when I got a job at BU.

Where did you graduate from?

I have an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

What kinds of publications have you written for?

I have three published poetry collections and I co-edited a poetry anthology that was published by Penn State Press. My poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in lots of journals and anthologies.

How long have you taught at Bloomsburg?

Twenty years.

What classes do you usually teach?

I teach a lot of different courses. I teach the poetry workshop and the nonfiction workshop, also The Practice of Creative Writing, which is a junior-year seminar for majors. I taught the poetry literature course, African American literature, and American Ethnic Lit. Of course, I also teach English 101.

Involved in any other organizations?

I am the director the Visual and Performing Arts Learning Community. That can be a lot of fun. Recently we went on a weekend field trip and were able to get a guided tour of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. There is some wild stuff in there.

What are your personal favorite kinds of books/shows?

I read a little bit of everything. I read poetry, of course, but I am interested in creative nonfiction and history, too. I am also always looking for new books to teach in class. For example, right now I am reading The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. It is graphic memoir depicting an immigrant Vietnamese family. I may use in my American Ethnic Lit class in the spring.

If you could create your own class to teach, without restriction and about anything you want, what would it be?

One of the nice things about our English Department is that professors have a lot of academic freedom. I can shape my courses in a way that works for my students and me. I am kind of always teaching the course that I want, but I am always looking to keep it fresh. Even in English 101 I will not use the same books and approach more than a few semesters.

What is the best advice someone has ever given you about English?

In high school, one of my English teachers told me “good writing is good writing.” What he meant was to not limit oneself to a particular genre or style, but simply strive to be a good writer. When I worked for newspapers, I wrote sports, local news, and about crime. I was essentially a technical writer when I was in the Navy. Those types of writing definitely informed my creative writing. Working toward being a good writer in any genre will generally help your writing overall.

Quick, create a title of a book you’d like to write:

I just finished a new poetry collection. It is called “Ridge and Valley.” My poetry is often about place, and we are in the ridge and valley zone.

Now create the title of a book about you:

“Damn”

What would you like to see for the English department?  (Both short- and long-term)

In both the short-term and long-term I think the department needs to get the word out even more about the successes of our graduates. I’d like to see more students (and their parents) recognize what an English major can do for them. We have graduates from all of our tracks who go on to do amazing things and earn good salaries. However, too many people have a vocational mindset when it comes to higher education. If you want to be an accountant or a nurse, then by all means pursue those majors. But English teaches people to analyze diverse and often difficult literatures, research multiple sources, to synthesize, and to write effectively. In creative writing classes, we are always problem solving. For example, writing a sonnet is problematic: a sonnet should conform to a certain meter and rhyme scheme. It also has a rhetorical structure. The poet must set up and solve a problem in 14 lines, and do it in an inventive manner that appeals to readers. That is a lot of problem solving, and those skills lead to creative thinking. English majors who work hard during their college years are prepared to succeed and to adapt. Studies show that STEM grads generally start out with higher salaries, but liberal arts grads eventually catch up and surpass them.

(Hear some of Prof Wemple's and Dr. Lawrence's works at the next Big Dog Reading Series event!)