Category Archives: English Department Event

An Interview with Mark Jay Brewin Jr. ’08

Mark Jay Brewin Jr.’s book, “Scrap Iron,” published in 2013, features poems about his childhood home in South Jersey, landscape, science and relationships.

Author and alum Mark Jay Brewin Jr. ’08 visited Elon on Tuesday, Feb. 24 to share his poems with students and faculty at the First Annual Alumni Poetry Reading in 2019. The event took place in Sankey Hall, where Brewin read a combination of original poems that he wrote during his time at Elon and poems from his award-winning book, “Scrap Iron.”

Brewin read a slew of poems pertaining to his childhood home in South Jersey, human relationships and scientific concepts. He says, “I come from a long line of talkers and storytellers, which is exciting because that’s sort of half the battle [of writing].”

At Elon, Brewin majored in both creative writing and photography. Brewin attributes his success as a poet and artist to the complimentary combination of these majors and the self-reflective nature of his education. “The art classes taught me how to write about my poetry and what it meant,” he says, “It all tied together.”

Brewin says, “the faculty were just tremendously giving of their time and really helpful in figuring out what was going to be the best for me.” In particular, Professor Drew Perry helped Brewin to jumpstart his career. Brewin says, “He basically just said to me that ‘no matter what you do, if poetry and writing is what you like, then you have to go to grad school and you have to learn that craft further.’”
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Department Event: Cate Marvin Poetry Reading

The English department welcomes Cate Marvin, a visiting poet, for a reading in November. Some of Marvin’s most recent works include Oracle – a book of poems telling the stories of residents in Staten Island, NY – and Fragment of the Head of a Queen – a satirical collection that questions the stereotypes surrounding single women. Marvin is currently a professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where she uses her PhD in English to teach Creative Writing courses.

Cate MarvinIn addition to her work as a poet, Cate Marvin co-founded the nonprofit organization, VIDA: Women in Literary Arts in 2009. This organization works to highlight the fact that women and minorities are not recognized as often for their literary accomplishments. VIDA features a variety of research, events, and writing sources that promote the work of feminist writers. For more information about Marvin’s organization, visit http://www.vidaweb.org/.

Cate Marvin will be coming to do a poetry reading for Elon students on Tuesday, November 7th. The reading will be in Johnston Hall at 7:00 PM, and everyone- majors and non-majors alike – is invited to attend. If you have any questions before the event, please contact Professor Kevin Boyle at boylek@elon.edu. For more information about Cate Marvin, visit her website www.catemarvin.org. We look forward to seeing you there!
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