The Importance of Bookstores: An Interview with the Owner of Montague Bookmill

By Emily Finnila ’27

Contributing Writer

A beloved bookstore in western Massachusetts, the Montague Bookmill is about a forty minute drive from campus. Mount Holyoke News had the opportunity to interview its owner, Susan Shilliday, about the importance of bookstores. 

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

How did you first discover the Bookmill? 

[My daughter], she's the one who introduced it to me. She would come up here to study. And when I visited her, she knew I would love it. And so she brought me here. 

And what made you decide to take over the business? 

It seemed sort of a crazy thing to do, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. I had moved here because I couldn't stay in Los Angeles. I was still working as a screenwriter, but my career was definitely winding down because the business had really changed and also, being a woman in the film business is nothing compared to getting older. I mean, ageism is just awful. So there wasn't as much work. And I was just kind of, almost unconsciously, looking for something new.

Do you still work on writing projects at the Bookmill? 

In the beginning, I was still writing. Now, not so much. Everybody else can do all the writing now. People are always here working on their books and a lot of theses get written, a lot of school work gets done. It's very much a writer's community and a writer's world. 

Why do you think community spaces like the Bookmill are so important? 

I think it's really important for people to feel that bookstores are a welcoming place in the community and a permanent part of the community. It's the third place. A place where people can gather and feel comfortable, just hanging out for a while, reading, working, buying books, doing whatever, meeting friends, having first dates. All kinds of things. We all find that [the Bookmill] has a very warm feeling. No one's ever afraid to be here after dark.

And people are still buying books. People will often say, oh, you know, it's so sad, people aren't reading anymore. That's not what we find. People are still buying books, young people are still buying books. Books are still very important to a lot of people. They're not going away. 

What kind of books do you sell here? What can students expect to find?

I would say we have books that are of interest to the general public. There's no specialty. All kinds of people bring their books in. A lot of people my age who are downsizing, a lot of students who accumulated a lot of books and need to get rid of some before they move on, all kinds. And that never gets old. Of all the things that I do here, sitting down and going through a box of books is always fun. You never know what you're gonna find. There's something here for everybody. That's really what we aim to do. 

What can you tell students about what it’s like to run a bookstore? 

It's enormously rewarding, I would say. I'm lucky. One of my favorite things is when someone walks in the door and says, “I don't know what to read. Can you help me find something to read?” And I love that. And I'll ask them, “Okay, what's the last thing you read that you really liked?” And then trying to match somebody with a book is— just tremendous. That's tremendous fun to me and I feel a great sense of accomplishment, if I can find somebody something that they enjoy reading. 

What’s next for you and the Bookmill? 

I really don't know. This is an important part of the community. I mean, you're not allowed to change anything at the Bookmill. If a chair finally falls apart and I throw it out, somebody will be very upset, because that was their favorite chair. [So,] I'll keep doing [this] as long as I can. I'm not sure how much time I have left. If there is a next. But I will certainly keep this going. 

Jillian Stammely ’28 contributed fact-checking. 

Craving a Vampire Novel? Sink Your Teeth Into These Six Spooktacular Reads

Isabelle Peterson ‘28

Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again. The days grow shorter, the nights longer, and talk of the supernatural is nearly inescapable. Unsurprisingly, much of this talk concerns a certain, bloodsucking, creature of night:; Tthe vampire. While stories like “Dracula,” “The Vampire Chronicles,” and “Twilight,” are understandably considered classics of their genre, they all portray an extremely specific type of vampire. To compensate, various other artists have interpreted the myth of the vampire with fresh tales of the undead. In this list, you will find books encompassing a wide range of genres and styles with preference given to contemporary authors. Some are closer to sci-fi than fantasy, some are just about as traditional as it gets, and in some, vampirism is embedded in the structure of the text itself.

So, in the unlikely scenario that you ever find yourself on a dark and stormy night, and miraculously without any tasks to complete, consider checking one of these books out from the Williston Memorial Library! Or, you can embrace the deliciously sinful feeling of ignoring your emails in favour of a novel about VAMPIRES. The choice, dear reader, is yours.

1. “Woman, Eating” by Claire Kohda

Lydia is adrift. She’s just graduated from art school, her internship isn’t what she thought it would be, and her social life is negligible, at best. In the comfort of her windowless apartment, she binge watches Japanese cooking videos on YouTube in an attempt to feel connected to her deceased father, who always placed a special significance on food. Unfortunately, Lydia inherits her mother’s more complicated relationship with eating. She is a vampire, making her unable to consume the human foods her father once loved to cook. Despite the Caravaggio painting on the cover, the style of “Woman, Eating” feels remarkably modern. Kohda’s writing is sparse and tight, and her plot is mainly character-driven. Although this novel is far from the gothic camp that many have come to expect from media concerning vampires, it is a thoughtful examination on the nature of love, family, and food, which, for Lydia, sometimes happen to be the same thing.

2. “Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas

The meticulously researched page turner, “Vampires of El Norte” takes place during the Mexican-American War and tells the story of the childhood friends, Nena, the daughter of a ranchero, and Néstor, a vaquero. When searching for buried treasure, the thirteen-year old Nena and Néstor are attacked by a vampire, and Nena appears gravely injured. Néstor, believing his friend dead, and anticipating that he will be harshly punished due to his lower class status, flees the scene. When the United States lays claim to the land between the Rio Nueces and the Rio Grande, Nena and her family find themselves caught in the middle. Her training as a curandera — a healer — allows her to follow her father into the auxiliary forces of the Mexican army, and it is here that she reunites with Néstor Nestor. Together, they make their way through horrors both human and supernatural and slowly begin to untangle a plot tying vampires to the encroaching forces of American imperialism.

3 and 4. “The Gilda Stories” by Jewelle Gomez and “Caramelle & Carmilla” by Jewelle Gomez and J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Technically, “The Gilda Stories” and “Carmelle & Carmilla” are three separate books, but really, can you ever have too many sapphic vampires? In the early 90s, Jewelle Gomez’s debut novel “The Gilda Stories” won two Lambda Literary Awards, instantly cementing itself as a classic of queer speculative fiction. “The Gilda Stories” is composed of a series of vignette-like sections that stretch from 1850s Louisiana to the “Land of Enchantment” in 2050. The stories follow Gilda, as she escapes slavery and is taken in by a group of women who run a brothel. She becomes a vampire, assuming a role that transforms her into an arbiter of life and death. As she matures, she attempts to find ways to ethically navigate her immortality and desire for human blood. “The Gilda Stories” contains an incredibly poignant depiction of immortality, and is ultimately a wonderful meditation on the nature of gender, race, sexuality, and ultimately, power.

Make sure to check out Jewelle Gomez’s recently released novella “Caramelle & Carmilla” as well, which juxtaposes a work of original fiction — set in the same universe as “The Gilda Stories” — with Le Fanu’s infamous lesbian vampire novella “Carmilla.”

5. “R E D” by Chase Berggrun

Blackout poetry is on display in its highest form in “R E D,” a book-length erasure poem of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Berggrun describes erasure poetry as an act of violent extraction, a difficult, and at times infuriating method which is not to be used lightly. In order to firmly establish her own sense of voice, Berggrun created a series of precepts that would become the cardinal rules of her writing process. She never allows herself to use more than five words in a row, always preserving them in their original form and order. In this way, “R E D” is more a vampiric poem than it is a poem about vampires. Berggrun transforms “Dracula,” a novel deeply rooted in the fear of emasculation and female sexuality, into an exploration of womanhood and social erasure.

