The Miscellany recently got in touch with Dennis Cass (’90), a Carleton alum whose ties to the school have him coming back to pass on his know-how, now as a professor. In fact, Cass likes us so much, this is not the first time he has come back to teach, or agreed to give the Miscellany an interview! Two years ago, the Miscellany focused on his life outside of Carleton, now we want to hear a little bit more about what he’s teaching and what it’s like being back. Check it out!
This term has you teaching Carleton students about nonfiction writing. Can you tell us what makes you excited about this topic and what goals you have for the term?
The mantra of English 263 is “Be a person.” Yes, it’s a class. And, of course, a class is taken by students and led by an instructor. But my primary goal and my greatest hope is that we can ignore the construct, shed our roles, and be people first. Let’s be people writing stories for people who like to read stories because they’re people.
Your website describes an interest in the sci-fi genre. Would you ever teach a class that focuses on sci-fi, and if you could, what would be your organizing principle for structuring the class?
I would love to teach a speculative fiction writing class at Carleton. For me the best works of the genre hold the fantastic and mundane in tension. For my organizing principle I’d want my students to find a way to be both ridiculously imaginative and studiously human.
You’re actually a Carleton alum yourself! How has Carleton changed since your time here? What’s it like to be on the other side of the classroom? How did you spend your time as a student here?
Thank you so much for asking! On the one hand Carleton is exactly as I left it, and as a teacher I’m often aware of how my students fit into enduring Carleton archetypes. Which is weird. And inspiring! As for how I spent my time here I did the usual old-timey Carleton stuff. I worked at the faculty horse stables, went on ice picnics, and danced to New Order at the secret nightclub under Norse.
How would you say your two professions (writing and teaching) interact? Does one shape the other at all?
That’s a great question, but unfortunately I have no idea how to answer it. Next plz!
Any advice for aspiring authors? Something you wish someone had told your past self when you’d started writing?
I’m against general writing advice. What’s right for you is highly dependent on the project you’re working on, the stage that project is in, where you are in your writing career, and even where you are in your life. Even something seemingly harmless like “Write every day” may be the worst thing you can tell someone. As for my past self there really isn’t anything I wish someone had told that self. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I am confident I will make many, many more. The best I can do is to keep in mind the immortal words of the wise and wonderful Kanye West: “I’m trying to right my wrongs/But it’s funny, them same wrongs helped me write this song.”
If you want to read his previous interview, click the link below.
http://blogs.carleton.edu/englishdepartment/2015/06/01/dennis-cass-exposed/