Meet Professor Fred Cooksey, M.F.A.

Degree and from where it was received: B.A. in Philosophy, 1989 -- George Mason University; Faifax, VA M.A. in English, 1992 -- George Mason University; Faifax, VA M.F.A. in Creative Writing, 2001 -- University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Greensboro, NC Courses you teach: English 101 & 102 Creative Nonfiction Advanced Writing Creative Writing Journalism I (COM 113) Journalism Practicum Accomplishments (personal or professional): Published nonfiction in Washington Post Magazine (2000) and Fourth Genre (2001) Published fiction in Alaska Quarterly Review (2001) and Raleigh News and Observer (2003) Taught in Smith College's "Community College Connections" program (Summer 2004) Favorite thing about teaching: I make my living dealing with real human emotions and issues. I get to talk about language, ideas, aesthetics -- and I always learn more about the books, stories, poems, essays, and issues I care about when my students gain the confidence to talk about them too. Memorable moment at HCC: A few years ago I was leading a class discussion about a particularly difficult element of a Hemingway story. In the middle of the discussion, one student said, "You just ruined everything I thought." But she was smiling, and I remember the moment fondly because I knew that she was in the process of rethinking a simplistic view of the story. I could sense her intellectual and emotional grasp of the story deepening. And that's what I live for in the classroom -- that moment of complication and re-evaluation of previously conceived ideas, opinions, positions. Teaching philosophy: To paraphrase the Russian writer Anton Chekhov: It's not the writer's job to provide answers; it's the writer's job to state the questions well. It's the same for all of us -- teachers and students. If we can begin to meaningfully explore the complexities of literature and art, and transfer this same attitude to life, love, work, family, and so on, we can live our lives more fully. For me, that means constantly revising our views of the world. It means asking good questions, not settling for easy answers. Meet the Faculty   |   Holyoke Community College 303 Homestead Ave. Holyoke, MA (413) 538-7000