6. “Fledgling” by Octavia Butler

Shori wakes up with debilitating injuries, and no memory of who she once was, or what exactly, she is. As the nature of her past identity is slowly revealed to her, she gathers friends and lovers in an attempt to return to some semblance of a home. However, mysterious arsonists seem intent on destroying her at every term, and the idea of finding a place where she truly belongs begins to seem ever further out of reach. In typical Octavia Butler fashion, the vampires of “Fledgling” are more science fiction than fantasy, leading to a unique interpretation of how a society of extremely long-lived beings that require human blood for survival might function. “Fledgling” attempts to present a depiction of vampires that actually makes sense, leading to the exposure of some pretty amusing plot holes in the more widely accepted mythos.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed-fact checking.

Interview with former MHC professor on her bestselling hiker thriller, ‘Heartwood’

By Cameran Steiger ’26

Contributing Writer

Amity Gaige has been many things: a professor of creative writing at Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College and Yale University, a publishing professional, and a bestselling author. Her most recent venture, “Heartwood” — released in April of this year — is a harrowing lost-hiker narrative following Valerie Gillis, who hits the Appalachian Trail to shake off her experience serving as a nurse during the pandemic. When she vanishes into the Maine wilderness, an entire community must mobilize to find her. Among the searchers are Beverly, a Maine game warden responsible for bringing her home safe, and Lena, an unlikely septuagenarian armchair-investigator. They each carry emotional baggage of their own.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ms. Gaige to discuss her time in the Pioneer Valley and the depiction of nuanced female characters in “Heartwood.” The following interview has been edited and condensed.

Q: While the vast majority of this story takes place in Maine, you included several references to the Pioneer Valley. What was it about living and working in this region that felt inspirational for you?

A: When we were living in Amherst while I was [a visiting professor] at Amherst College and Mount Holyoke, our house was around the corner from the Emily Dickinson House. And then, you go over to Mount Holyoke, and Smith; the illustrious people that have taught and [studied] there, like Sylvia Plath! There’s a statue of Robert Frost on the campus of Amherst College, and while I was there, I was lucky to meet the poet Richard Wilbur. He started talking about “Bob” and I’m like, “Who’s Bob?” and he’s like, “Robert Frost!” Because, he knew him! You’re surrounded by that, in the Pioneer Valley.

Q: You also hiked part of the Appalachian Trail as part of your research. Do you have any fun stories from that trip?

A: When I was hiking in New York, I met these two women in their seventies who were section hiking the trail. One of them smoked menthol cigarettes. Her name was Real. She said, “‘Cause I keep it real!” It was so funny to hike around her for a couple of days, because I could smell the cigarettes. It was so unexpected, and I asked Real, “Well, why are you hiking the Appalachian Trail?” and she said, “Better than sitting at home, waitin’ to die!” in a Southern accent. I love that gallows humor, and her toughness. There’s a lot of people who don’t conform to your idea of who’s supposed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Q: Notably, “Heartwood” foregrounds multiple tough female characters who are also nuanced and sensitive. Can you tell me about your process here?

A: I always knew my lost hiker would be a woman. Perhaps I, as the author, could identify more with what it might feel like to be out there by yourself as a woman. An author always tries to find ways to relate to their characters. For me, Bev was actually the hardest character to write. [It] took a long time for me to relate to her, and what I ended up gaining access through was her sense of her size. I’m somewhat tall, not nearly as tall as she, but that's how that felt to me in adolescence: That sense of monstrousness. And [it was] her aloneness, and her longing, her longing for community. It was all of those things. It just happened. They were all women, and I ended up connecting with each of them in different ways.

Q: Beverly’s experience as a woman in the warden service is a core element of her character. Can you tell me about your experiences with the Maine wardens during your research for this novel?

A: They were very open to having a fiction writer in their midst. I went on ride-alongs with two different wardens, a man and a woman. Going around with the woman was particularly really useful. She was an amazing, confident person, and so dedicated to her work; she was born to be a warden. I loved being around somebody like that, who was so clearly doing what she was meant to do. And, unfortunately, there aren’t so many female wardens, and now with some of the interruptions in DEI [programming], there will be probably even fewer. In the book, Bev [talks about how] the warden service had so few women that they didn’t have a uniform for the female body until 2020. So, I was both inspired, and [it’s been] bittersweet [to see] the changes that are happening, since they were going in such a great direction.

Q: As an author and a professor of creative writing, what advice would you give to young writers at Mount Holyoke?

A: I would say to the Mount Holyoke writers — and I’m sure there’s many because it's a very creative place — you guys have access to incredible professors both at Mount Holyoke and in the Five College system. Get out there and learn from those people. Every creative writing teacher has a different way of seeing and teaching. Soak it up, confront new ideas and [understand that] writers benefit from knowledge about other subjects. There are great examples of writers whose expertise makes their fiction shine.

Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact-checking.

The Odyssey Bookshop hosts Marie Lu to talk about new novel ‘Red City’

By Cat McKenna ’28 and Honora Quinn ’27

Staff Writers

“What did your grandparents do?” is how the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Holly Black kicked off her conversation with fellow#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Marie Lu at an event at the Odyssey Bookshop on Saturday, Oct. 18.

The question, which Black cited as from Author David Levithan, was just the beginning of a fun and engaging conversation about Lu’s debut novel in the adult genre, “Red City,” published on Oct. 14. Lu paused after this opener, before confessing to the crowd that she wasn’t quite sure.

Before “Red City,” Lu’s novels were within the young adult space, including her 2011 dystopian debut novel, #1 New York Times bestseller, “Legend,” and her 2017 #1 New York Times science fiction bestseller, “Warcross.”

Set in a reimagined Los Angeles, “Red City” puts readers into a world where “alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.”

After Black’s opening question, she asked Lu how she came about centering the world and magic of “Red City” around alchemy. Lu explained that one summer, she enrolled in an astronomy class at Oxford University. When she encountered a book on the history of alchemy in Oxford’s library, the concept of alchemy being the center of “Red City” began to brew.

With “Red City” being Lu’s adult debut, Black also brought up questions about her approach to structuring a story for older readers after havinge written for a younger audience for over a decade. On that point, Lu told Black that she “trusts an adult audience to sit with the discomfort of adult themes.”

When Mount Holyoke News interviewed Black about her own thoughts on “Red City,” she touched on this darkness: “[It was] super interestingly brutal in its interpersonal dynamics. Specifically, the family backgrounds of both of the main characters.”

Black and Lu touched on this specifically when they discussed the complex dynamic between Sam, one of the protagonists, and her mother. Lu explained how Sam and her mother’s relationship has elements of Lu’s own upbringing. She and her mother immigrated to the United States when she was five. Parts of her immigrant experience are shown in the novel. For instance, Lu explained that in the opening scene of the book, Sam is waiting in a closet for her mother to finish her waitressing shift. Lu recalled how, in her childhood, she would wait in a restaurant's closet for her mother to finish work as well. On this, Lu and Black both commented that financial hardship seem more real in “Red City” and adult novels in general.

Sam’s co-protagonist, Ari, faces hardship in a different sense. Ari is an apprentice at one of the syndicates. Lu said she finds common ground between herself and Ari in both his apprenticeship and his life. She revealed how, in her own academic life, nothing ever really came naturally. That is reflected in Ari’s apprenticeship and arc in “Red City.” Both Ari and Lu “really have to work for [success],” which Lu posed in contrast with Sam’s character.

