SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE | Eula Biss
Explores the Intricacies of Contemporary Writing By Sophie Mulgrew ’19
Scholar-in-Residence | Eula Biss 14
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ailure is not a particularly common but her success did not come without perseverance: “For the most part, no one word at Bishop’s, so students has asked or expected me to write,” and faculty alike were surprised Ms. Biss says. “It’s something I’ve had when award-winning author Eula Biss to fight to do.” She recalled working explained, “Some essays fail. Not every multiple jobs during her early years trial works out, not every attempt is as an author, writing late at night or successful, not every experiment yields whenever she had a spare moment, and what you think it will yield. You have she encouraged students to do the same: to give yourself permission to say “If you wait for the world to tell you something that might be wrong.” that what you have to say is wanted, The sentiment came at a particularly you might not ever express yourself on meaningful time, with seniors anxiously the page.” awaiting college Ms. Biss spent much decisions and the rest “Something I’ve found of her time at Bishop’s of the School feeling third-quarter fatigue. really gratifying about in the classroom, discussing her own This January, Eula my work as a writer writing journey and Biss visited Bishop’s as is that if I’m going to exploring the works of a part of the School’s others. While meeting Endowed Scholar-indo my work well, with a group of Residence program, I have to continue upperclassmen, she but her journey to to learn.” offered a detailed look the campus began into Joan Didion’s long before this year. —Eula Biss essay “Goodbye to All English teacher That,” of which she Cresence Birder ’07, has written her own adaptation. Using who took part in choosing this year’s passages from the essay as tangible scholar, was one of the author’s students examples, Ms. Biss challenged students at Northwestern University. “We felt that to rethink what they may have previously Ms. Biss could offer quite a bit to the learned as the “correct” way to write. She Bishop’s community,” says Cresence. emphasized thoughtful craftsmanship “As a writer, she crafts intricate and and the important relationship between complex essays, making bold choices in form and function—diving into the form. Her book ‘Notes from No Man’s minutiae of language and its relationship Land’ explores race and identity in to the page. She touched on everything America, and we were eager as a from word choice and syntactical community to integrate her work into rhythm, to the power of purposeful our ongoing conversations on campus.” repetition. Ms. Biss is the author of three books, English student Hana Belmontethe most recent of which, “On Immunity,” Ryu ’19 explains, “I came out of was named one of the New York Times Ms. Biss’ presentation feeling like I Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2014. had learned something. She wasn’t just Her work has earned her multiple talking at us, she was talking with us; fellowships and a Jaffe Writers’ Award,