Name: Katie Steiner

Year: Senior

I’m an English major because:
I like language;
I enjoy reading;
I enjoy discussion-based classes; the course offerings accommodate wide-ranging interests—I’ve taken everything from Shakespeare to linguistics to journalism to film; the skills you develop are immensely transla—every profession needs good readers, clear speakers, critical thinkers, and effective writers.

What’s currently in the pile of books next to my bed: Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams, The Parthenon Frieze by Case’s own Jenifer Neils , How Good People Make Tough Choices by Rushworth Kidder , Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America by Eric Nuzum, and a heap of art museum catalogs accumulated from my travels abroad.

Favorite book ever: Usually whatever I happen to be reading at the moment, but To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath are high on my list.

Favorite play ever: Twelfth Night—bring on the yellow cross-gartered stockings!

First book I ever fell asleep reading: Thoreau’s Walden, although it did grow on me eventually.

Guilty pleasures: Anything by Jane Austen, Bridget Jones’s Diary (Jane Austen in disguise—v. v. amusing), The Hobbit —yes, I am officially a nerd.

Book/author I love that no one would expect: While I wouldn’t call it literature, I do enjoy reading the weekly columns by Steve Rushin and Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated—both are tremendously talented writers with interesting points-of-view.

Three writers I’d like to have a conversation with: I would need a time machine and a plane ticket to the UK , but here it goes: 1) Geoffrey Chaucer—we could speak Middle English together over a pint! 2) William Shakespeare—wouldn’t you like an answer to the “authorship question” once and for all? 3) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—I like stories, and he wrote some darn good ones.

First literature-connected memory: Attending story time as a young child at the Cuyahoga County Public Library branch in South Euclid . Children’s books count as literature, right?

Best place to read on Case campus: I am especially partial to the black leather chairs in Kelvin Smith Library, but you have to bring a sweater—it’s downright glacial in there. During the warmer months, Wade Lagoon makes a rather serene hang-out—just watch out for those pesky goose droppings!

Favorite music to write papers by: None! I don’t understand how people can write with music playing in the background—I’d go nuts.

Most influential class so far: Definitely Tom Bishop’s course on Shakespeare’s tragedies—this was one of the most stimulating and challenging classes I’ve taken at Case, and it truly solidified my decision to become an English major.

Best advice to new English majors: Get a copy of the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook—make citation your friend. If you don’t understand how to give credit where credit is due, don’t be shy to ask for help.

Treat writing as a process. Start with an idea. Mull it over. Refine it. Make notes. Draft and outline. Write the paper. Revise it. Give it to a friend to look over. Revise some more. Good papers take time—make sure you give yourself enough of it!

Name: Boris Dvorkin

Year: Junior

I’m an English major because: I’m a computer science major, too, and I don’t think anyone can take nothing but CS classes for four years without losing a significant portion of their sanity.

What’s currently in the pile of books next to my bed: Programming Languages: Principles and Practice, by Kenneth Louden; Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World, by Donald Howard.

Favorite book ever: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Yeah, I know, it’s everyone’s favorite book ever (or at least it should be), but without it I never would have realized that literature can be zany and ridiculous and serious at the same time.

Book/author I love that no one would expect: Jane Austen. But not because of all that cheesy gooey romantic stuff! My interest in her books likes purely in their … uh … literary … meritoriousness.

Last book I recommended: The Planet on the , a collection of sci-fi stories by Kim Stanley Robinson. I’m not usually a big fan of either sci-fi or short stories, but there are some trippy tales in there.

Three writers I’d like to have a conversation with: Let’s go with three D’s: Douglas Adams, Dave Barry, and the Dude who wrote Beowulf.

First literature-connected memory: When I was three or four, my parents taught me to how to write all the letters. I was good at all of them except capital M, which I drew like a hammock slung between two poles. I didn’t understand that the middle needed to be two straight lines, and so I have this terrible recollection of sitting at the kitchen , writing an M over and over again because my parents wouldn’t let me leave, frustrated and wondering WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY FREAKING M. This incident probably explains why I did not enjoy writing until about half way through high school.

Best place to read on Case campus: The computer lab in Olin 703 has an air conditioner whose hum is horrifically obnoxious under normal circumstances, but quite soothing when you’re reading something.

Favorite music to write papers by: “favorite” isn’t an issue here. If I listen to something with words, it distracts me. If I listen to classical music, it puts me to sleep. The only option, therefore, is jazz, but I really only put that on if my suitemate Kevin won’t quit his screeching whistling.

Most influential class so far: I’m going to cheat and put two. English 150 was so much fun that it convinced me to add an English major. And before I took English 300 (pre-1800 Brit lit), I believed that everything written more than twenty years ago was by default excruciating and odious.

Best advice to new English majors: Don’t listen to people who tell you not to use adverbs. Adverbs are incredibly awesome; same advice applies to semicolons.