When reflecting on both Sam and Ari, Lu said during the event, “I gave half of myself to her and half of myself to him.”

At the end of the talk, Lu talked about her writing process and how she pursued writing projects in college. When asked what advice she had for college students hoping to be writers, she said, “Take your time, take the time you need, find the time in between things. There's a million different ways of getting it done, and all of them are valid.”

The event concluded with a book signing in front of the store. During the signing Lu was asked what she wanted readers to take away from “Red City.”

Lu said, despite the darkness of the novel, she hopes “[readers] take some sense of hope from it, where even though you live in this dark world, there's somebody who remembers you and there's somebody who loves you, and that you know that there is worth in yourself.”

Maeve McCorry ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Olivia Worley keeps you guessing until the bitter end in ‘Final Cut’

By Honora Quinn ’27

Staff Writer

I’ve never been a fan of the things that go bump in the night. I’m a scaredy cat, you could say, always looking over my shoulder for the Jason Voorhees of the world. I’d never have what it takes to be a “final girl.”

But luckily with books like “Final Cut” — the latest young adult thriller from Olivia Worley out Oct. 28 from Wednesday Books — I can imagine what it would be like to be the girl that fights back and wins.

“Final Cut” follows Hazel “Haze” Lejeune, a recent high school graduate and aspiring actress. A major fan of horror films and the final girls that outlive them, it’s her dream to be in a slasher. So imagine her delight when, with just a few student films to her name, she gets cast in “Swamp Creatures,” an indie horror film set and filmed in Pine Springs, Louisiana. The film, at first glance, seems to be loosely based on the Pine Springs Slasher case in which several teens were viciously slain by their beloved high school teacher.

It’s about at this point in the novel that things begin to go awry in Pine Springs, revolving around the often mentioned but never seen screenwriter who's still finalizing the script in the first days of production, Haze’s charming southern co-star Cameron, and the mysteries of the town itself.

It’s not Haze’s first time in Pine Spring, though it’s been well over a decade since she’s last shown her face. Her father, Cal Dupre, is the Pine Springs Slasher, as far as the public is concerned. In the 15 years that followed, Haze and her mother have been on the move, skipping town whenever a new job appears for her mother and whenever the gruesome shadow of the slasher begins to barge into their attempt at a fresh start. But no one knows Haze’s story or her connection to the case. Not her high-strung director, and certainly not Cameron, whose eyes seem to linger a little longer after each stolen glance. And things of course only get more complicated when the bodies start dropping.

The “final girl” as a concept is one that has been loved by audiences for decades. We revel in their screams, in the defiant look in their eyes as they stand — more likely than not — bloodied, yet not beaten. And over the past few years we have seen a subgenre emerging within literature focusing on these stories. From Stephen Graham Jones’ 2012 “The Last Final Girl,” to Grady Hendrix “The Final Girl Support Group” and even looking into the future with Andrea Mosqueda’s 2026 release “Revenge of The Final Girl,” it’s safe to say that we have an abundance of bloody and rich revenge tales. Most of these final girls of the modern age are aware of their position and what it means to be the last one standing. They know all the ins and outs of horror like the back of their hand, and in this capacity, Haze fits right in with the crew. She listens to horror movie soundtracks to unwind during her down time off-set; as a kid, she viewed horror movies as a way to process the legacy passed down by her father, which circulates through her own blood.

So Haze knows the signs to look for, what to read into from a suspicious quirk of an eyebrow or how to track down the monsters that dwell in the shadows. The final girl on film, while portrayed as victorious, is just as often a victim of the plot. She’s thrust into her heroism by default, as the last one standing. Someone must defeat the killer stalking through her small town, college campus, summer camp, resort etc., and there is nothing unique to her character making her more suited to the role than someone else. But this new era of the final girl, which Haze embodies, is less about reluctant ascendance to being the hero and rather a sense of agency and awareness that she’s the best candidate in the first place.

Remember how it felt when you first watched “Scream,” when the killer was unmasked and everything fell into place? That’s how reading “Final Cut” felt. It left me questioning and questioning with each new turn, flying through the pages until the bitter, bloody and glorious end. I’ve only begun to dip my toe into horror, and I still fear the odd bumps and grumbles that lurk in the night, but books like “Final Cut” make me excited to traverse further into the genre. They give me the courage to imagine what it would be like to be the girl that unabashedly survives.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking.

A look at the internet’s new least favorite adaptation: ‘Wuthering Heights’

Graphic by Isabelle Peterson ’28

By Honora Quinn ’27 and Cat McKenna ’28

Staff Writers

“I didn’t know ‘Wuthering Heights’ was the fourth installment of the ‘50 Shades of Grey’ franchise,” @Silverfields1 posted under the YouTube trailer for Emerald Fennel’s 2026 adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel.

The film is slated for a February 13 release. But the trailer, posted on Sept. 3, 2025, has already amassed over 11 million views; and that’s not taking into consideration the mountains of articles, video essays and online discourse that have emerged over the last several months as the first set of pictures were released.

The film has been mired with public controversy since it was announced the year following the release of Fennell’s sophomore feature “Saltburn”, with the most notable critique being the casting of the two stars: Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. Elordi’s casting in particular has drawn criticism from fans of Brontë’s novel. Heathcliff — whom Brontë alludes to as being racially ambiguous, “dark-skinned” and from Yorkshire in Northern England — will be portrayed by a white, Australian actor.

To get an academic perspective on this controversy and the legacy of the novel, Mount Holyoke News sat down with Mary Lyon Professor of Humanities and Chair of the English Department at Mount Holyoke, Kate Singer.

“I was also disappointed because I think that Heathcliff … people have talked about him in different ways, as being a Romani character, as being racially ambiguous, and, therefore, a product of some sort of mixed race parentage,” Singer said on the casting of Elordi in particular.

Robbie’s casting has also attracted controversy, although primarily due to her age. Robbie, 35 years old and Australian, is portraying an 18-year-old and English Cathy.

Fennell, however, defended the casting in an interview with People Magazine. She referred to Robbie as “somebody who has a power, an otherworldly power, a Godlike power, that means people lose their minds.”

Well, people are certainly losing their minds over what we’ve seen thus far of Robbie’s portrayal of Cathy. Critics are wondering how these castings will affect more complex themes surrounding her character’s relationship with Heathcliff. Particularly, the social and racial differences between the Earnshaws and Heathcliff as explored in the 1847 novel.

Alongside other plots, “Heathcliff is also taking revenge on the fragile middle-class white woman, and also the white aristocrat, or the white landowner who is both in certain ways entrapping that middle-class white femininity and also … denigrating the Heathcliffs of the world,” Singer noted.

Speculations have arisen about Fennell possibly choosing a more colorblind approach to the casting. Edgar Linton, the aristocrat whom Cathy marries, will be portrayed by Shazad Latif, who is a British actor of Pakistani and Scottish descent.

“I just couldn't tell from the trailer ... if they just love him as an actor, or if there was some kind of racial implication with making Edgar Linton be of a racialized origin, if we're supposed to think that he's tied to the British Empire through a certain kind of South Asian ancestry, and if so, what is that saying?” Singer commented.

Based on the trailer, this seemingly colorblind casting raises questions about the overlooked complexity of Brontë's work. Going back to Elordi’s casting, Heathcliff was found by Mr. Earnshaw in Liverpool, a port that was heavily active in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. With Fennell’s whitewashed Heathcliff, the trailer implies that this adaptation may brush over these key complexities in favor of a more romantic and sexually charged narrative.

