STAFF

Gerri Davis 

USA 

My "claim to fame" as a writer is my manuscript published in RANGER RICK MAGAZINE for children. That piece came from learning how to quahog when my husband, Gary, our daughter, Susan, and I moved to New England. The fun experience of dipping into the muddy sand of the ocean --at low tide -- to dig out live food still lives within me. (I made my first chowder that day.)

The idea for that piece went through the full writing process in my thoughts for almost a year. One afternoon I sat in Cambridge beneath a tree. Surrounded by creative energy from that area, I wrote my quahogging piece in fiction form.

Out of this experience I learned to write what excites and to present writing with readers in mind.

Still, my life's dilemma: did I want to teach or did I want to write? The answer: teach writing.

As a returning student, I graduated from the University of Mass at Dartmouth with a Master of Arts in Professional Writing in 1992. During this program I worked as a TA teaching technical and critical writing. I went on as adjunct faculty at UMassD teaching writing and literature and at Bristol Community College teaching the same, including multi-cultural literature.

I taught business writing for Polaroid Corporation and developed a writing course for the Southeastern Learning Connection, where I emphasized freeing the writer within, which is the hardest writing task.

While teaching writing, I worked with a writing group culled from a creative writing course at UMass. I was recruited into a second writing group from my hometown, the Wordsmyth's, a close knit, encouraging group of people.

We recently moved to RI where I'm searching for a local group of writers.

Meanwhile, WVU serves as a strong force. The many courses I've taken had so much to offer. I have a stack of short stories from these classes needing that one last revision before marketing. And, an advanced poetry group helped my writing style. While taking Horror Writing, I wrote two short pieces using the macabre style, which the Head of the English Department at BCC read. As a guest lecturer, I discussed these pieces to students taking a course on the macabre.

My non-fiction publications include an essay on the writing process, published in an anthology for beginning composition students, WRITING ON WRITING, articles in various newsletters and human-interest stories for several newspapers. Fiction publications include literary writings on women in transition in SIREN, a publication for women, in AUTHORS IN THE PARK, a Florida publication, and completing the circle, in RANGER RICK MAGAZINE.

I remain in RI, on the beach, competing with seagulls for quahogs.