Colby Somerville ('06)

Inspired by Eliot and his "encounters" with books at Shimer, ColbySomerville ('06) begins the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

This fall, Shimer alumnus Colby Somerville will begin work in the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop. The Workshop is a two-year residency program which culminates in the submission of a creative thesis (novel, collection of stories, or book of poetry) and the awarding of a Master of Fine Arts degree. The Writers' Workshop was the first creative writing degree program in the United States and for more than 70 years has been a place for writers to work on their writing, celebrate American literature, and exchange ideas with each other and faculty. Workshop alumni have gone on to publish award winning work, including sixteen Pulitzer Prizes and numerous National Book Awards. Alumni of the Workshop include poet, professor, and fellow Shimer alumnus Peter Cooley ('62).

Colby says that after some "fruitless years" following his graduation he decided to apply for a Masters of Fine Arts degree, and as he points out, whenever a writer thinks about an MFA they can't help but consider Iowa. Colby will be writing poetry during his time in the Workshop, but he admits that like a lot of people in this country, he didn't really think of poetry much until he read T.S. Eliot. Colby says, "Some will tell you he was a cold individual, but his work is very physical, even to the point of jarring the body." Colby encourages people to investigate contemporary poetry, saying "if modern city living has you feeling frail, Eliot may be a good body to turn to, he doesn't have much to say about the derivatives market or the Mission Accomplished banner." Colby also recommends the anthology American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry and the periodical Octopus Magazine as two good places to explore contemporary poetry.

When asked about his time at Shimer College, Colby fondly remembers his Shimer days as a bit like the Island of Misfit Toys from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Recently, as he was packing up his books into boxes for the move to Iowa, he noticed there were a lot of boxes. "Each book has constituted an encounter with a daring opponent. Part of what Shimer teaches is this, the encounter." Colby adds, "some of my best friends in the world are from Shimer, and I couldn't write without friends." Colby is days away from the start of the program and is wondering what Iowa holds for him. He admits when he thinks of Iowa, he thinks of "mostly corn...and maybe some soy." Colby says that thoughts of the future don't occur to him with much clarity or meaningfulness, though he says it seems reasonable that he should try out a teaching career. For those of us at Shimer who know Colby, we sense a bright future ahead.