With the rise of BookTok, some viewers might see “Wuthering Heights” more along the lines of a gothic Colleen Hoover than that of Mary Shelley. While there is a romantic arc between Cathy and Heathcliff, Brontë still weaves in these complex societal concepts around race, class and gender that are left out in a BookTok romance.

That said, we are still months away from Fennell’s release of the film. Maybe it will be as much of a hit as the 2024 gothic reimaging of “Nosferatu,” or maybe it will be, as YouTube user @The OneTrueJack theorized, “50 Shades of Brontë.”

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Chat with Jen Sookfong Lee on new book ‘The Hunger We Pass Down’

Gabrielle Orta Roman ’28

By Honora Quinn ‘27

Staff Writer

According to her biography on Penguin Random House, “Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include ‘The Conjoined’ (nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize), ‘The Better Mother’ (a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award), ‘The End of East,’ ‘The Shadow List’ and ‘Finding Home.’ Sookfong Lee acquires and edits for ECW Press.”

Her latest novel “The Hunger We Pass Down” — published by Erewhon Books, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp. — comes out on Sept. 30. Pitched by Kensington as Jordan Peele’s “Us” meets “The School for Good Mothers,” the novel follows a single mother living in present-day Vancouver who, when faced with a doppelganger of herself, is forced to reckon with the intergenerational cycles of trauma and violence that haunt her family. 
oke News had an opportunity to conduct an interview with Sookfong Lee ahead of the publication to ask about her return to fiction, what she’s done in the meantime between novels, and advice for aspiring writers on college campuses. 

Q: What’s one word you’d use to describe this novel? What’s one word to describe yourself as a writer?

A: That's hard! How can I choose one word for a whole novel? Okay, perhaps I would go with "atmospheric," which doesn't seem scary enough, but here we are. As a writer, I would say I'm "efficient," which is the most unromantic thing in the world, but I do feel my strength is in knowing what's possible with the time and energy and skills that I have. Trying to do more is just, well, inefficient.

Q: “The Hunger We Pass Down” is your return to adult fiction after almost a decade. Why did you feel it was time to return to fiction now?

A: I published three novels in nine years (“The End of East,” 2007, “The Better Mother,” 2011, and “The Conjoined,” 2016), which left me feeling pretty burned out when it came to fiction. Novels take a lot of work — the kind of immersion that is really fulfilling but also takes a lot of intellectual and emotional energy. I had written a lot about Vancouver's Chinatown and the immigrant experience and I didn't know where else to go. When I first had the idea for “The Hunger We Pass Down,” it really excited me to explore this haunted single mother and her ancestors, in a way that I hadn't been excited in a very long time. This is partly because I am a horror fan and the genre is just inherently exciting, but also partly because I had found a new way to discuss migration, intergenerational trauma and motherhood — topics I have been interested in my whole life. But this time I got to add demons and ghosts!

Q: In the interim between novels, you’ve written and edited a lot of nonfiction works, including your own memoir, “Superfan.” How, if at all, do you think your time in this space has impacted your fiction? 

A: Non-fiction forces writers to engage in a clarity of thought that fiction doesn't. In “Superfan” and all the non-fiction books I've edited, I always ask the question: what is the thesis here and is it visible on every page? This is harder to do in a novel, of course, but I really wanted “The Hunger We Pass Down” to be sharp and incisive — to make the point very clearly that trauma that is hidden or ignored will always come back to haunt you, and that women are the ones to carry the stories and warnings on their backs as they move countries, give birth and parent. I am not sure I am capable of just exploring themes anymore; I have to stab them!

Q: Your fiction work has time and time again delved into the relationships between mother and child, and generational sagas. “The Hunger We Pass Down” also plays within this space, but unlike your previous work, this novel expands into and explores the more speculative with and through the horror elements. Why did you want to explore this genre space? Do you think you’ll venture further into genre in the future?

A: I love different genres of fiction! “The Conjoined” was a crime novel, so I had dabbled in something other than literary fiction before. But I think here I wanted to write a story where trauma becomes visible and is something (or someone) you can see and talk to and fight, and in that case, it makes sense for that trauma to be a demon. I mean, trauma isn't going to just saunter in and smile at you like Pedro Pascal (although might be nice). I think switching up genres has been a hallmark of my career for a while now, and I have no intention of stopping.

Q: Do you have any advice for the students and readers in terms of writing, editing and working in publishing? 

A: I think it's really important, when you're thinking of working in books in any capacity, to really hone in on what your motivations are. So for me, as an editor, what gets me up in the morning is making space for stories we haven't heard yet, from communities that haven't been given the opportunities to express themselves freely and creatively. If you can figure out your purpose — something that really speaks to who you are at your core — then it makes every decision really clear. I'm not saying that publishing is always fun-times for non-masc people, particularly if you're racialized or queer as well, but your purpose can be greater and more important than what is going on around you, and that is both comforting and inspiring.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact checking. 

UMass hosts Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha in ‘Poems From Gaza’

Graphic by Cat Alexander ’28

By Sarah Grinnell ’26

Books Editor

Trigger warning: this article contains mentions of genocide, violence, and death.

Mosab Abu Toha began his talk at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a sobering statement: “Today, September 16, 2025, Israel killed 110 people in Gaza.” 

What perhaps made the number given by Abu Toha most harrowing was our prescient awareness as an audience that it would only continue to climb: That, by the time this article has been published, hundreds more refugees will have been killed at the hands of Israel. 

A Palestinian poet, short story writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist from Gaza, Mosab Abu Toha has been using poetry to document the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people since the release of his debut collection in 2022, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” reminding us that the fight for Palestinian existence has been going on far longer than since Oct. 7, 2023.

Sponsored by various departments at UMass Amherst, ranging from the Political Economy Research Institute to the Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program of the Fine Arts Center University Libraries, “Poems from Gaza: An Evening with Palestinian Writer & Librarian Mosab Abu Toha” was far more somber than celebratory, haunted by an overwhelming sense of absence. Indeed, the poems which Abu Toha chose to read represented chilling time capsules of what is no more: poems which continue to author their own obsoletion. 

As Abu Toha repeatedly reminded the audience, many of the people and places he wrote about in 2021 and 2022 simply do not exist anymore. Whether that is Refaat Alareer, the Palestinian writer and poet who inspired Abu Toha’s poem “A Request: After Refaat Alareer,” who was killed in an airstrike in December of 2023. Or Abu Toha’s “many friends and relatives who were killed and buried under the rubble,” to whom he dedicated his poem “Right or Left.” Even the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza, which Abu Toha founded, is now reduced to rubble.

When prefacing “We Are Looking For Palestine,” Abu Toha observed this self-prophesying nature of so many of his poems. 

As he put it, “Sometimes I write things out of my trauma, and now they are happening. Palestine is searching for us. People are buried under the rubble of their houses.”

But while Abu Toha’s reading seemed to reflect an overwhelming futility of language — indeed, he told the audience, “I do not know what is the value of words in the face of this genocide” — the question-and-answer portion of the evening also attested to the integral role that poetry is playing in bearing witness to the atrocities that governments around the world are attempting to turn away from.

The Q&A began as a conversation between Abu Toha and George Abraham, the Palestinian American poet and writer-in-residence at Amherst College, where they discussed the written word’s ability to resist what Abraham termed “memoricide.” While Abu Toha noted, “My poetry did not save the lives of my loved ones,” it does have the ability to “save their stories.”

