Jim Gorman

Title: Professor of English, Director of Creative Writing, Faculty Athletics Representative

Education: St. Mary�s Academy (k-12; 1969); John Carroll University (BA, 1973); Ohio University (MA, 1977 and Ph.D., 1983)

Hometown: Hoosick Falls, New York (home also of Grandma Moses)

What particular topic do you most enjoy teaching? The story, or as novelists call it, the short story.

Why should every person you meet want to know more about your area of expertise? Because story telling is older than the cave paintings and as essential to all of us as breathing.

What is your favorite aspect of teaching? Helping a student with a specific piece of writing; that "ah ha" that comes when you help a student past a particular point of confusion or limitation. The "ah ha" comes for student and teacher at the same time or at vastly different times.

Why do you teach at Otterbein? A steady income; every 11th quarter I can renew my creativity through a sabbatical; my English colleagues; and the students, especially writing students and student athletes, though I strike up enjoyable conversations with students of all kinds just about daily.

What are the best qualities you see in Otterbein students? They are flexible, unassuming and hard working.

What question are you most often asked by students? Since I am an excitable teacher who often jumps from idea to idea without clear connections, I am often asked, "Can you say that again, clearly?"

What is the ONE THING you want your students to take away from your class or from knowing you? That each of us needs to find the ONE THING for him or herself. Thinking - discovering, solving, discerning - distinguishes us from plants and animals; finding our own ONE THING distinguishes us from other human beings. Finding it may be a lifelong pursuit. I am still in restless pursuit.

What research are you currently conducting/projects are you currently working on? I am writing new stories, most of them autobiographical fiction. I am also working on a longer story set on a particular day in 1905. This story requires research. I am reading newspapers, magazines and histories from that era. Such research is unusual for me, but fascinating. I am also interested in finding stories that have been made into successful movies, like 3:10 to Yuma, Brokeback Mountain, The Hustler, just three of many major motion pictures based on a (relatively short) story.

If you were not an educator, what would be your dream job? A gardener. I love the miracle of plants; my nose loves them, my eyes love them. Or a jack-of-all-trades; I love fixing things.

What are your hobbies outside the classroom? Watching and listening to sports. I�m a fan of the Red Sox (major league baseball) and the Cardinals (Otterbein, Division III). I also enjoy running; I�ve run a marathon per year for the past few years, though I am taking this year off to concentrate on my sabbatical writing. Also I enjoy a good mixed metaphor from time to time - thank goodness, mixed metaphors do not give you cancer and are still legal at any speed.

Email: jgorman@otterbein.edu