Faculty Spotlight: Angela Winsor, Assistant Professor of English

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department

What do you love about teaching? Likewise, could you describe what drew you to this field?

I love helping emerging writers cultivate a sense of their own authorship and move in the direction of their creative interests. It’s so exciting when students leave a semester with knowledge of what they’re uniquely good at and what kinds of stories they want to tell.

There are many things that drew me to the field of creative writing, but one thing that drew me to teaching creative writing is the collaborative nature of a creative writing class. In our classes, we come alongside each other to help push one another’s work along. And for a workshop-style class to function really well, we have to be vulnerable and we have to be generous. Part of my job is fostering connections between the writers in the room, creating an atmosphere where students can bring themselves and their writing to the class authentically. There is so much joy in this work for me.

Moreover, creative writing is necessarily multi-disciplinary, and this is what will forever keep me in the field. When we are crafting new characters and their stories, we’re often thinking about (and reading about and talking about) history, psychology, religion, the environment, technology. We study film and theater techniques to help us think about writing dialogue and gestures. We look to other artistic mediums when we imagine (and sometimes draw!) the shapes of our stories, the contours of place and setting. Sometimes we’re theorists and stylists, and sometimes we’re copy editors or translators. The list goes on. Where else could I go where I’d encounter so many worlds in the span of a single class period?

Do you have a favorite book or author?

I have so many—an impossibly long list. So, here are some favorites from this past year: Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet, Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino, and The Hive and The Honey by Paul Yoon.

If you could teach any class, what would it be?

I’d love to teach creative writing classes with community-facing components (whether that is through service-learning projects, or collaborations with museums or local organizations). Luckily, I think I’ll get to do this in some of my regularly scheduled courses in the coming years at Hope!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Writing advice: Finished is better than perfect. I’m not sure I always believe it, and I often completely abandon it once I begin revising, but it’s a mantra that has gotten me through many first drafts.

Life advice: Say your kind thoughts aloud. Even if it’s embarrassing, even if it feels small or silly—I’m never sorry that I put that kindness in the world.