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Lewis Robinson
Lewis Robinson (Fiction) is the author of Officer Friendly and Other Stories, winner of the PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award. A graduate of Middlebury College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has published fiction in numerous journals including Tin House, Open City, The Missouri Review, and Sports Illustrated, and has broadcast his work on National Public Radio's "Selected Shorts." Lewis received a Schaeffer Fellowship in 2002 and a Whiting Writers' Award in 2003. He has taught fiction workshops at the University of Iowa and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. Selected Publications: Officer Friendly and Other Stories (HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2003) Teaching Philosophy: Every fiction writer is continually working on two stories: the intended story and the story on the page. Most of the problems we face as we revise can be traced back to the finer points of language: are we conveying what we intend to convey? Are the details organic to the point-of-view? Are we meeting the reader halfway? Providing enough, but not too much? These are my major concerns when I'm working with a student's manuscript. I ask the students I mentor to send me their manuscripts through the mail, so I can mark their pages with line edits. These comments suggest trends, ticks, and habits which I expand upon in my letter. Ultimately, the letter is the most important part of my critique, because it provides context for the markings on the page, but all revision—all improvement—happens at the "level of the line." We can work through our mistakes, and learn from them. As writers, we shouldn't fear such mistakes; revision is a huge part of the process. I derive my critiques—hopefully!—from the writer's aesthetic vantage point. I strive to see every manuscript from the inside. I am open to assigning specific exercises for my students, but I will only do this if asked. Typically, my assignments come in the form of suggested readings. I assign novels, stories, and craft texts which will complement, challenge, and inform each student's individual project. I encourage students to respond to these assignments in a thoughtful, specific way, though I don't have expectations for academic fluency. I assign novels or stories in hope that my students will contemplate the author's craft; I want my students to be reading as writers. Links: Audio File: LEWIS ROBINSON READING ^top
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