What is your role here at Flinders?
I am a lecturer in creative writing at the (new!) College of Business, Creative arts, Law, and Social sciences (BCLS). This is my third year as a full-time staff member, and I teach across a range of first- and second-year topics.
When did you realise that creative writing could/would be part of your life?
Forever! I started making comics and little stapled books ever since I could write letters (and even before I could put them together into correctly spelled words). I also found my Year Seven yearbook the other day, and under “Future Job” I had written “soccer player and writer”. It might be too late for that Socceroos call-up but the other part seems to be going OK!
Describe some rewarding moments in teaching creative arts
My favourite moments are when I get the students to do something playful and wild. There is a lot of self-imposed pressure on creative arts students—it’s a big, risky thing to say you want to be an artist—but the creative mind is not unlocked when it’s taking things too seriously. So getting students to relax and have fun in the classroom is always a focus for me, and when it works and the atmosphere is buzzing, it’s hugely rewarding. Some of my most memorable class experiments have been the crime fiction workshop where students had to plan out how they would murder me and get away with it; a class where students had to ‘method-act’ as their main character; and an editing class where students created their own publishing company and had bidding wars over possible manuscripts!
What has been your career highlight to date?
My first book, Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere, was published in July last year, so that’s an obvious highlight. It’s a collection of satirical short stories, with the TV show Black Mirror being a regular comparison. I love telling students that this book was actually my Flinders PhD thesis!
What do you enjoy about working at Flinders?
The students are universally wonderful, with diverse backgrounds and interests, yet united by a drive to be the best writers they can be. There is something special about the types of students we attract at Flinders: there is zero snobbery or toxic competitiveness. This is all down to my colleagues in Creative Writing — Assoc. Prof Amy Matthews, Assoc. Prof Lisa Bennett, and Dr Sean Williams — who have cultivated this accepting, positive environment. The students love that they are all total nerds (I’m the cool one).
Tell us about your ideal weekend.
Oh, reading from dawn to dusk, without a doubt! My child is now at an age where he’s reading on his own, and to see him absolutely absorbed in a book in his cosy corner just reminds me how nothing tops time with a favourite author. I guess to really make it a perfect weekend, we could throw in a few craft beers from the beautiful Adelaide south where I live, and the aforementioned Socceroos winning a game. But that’s just getting greedy!