Annie Green Field Interview
Writing Center Consultant and DU Literature PhD Candidate

Where did you get your undergraduate degree?  Where did you get your Masters and/or PhD?  What are your hobbies or outside interests?

 I attended the University of Wisconsin Madison as an undergraduate and got my B.A. degree there in Philosophy.  I then went to Western Washington University, where I obtained my Masters degree in English.  Im currently working on my Ph.D. in English (Literary Studies) here at DU.  As for hobbies, reading, bicycling, and lava-tag are at the top of my list.  I also play a mean game of foosball.

 What do you plan to do with your degree once you are done?

After completing my Ph.D., my plan is to become a professor of English in a university.  This especially appeals to me because (ideally) this job would allow for a balance between working on my own research and teaching.  Both of these pursuits are important to me professionally.

 Describe what your writing process is like:

Once I have some idea of what Id like to write about, I try to start writing as soon as possible.  The process of articulating my ideas on the page (as undeveloped as they may be at first) helps me to think through them most effectively.  That is, my ideas become most interesting and complex once Ive adapted them into language.  Quite often, this process of inquiry changes my line of analysis, which is fine by me, because it will invariably be better for it.

 I used to relate to Dorothy Parkers words: I hate writing, I love having written.  But now, I feel the opposite is true.  I take pleasure in the act of writing, which is just what I need in order to say something that is, hopefully, valuable and smart.

How would you describe your philosophy as a writing consultant?

I believe that students should maintain control of their writing during consultations.  This is one of the most challenging aspects of my job.  Often, I find that it would be easy for me to instruct a writer as to how I think their paper should be.  But it is always better if a writer can make those decisions on his/her own.  I try to facilitate these conscious choices through conversation rather than lecture.

 I also find that one of the most helpful things I can do for a writer is to fully engage with his/her writing and thinking.  By taking a writers ideas seriously, he/she is given a space to extend his/her intellectual conversation in a way that is not confined to the page.

Front Page