“It is my way to show you what you are not seeing in your mainstream media,” he explained. As poems like “We Are Looking for Palestine” demonstrate the loss not just of life but the erasure of existence — of Palestinians’ houses, neighborhoods, possessions — Abu Toha’s work shows how poetry becomes a way of resisting such “memoricide,” to fill in some of the absences through a commitment to keep “looking for Palestine.”

In the vein of bearing witness, a particularly powerful moment came in the form of Abu Toha playing recordings on his phone of airstrikes he experienced while still living in Gaza. For a few minutes, Bowker Auditorium was filled with the sounds of booms and shots. Yet this could only capture a fractional facsimile of the horror Palestinians are experiencing on the ground. 

“So what can we do?” This was one question asked during the Q&A session, and is perhaps the question on the mind of many Mount Holyoke students. Abu Toha put it quite simply:

No matter what form our action or activism takes in this time — donation, organization or simply uplifting the words of people like Abu Toha — the important thing is that, at the end of all this, “Every one of us should be ready to meet a Gazan child.” 

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact checking. 

What to do in the face of book bans: An MHC perspective

Graphic by Daniela Quinteros-Parilla ‘28

By Isabel Dunn ’27 and Honora Quinn ’27

Books Editor | Staff Writer

In recent years, the banning and censorship of books in public schools have risen to levels “not seen since the Red Scare McCarthy era of the 1950s,” according to PEN America. The organization tracked that, during the 2023-24 school year, there were “more than 10,000 book bans affecting more than 4,000 unique titles,” according to their website. Most of these banned books were on topics relating to “race and racism or individuals of color and also books on LGBTQ+ topics as well as those for older readers that have sexual references or discuss sexual violence.”

In their annual Beyond the Shelves report, PEN America also stated that there has been a noticeable rise in “educational censorship,” which “has plagued not only K-12 public schools since 2021, but a range of institutions, including public libraries, colleges and universities.”

To understand how censorship may impact Mount Holyoke College, Mount Holyoke News interviewed Dr. Caitlin Mahaffy, a visiting assistant professor in English, and Irene McGarrity, the head of research services at Library, Information and Technology Services.

Although books themselves are not typically banned at the college level, censorship can still have a significant impact.

“My sense is that, at Mount Holyoke, [the book bans are] not going to affect me very much in terms of what I’m allowed to teach,” Mahaffy said. “If anything, they encourage us to teach banned books here … if they’re going to be banned at the secondary level, and students haven’t had the opportunity to be exposed to these texts, then that’s all the more reason to expose them now.”

Offering the perspective of LITS, McGarrity called attention to the effects of censorship on college campuses in an email interview.

“What this looks like in practice is scrubbing colleges’ websites of words like ‘equity,’ ‘anti-racism,’ ‘DEI’ etc. Luckily, that didn’t happen at Mount Holyoke College, but it happened in many other places,” McGarrity said in an email interview with Mount Holyoke News.

Mahaffy, whose primary focus area within the English department is early modern literature, said, “This is the kind of environment, this English department, where we are really told and encouraged to teach texts that, you know, might be on the banned books list … Shakespeare is considered so canonical, for better or worse. But for example, sometimes ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is banned, and I certainly put that on the Shakespeare syllabus more often than not, and I actually think the syllabus is better for it.”

“It’s a really troubling play and it’s not fun to read, but it’s so similar to some of the kind of bigotry that exists now that I think people should read that,” Mahaffy said.

McGarrity echoed this idea while discussing the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three.” The non-fiction book follows two male penguins who fall in love and adopt an orphaned penguin named Tango. While the book is neither explicit nor offensive, it is often challenged due to its depiction of a homosexual relationship.

“This book presents a great opportunity to talk about all the different kinds of families there are, and how love—not the sexual orientation or gender identity or number of guardians and children—is what actually matters,” McGarrity said. “What a beautiful message. Why censor that?”

Finally, when asked if there was a banned book that she wanted to highlight, Mahaffy said, “I saw ‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrison on a banned list at some point recently, and I think that that’s a terrible thing. I think all the works of Toni Morrison have so much to say in today’s world, it should never be on a banned list.”

According to PBS, Morrison’s debut novel has “consistently landed on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books” since its publication in 1970. In PEN America’s Beyond the Shelves report, “The Bluest Eye” was one of the 19 books banned in “50 or more school districts nationwide” in the 2023-24 school year.

“I’d say ‘The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,’ edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein,” McGarrity said in her interview when asked the same question. “This is just the type of book that is being targeted by the administration because it doesn’t glorify the origins of our country, and presents a real narrative about how our country was built on the backs of enslaved people.”

McGarrity continued, “I’d also suggest reading a book—any book—with trans or gender non-conforming characters and themes … If the book hasn’t been banned yet, there’s a chance that it will be somewhere, sometime, which is a sad truth, but it’s unfortunately what’s happening now.”

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.

The Odyssey honors release of ‘Our American Israel’ in paperback

Photo courtesy of Joan Grenier

The Emily Dickinson Professor of History Mary Renda, pictured right at the podium, speaks at the Odyssey Bookshop’s “Our American Israel” event.

Olivia Russo ’25   

Staff Writer 

Nearly seven years after it was originally published, “Our American Israel” by Amy Kaplan was the topic of conversation at the Odyssey Bookshop on Wednesday, April 2. 

The panel discussion was held in celebration of the book’s release in paperback, featuring panelists Judith Frank, Mary Renda and Mark Firmani. The panelists reflected on Kaplan’s increasingly urgent insights into the shared sense of identity between Israel and the United States that has been forged by popular narratives in American news media, fiction and film.  

In “Our American Israel,” Kaplan explores parallels that “[form] the basis of American identification with Israel,” such as each nation’s history as a settler society that displaced Indigenous people from their land. The “Americanization” of the idea of a Jewish state that facilitated this identification with Israel presented Zionism as an enactment of “American ideas of modern development,” according to passages from the book. 

Kaplan, a member of Mount Holyoke’s English department faculty from 1986 to 2002, had previously published several other notable works in the field of American studies before her death in 2020, such as “The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture” and “Cultures of United States Imperialism.” 

Emily Dickinson Professor of History Mary Renda noted that she first encountered Kaplan when reading “Left Alone with America,” an essay in her anthology “Cultures of United States Imperialism.” Kaplan had found that the presence of Africa loomed over storytelling about American national identity, speaking to its centrality in the “American imperial unconscious.” According to Renda, this unconscious consisted of unspoken yet formative ideas that arose from enslavement, genocide, exploitation and violence at the heart of the nation. This backstory “haunts” and is repressed by the narrative presented through fiction, journalism and film of a supposedly exceptional, innocent, freedom-loving, self-made America. 

Renda bonded with Kaplan at Amherst College, and she shared with the audience that their conversations taught her to “see more and more of what was obscured by the popular narratives woven through canonical works and the cultural artifacts of life.” 

Renda also discussed how Kaplan exposes the mechanisms by which Palestinians, and the violence committed against them, were rendered invisible due to the deeply-held beliefs in the significance of a Jewish state as a “universal symbol of social justice.” 

Frank reflected on their own struggles in coming to terms with the brutality of Israel’s occupation, as they and Kaplan “traveled the path to anti-Zionism together.” They translated these feelings into works of fiction, such as their novel “All I Love and Know.” 

