By The Keystone Newspaper Six professors share excerpts from their latest works
By Bethany McDonald
On Nov. 6, students and staff gathered in the President’s Room (MSU 250) at 6:30 p.m. for the English Faculty Reading, where six professors shared excerpts from their latest writing projects.
Associate Professor of English Jeffrey Voccola organized the event, providing background on each professor before they took the stand.
Assistant Professor Robert Fillman was first, reading excerpts from his poetry collection “The Melting Point,” which was released in April 2025. In addition to teaching in the English department, Fillman serves on the board of Poetry and Transit and is the poetry editor of Pennsylvania English.
“I’ve been writing a number of poems about my kids. They’re easier to read when they’re not actually present in the room,” Fillman said. “I have a few son poems in here. Some of them are humorous, some are lighthearted–this is neither. It’s a poem I wish I didn’t have to write.”
Fillman then proceeded to read his poem titled “On a Tuesday My Son and I Are Screaming,” which reflected on a time he and his son were at Disney while a mass shooting was occurring in Texas.
Next, Dr. Michael Downing, a former technical writer and journalist who has been teaching at the college level for more than 30 years, read from his latest poetry collection, “River Names,” a collection of nature poetry.
Photo Credit: Bethany McDonald
“The drafts for most of these were written 30 years ago,” he said. “My message to students is to write now.”
Most of the poems are about western Pennsylvania, where Downing grew up. Locations included the Allegheny River, Oil Creek and Lake Erie.
“I want to put you in a kayak on the water, I want it to be experiential,” Downing said.
Assistant Department Chair Amy Lynch-Biniek, editor of “Contingency, Exploitation, and Solidarity: Labor & Action in English Composition,” which won the 2017 CWPA Best Book Award, focuses her work on pedagogy, literacy studies, and labor studies. Though she also enjoys writing creative nonfiction.
Lynch-Biniek described her piece as having the same feel of a nonsense poem—language that sounds like real words but is ultimately meaningless.
“This whole story will make more sense if you know the poem ‘Jabberwocky,’” she said. “You get to hear a story of weird stuff that happens to me.”
She then read her narrative nonfiction piece about her mother’s experience with aphasia.
Photo Credit: Bethany McDonald
Vocolla then took the stand, expressing that he has been working on a new novel about a musician for over a year. He read part of a chapter that describes the childhood of the main character, Wesley, titled “The Whole Entire World.”
Next was Dr. Andrew Vogel, who read three poems, one titled “Alterers.”
“Each of the poems has a geography. This poem [Alterers] is set in Kutztown, Pennsylvania,” he said.
The remaining poems were set in Brooklyn, New York, and on the road to and from Columbus, Ohio.
Lastly was Associate Professor Brandon Krieg, who read both new and older poems.
Photo Credit: Bethany McDonald
“Writing is a lonely business most of the time,” Krieg said. “It’s just you and the page. It’s really nice to hear friends read their work and be moved by their work.”
One poem, titled “In Case of Loss,” was written on the first page of a Moleskine journal, due to the “In case of loss” section, where you are supposed to write your name.
Students enjoyed hearing their professors’ personal work and felt they gained a better sense of who they are as writers.
“I really enjoyed listening to the works of each professor and seeing them in a personable setting,” junior Alice Frank said. “It was a great motivator to finish out the rest of the semester.”