Hi Everyone,
I’m Sam, a creative writer and instructor who seeks to diversify and challenge dominant narratives. This is a broad and relatively overused statement, I know, but it is the overarching theme in all my interests: in fiction, it involves writing a novel that humanizes individuals who struggle with addiction and class; in teaching, it involves introducing students to poets like Camille Dungy who challenge their static definitions of “nature”; in editorial positions, it means interviewing writers whose works have helped pave the way toward achieving all these goals.
Comics, novels, narrative journalism, interviews, podcasts, poems–I experiment in each of these mediums with subjects that range from cognitive health and sustainable agriculture to folklore and viral hoaxes. Yet, as varied as these topics may seem, story remains at the heart of all them all. Why? Because libraries are what got my mother and me through summers in Florida with no AC or internet. Because my mother can feel invisible in that small town now, and I can reccommend her a book that will help her feel seen. Becasue stories can show you how large the world is when a lack of resources keeps your own very small.