Frank discussed Kaplan’s exploration of the novel “Exodus” and its film adaptation, which had a huge impact on “Americanizing” the Zionist narrative of Israel’s origins and constructing the mainstream historical narrative of Israel’s birth that America identified with. 

Firmani, who worked closely with Kaplan on his dissertation and as a research assistant for “Our American Israel,” emphasized the importance of reading her conclusions and applying them to the present moment. In the book, Kaplan tracks “the perceptual field” within which cultural artifacts, laws and policies shape each other to form a consensus about America’s attachment to Israel, which “came to seem like common sense.” The history of the bond between America and Israel has been entangled in the narratives Americans have told about their own national identity. 

Kaplan writes that Israel is seen as a “mirror” of America, and examining this mirror allows us to understand ourselves as actors, not observers, able to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions. Firmani commented that our failure to heed such warnings has manifested in the current mass suffering and death of Palestinians. Heeding Kaplan’s message, he said, “We must ask how we can reveal the mirror that enables genocide, accepting our responsibility for these tragic consequences.”

Eden Copeland ’27 contributed fact-checking.

AT Rhodes and Ria deGuzman named joint Glascock winners

Photo courtesy of Amanda Adams

Glascock contestants pose for a photo with the poet-judges in the Williston Memorial Library’s Stimson Room, located on its sixth floor, North Stacks.

By Sarah Grinnell ’26

Books Editor

“Y’all made this a very difficult decision,” Kiki Petrosino joked alongside her fellow poet-judges, Dora Malech and Kirun Kapur, as students and faculty gathered in the Stimson Room on Friday, April 4 to await the results of the 102nd Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest.

Petrosino’s words were no understatement, as the readings the day before in Gamble Auditorium highlighted the talent of this year’s contestants and the tall order that lay ahead of the judges.

From Sylvia Plath and James Merrill, to Audre Lorde and Robert Frost, the Glascock contest has hosted some of the nation’s most renowned poets as both contestants and judges throughout its history. It has occurred regularly since 1923, making it the oldest continuously running poetry contest for undergraduate students in the United States.

This year’s competition marks the first time in 97 years that all the contestants have represented historically women’s and gender-diverse colleges, with student-poets hailing from Hollins, Smith, Spelman, Vassar, Wellesley and, of course, Mount Holyoke College. 

The festivities kicked off with the contestants’ reading on Thursday, April 3. After a welcome by Visiting Assistant Professor in English Lucas de Lima — who filled in for Associate Professor of English Anna Maria Hong, the chair of this year’s competition committee — the contestants took to the podium. 

Ria deGuzman, Smith College’s contestant, was the first to read a touching selection of poems exploring the body, ancestry and intergenerational longing. This desperation for self-knowledge came through especially in “PEOPLE LIVE HERE,” read with a breathy and urgent cadence. At the judges’ reading on Friday, April 4, the judges commended deGuzman for her “lyrical gifts” exhibited in her stirring exploration of “the voice and its echoes.”

Next was Vassar College contestant Miley Lu. A standout poem was “mother : morpho : man.” Holding powerful eye contact with the audience and delivering an emotionally-charged reading, Lu addressed the genre itself in her refrain of “o poem” to explore the limits of language in the face of real-world violence and personal traumas. Lu was praised by the judges for their “smart, surprising and self-aware” words.

Following Lu was Izzy Toy Rettke of Wellesley College. Eliciting scattered chuckles throughout his reading, Rettke skillfully oscillated between humor and poignant portrayals of volatile relationships and gender identity, with sparse yet hard-hitting language. The judges said that the “scarcity” of Rettke’s language “brings us into the poem’s moment to feel for ourselves.”

AT Rhodes, Spelman College’s contestant, immediately commanded the stage by encouraging the audience to react to and engage with their work as they read. Striking in both their descriptions and inflections, Rhodes' blend of colloquial and academic language gave their poems a musical vibrancy and distinct voice that arrested the judges, who highlighted their admiration for Rhodes’ “electric storehouse of materials” and “confident command” over their subject matter.

Elani Spencer from Hollins University was also a dynamic presence, bringing some spoken-word energy to her reading by using hand gestures to enliven poems that touched on themes of family, community, ancestry and girlhood. The judges were particularly struck by her “expansive vision” of the experiences of women across generations. 

Last to read was Mount Holyoke College’s own Charlie Watts ’25, whose poems offered a thought-provoking portrayal of coming-of-age, from mother/daughter relationships, the evolving relationship with the city one grows up in and an “elegy” for their first car. The judges aptly praised the “bravado and swagger” of their words.

Attendees also had the opportunity to hear poems by the contest’s renowned poet-judges on Friday in the Stimson Room, before the winners were announced. 

Kirun Kapur began by highlighting the “illustrious history” of Glascock and expressing her confidence that the future of poetry is likewise “in good hands” with the rising poets before her. She then read from her first collection as well as her most recent work, “Women in the Waiting Room,” which explores gendered violence, womanhood, shame and the varying empowerment found in both silence and speech. 

Dora Malech followed by reading from her collections “Soundings” and “Say So.” Malech’s revelry in word-play and sound was on full display in her selected poems that probe the slippages and subversions of the written word, with self-aware themes ranging from love, living abroad and what she joked were “some weirdly sexy poems.” 

Finally, Kiki Petrusino read from her most recent collection, “White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia,” in which she confronts mixed race identity, historical memory and the ways slavery bears residual traces in architecture and archives. Many poems reflect on the legacy of Thomas Jefferson as the founder of the University of Virginia and of America itself in tandem with her efforts to give voice back to her own ancestors.

After much anticipation and much thanks to the Glascock Committee, the judges ultimately dubbed AT Rhodes and Ria deGuzman as the joint winners of the 2025 competition. 

As Petrosino said towards the conclusion of the Judges’ Reading, “popular discourse” in the current day often sees poetry as “to the side of a larger conversation.” But Petrosino stressed that “poets are at the center” of some of the most urgent questions of our day. If the words of these young poets are any indication of where that conversation can go, Kapur was correct that we are, indeed, in good hands. 

Eden Copeland ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Charlie Watts ’25 to represent Mount Holyoke College at Glascock Poetry Contest

Photo courtesy of Max Wilhelm

Charlie Watts ’25 has been selected to repesent Mount Holyoke College at the Glascock Poetry Contest. “I would really love for people to feel seen,” she says regarding her poetry reading.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on Apr. 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Isabel Dunn ’27

Books Editor

Charlie Watts ’25 doesn’t remember a time when she hasn’t been writing. This week, she will represent Mount Holyoke College at the 2025 Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest. 

“I did not like poetry until high school,” Watts admitted in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “I had a teacher who showed me some Sharon Olds’ poetry, and that converted me into liking it because it was a much more confessional style.”

In her own writing, Watts hopes to draw on that confessional style. She is inspired by poets like Olds whose writing evokes a realistic, creative nonfiction style. 

“There's a poem of [Olds’] called Cambridge Elegy,” Watts said. “The narrator of the poem is remembering a love interest or boyfriend who's died. And I read it on a train, and I was crying on the train.”

The selection of poems that Watts will present at the contest were written “all in one jumble” during an emotional time. She spoke about how her poetry is often about herself, but how she hopes it can connect to others.

“I would really love for people to feel seen or listened to,” she said. “I guess I write poetry a lot of times, I think, to make myself feel less alone … I would really like people to come out of this feeling more understood if their experiences are anything like mine.”

Beyond Glascock and the College, Watts hopes to continue writing in some capacity. Following her passion for working creatively, she has many artistic goals.

“I would love to be a fiction author one day eventually, just ’cause that's kind of always been the dream,” she said. “I would love to get an MFA in creative writing. I would love to be a professor of creative writing … I would just love to be surrounded by  writing and a reading atmosphere.”

Alayna Khan ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Elani Spencer talks poetry ahead of Glascock contest: “One of the best mediums for change”

Photo courtesy of Elani Spencer

Elani Spencer dreams of starting an artist residency or a slam poetry team in the future. She will represent Hollins University at the competition.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25

Staff Writer | Podcast Producer

After her third grade English teacher hung a short story of hers on the wall and bragged about it to her mother, Elani Spencer knew she had to continue writing. 

“From then on, I would spend every single independent reading time writing in my journal in the back of the classroom,” Spencer said in an email to Mount Holyoke News. “Quickly, writing became a passion and not just a hobby.”

Spencer, a sophomore at Hollins University, will represent the university at Mount Holyoke College’s Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest on April 3, 2025. Spencer is one of six contestants, all of whom are, for the first time in 97 years, from historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse colleges. Spencer is majoring in creative writing with a concentration in multicultural literature and is a business minor.

This won’t be Spencer’s first time competing in a poetry competition. In 2021, they won first place at the secondAnnual Juneteenth Poetry Slam with their poem “11 reasons why this is our home,” which they will read again for the Glascock Poetry Contest. 

“Although I have participated in a poetry competition in the past, this is my first time competing on a regional level,” Spencer said. “I know the room is going to be bursting with talent, and I can’t wait to learn from all the participants, judges, and Mount Holyoke staff. Also, I’m looking forward to sharing my work with new people, and connecting with other young writers.”

Spencer explained that Michelle DeGroot, chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing at Hollins University, believed she would be a good choice to represent Hollins given that she, as Roanoke, Virginia’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate, has experience performing her poetry.

Through their poetry, Spencer hopes to inspire others to both engage with poetry as a form and to create change. “Poetry is one the best mediums for change, so if everyone partakes in it, I think we can do a lot of good in the world,” Spencer said.

“I explore current events, racial discrimination, intersectionality, familial relationships, ancestry, mental health, poverty, feminism, and generational trauma,” Spencer said. “I delve deep into these serious topics for the purpose of finding healing, encouraging reflection, and creating a safe space for others to feel understood.”

They draw inspiration from Danez Smith’s poem “Dinosaurs in the Hood” because of its critique of Black representation in film and media. In the poem, Smith writes, “I want Viola Davis to save the city in the last scene with a black fist afro pick / through the last dinosaur’s long, cold-blood neck. But this can’t be / a black movie. This can’t be a black movie.”

Spencer states that “through this poem, [Smith] tells his readers that we must advocate for [and] make art that showcases the Black community in a genuine, authentic light. This is exactly what I strive to do within my own poetry by writing about my experiences as a Black woman.”

When she isn’t writing poetry, Spencer also enjoys writing fiction — specifically magical realism — and has a passion for fantasy. Her ultimate goal is to run her own “fantasy-themed artist residency where writers come to create and engage in community together.” As a reader, she also likes the high fantasy genre, especially when it includes “heist plots and a dash of romance, murder mysteries, and literally anything with a queer character.”

While Spencer wants to continue making art and publish her writing in book form, she also wants to ground her work in teaching and mentorship. “I aspire to start my own slam poetry team where I coach young adults to prepare them for competitions,” Spencer said. “Also, I want to teach freelance creative writing workshops for all ages, and inspire more people to engage in poetry.”

Alayna Khan ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Izzy Toy Rettke is bringing curiosity to the Glascock Poetry Contest

Photo courtesy of Izzy Toy Rettke

“I've always been a writer, ever since I was a kid,” Izzy Toy Rettke says. They will represent Wellesley College at the Glascock Poetry Contest.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on Apr. 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Sarah Grinnell ’26

Books Editor

  For Wellesley College senior Izzy Toy Rettke, poetry has been a lifelong love affair. 

  “I've always been a writer, ever since I was a kid making up stories with my friends,” Rettke told Mount Holyoke News in an email interview. 

  However, while delving deeper into poetry in high school, it was not until they arrived at college that their poetry was truly able to “take off” in a workshop class. 

  “That experience took my poetry from the notes app realm to something I could actually, meaningfully work with,” he explained. 

  Now, as one of the 2025 Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest participants, Rettke said they are most excited for people to “feel curious once they hear my poetry.”

  He expanded, “I write a lot about memory/remembering, speculative themes, and things that can't be linearly or neatly expressed otherwise. So I hope that murkiness can strike an emotional chord but also leave an ultimate sense of things out of grasp, the wonderful and the strange.”

  As a writer, Rettke described their affinity for writing short stories and flash fiction, noting that their stories and poems often “talk to each other in a cool way.” 

  As a reader, they are an avid fan of speculative fiction — especially when it deals with apocalyptic or dystopian stories — as well as microhistories, magical realism and experimental fiction. Rettke shared that one poem that really speaks to him is Diane Seuss’ sonnet “It is abominable, unquenchable by touch.” 

  Looking to the future, Rettke is very invested in finding ways to “preserve” their creative outlets post-graduation. 

  They explained, “Something I love about writing and being a writer is the community it generates, so I hope to be involved with more small presses, zines, etc where I end up post-grad, the same way I do now in college.”

  And he is certainly not slowing down after Glascock; Rettke is also currently working on an undergraduate thesis of poetry that will ultimately become their first collection. So, while students and staff across the competing schools cheer them on at Glascock along with the other contestants, they can take comfort in the fact that Rettke’s already successful poetry journey is far from over. 

Sofia Ramon ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Miley Lu, Glascock contestant, explores the inherent “mystery” of poetry

Photo courtesy of Miley Lu

“In poetry, it’s important to keep secrets,” Miley Lu says. They will represent Vassar College at the Glascock Poetry Contest.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Melanie Duronio ’26

Staff Writer

Since they were in elementary school, Miley Lu has “always written stuff” as a tool of creative expression while growing up. Now, as a senior with an English major and creative writing concentration at Vassar College, they have honed their work to be  showcased in this year’s Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest.

“I was so excited when I read that [nomination] email,” Lu said. “I’ll be honest, I really had a severe bout of imposter syndrome … But I’m still very, very excited for it, and at the end of the day, it’s an incredible opportunity. And I would never want to give that up.”

Lu was nominated for the Glascock Poetry Contest by her Vassar professors. She describes the college as “a beautiful place with wonderful people,” who provided a nurturing environment for her creative works. Lu credits her English professor Timothy Liu as a mentor, who “really changed my path in life.”

“He’s a wonderful poet and he is Chinese American, he’s gay, he’s queer … to meet him and to read his poetry was the first time in my life that I was like, ‘Wow, someone like me can do this for a job and a living,’” Lu said. 

While writing, Lu often explores the inherent “mystery” and “confessional booth” aspect of poetry. Unlike when writing an essay or longer form story, Lu wants to leave their readers with an “aftertaste” of an emotion that is familiar yet indescribable. 

With this, they hope the audience can work on “untangling” themselves.

“The tangliness means that there’s something to work apart,” they said. “And I think that’s what makes it important. Not even always to do the untangling, but to recognize that there is something to pry and to poke at.”

This does not stop Lu from keeping secrets of their own in their writing. When writing about a vulnerable topic, they find it is “almost too much to just come out and say it,” and prefer to take advantage of unreliable narration in their prose.

“In poetry, it’s important to keep secrets,” Lu said. “You have to keep a couple cards very close to your chest … you're telling a very intimate story and a very intimate truth, but you are still allowed to keep some things close to you and to ask the reader to figure it out.”” 

Lu will read four poems at the Glascock Contest: “mother : morpho : man”; “smoke point ekphrastic”; “on earth we weigh the same as ever. and”; and “落井 / 下石 (well-fall / cast stone).” She finds that her pieces often turn into portraits of her loved ones, such as her mother and her partner, although does not consider them as love poems in a traditional sense.

“The most important things to you in your life are often what comes out of your writing, whether you mean to or not,” Lu said. “A lot of my poems end up being, or trying to be, portraiture of my loved ones.

“I was told once by Timothy Liu that you have to make the beloved visible,” Lu said.You have to give details or memories or little things that are important and unmistakable, that make this person so that they are  no one else.”  

Moving forward, Lu finds the path of academia to be most appealing. She sees herself continuing to work in poetry as a professor and publishing a collection of her works one day. 

“I would say I want to be a poet, but something I’ve been taught not to say is that,” Lu said. “Everyone who is a poet will say, ‘You’re a poet as long as you write poems.’” 

Sofia Ramon ’27 contributed fact-checking.

AT Rhodes discusses poetry and scripting ahead of Glascock contest

Photo courtesy of AT Rhodes

AT Rhodes, a writer across many genres, will represent Spelman College at the Glascock Poetry Contest. They say their poetry is about “really getting to the heart of the matter.”

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Cat McKenna ’28 

Staff Writer

AT Rhodes’ passion for poetry began in their ninth-grade English class. Now, as a senior at Spelman College, they will represent their school at the 2025 Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest in early April. 

Rhodes credits Kevin Young’s poem “Song of Smoke,” a poem about love, as the piece that sparked their interest in poetry. “It was the first time I had realized how there was this whole other language behind just what was written,” Rhodes said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “It just really made me appreciate reading into things, looking closer at the world.”

One particularly resonant moment for Rhodes was sharing "Song of Smoke" with their mother. As they discussed the poem, their mother asked if the author was also Black. Their mother had not known Kevin Young’s background prior, but sensed it through the poem’s allusions. Through their mother's inference, Rhodes realized how poetry could reveal other perspectives, propelling their passion for writing.

“I just got obsessed with learning everything I could about poetry … So, I kind of spiraled from there,” Rhodes said. 

Beyond poetry, Rhodes has taken up narrative writing, growing an interest in writing scripts for films, especially video games. “Ever since I got deep into narrative stuff, I'm like, why am I not playing more video games?  So I would love to continue that thread, just writing, pretty much in any way I can.” 

More recently, they have ventured into writing video essays, enjoying the freedom of being able to discuss whatever comes to mind. Additionally, they are an avid reader of manga. 

When it comes to their poetry, Rhodes hopes people walk away with a glimpse into their life and perspective. “I would want them to feel like they're stepping into my world, like they're stepping into my living room. Like, no matter exactly what I'm expressing or feeling, I want them to feel like they're on my couch. Really getting to the heart of the matter,” they said.

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.

The Odyssey Bookshop: A local treasure rooted in stories and community

Graphic by Brianna Stockwell ’28

YunTong Liu ’27

Staff Writer

Located across from Mount Holyoke College, the Odyssey Bookshop is more than just a bookstore: It’s a community hub. Whether it’s college students, retirees or families, people from all walks of life come to relax, browse or enjoy a quiet moment. But what makes the Odyssey so special? What stories lie within this beloved bookstore that people don’t know? Mount Holyoke News had the privilege of sitting down with Joan Grenier, the shop’s owner, to learn more about its history.

It was Grenier’s father who started the bookstore, and she worked with him for many years. After he died in 1997, she took over.

Besides working at the Odyssey, Grenier has worked in a factory and several hospitals. “It’s not easy,” she said, when asked about the challenges of running an independent bookstore. Sometimes small business margins are tight, and bookselling is even tougher. But the Odyssey makes it work. They host about 125 events a year, bringing in authors and speakers from across the country. “It is great to meet them and hear about what they’re doing, and how they wrote their book. Our customers are wonderful, and they’re all ages and all backgrounds,” Grenier said.

The Odyssey has also evolved beyond books. In addition to its vast collection, the store offers programs like the First Edition Club for collectors and the Gift of Reading Club for children. Their Mount Holyoke College merchandise has been popular among students and alums for nearly a decade. "It’s going to continue to be a gathering place,” Grenier said proudly.

Inside the store, every detail is thoughtfully designed. With warm colors, oak decorations and an inviting layout, the space feels like a second home to many. Grenier pointed to the “ziggurat” display of new nonfiction hardcovers, which is constantly updated and is a big hit with customers. “We call [it] the Zig,” she said with a smile. It’s a display that keeps things fresh, always featuring new nonfiction books in hardback. She also explained how the design of the store is intentional: From the lighting to the carpet and the shelves, every detail is carefully planned, ensuring that the space is accessible even for those in wheelchairs.

Customer service is another cornerstone of the Odyssey’s charm. Grenier mentioned that sometimes customers come in unsure of what they’re looking for; perhaps they’ve forgotten the title or author of a book. Other times, they’re looking for the perfect gift: A book for a grandchild, a retiree or a new baby. “We pride ourselves on our customer service,” she said.

As the conversation came to a close, Grenier shared a memorable story about regular visitors to the Odyssey. In a hidden corner behind the cashier’s counter, a room covered in drawings and signatures can be found. “These are mostly [from] authors and illustrators that have come to the store,” Grenier explained. The walls are covered in beautiful illustrations and messages in various languages left by those who had shared their work with the Odyssey’s community.

Odyssey continues to host numerous book-related events, so anyone interested in joining a book club or meeting others who share a love for reading will agree that the Odyssey is the place to be.

The Odyssey isn’t just a place to buy books; it’s where both real and imagined stories come to life. With its rich history and the dedication of people like Grenier, it’s a place where stories and love intertwine, making it a true community treasure.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking

Kick back this spring break with three recent releases

Photo courtesy of Dom J via Pexels

By Honora Quinn ’27

Staff Writer

Midterms are on the horizon, which means spring break is just around the corner. Whether you’re looking for a quick trip into another world, to dwell a while amongst dragons, or even to explore a searing personal history, here are three recent book releases you might have missed to add to your spring break To-Be-Read list.

“The River Has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar

In her debut solo novella and first release since the Hugo Award-winning “This Is How You Lose The Time War,” co-written with Max Gladstone, El-Mohtar retells “The Two Sisters,” a 17th century folk murder ballad. Along the way, El-Mohtar explores the bonds and dangers of magic and sisterhood through siblings Esther and Ysabel as they test whether even death can keep them apart.

“This Ends in Embers” by Kamilah Cole

Kamilah Cole returns to the world of her “Divine Traitors” duology for the final time in “This Ends in Embers.” In Cole’s fantastically-crafted, Jamaican-inspired world, we find another pair of sisters, Faron and Elara, who discover themselves on the opposite sides of a brewing war after the jaw-dropping conclusion of the first book, “So Let Them Burn.” Come for the dragons, stay for the drama and the magic and watch as the “lines between hero and villain are blurred.”.

“Bibliophobia” by Sarah Chihaya

In “Bibliophobia,” Chihaya explores the books that ruin us — that “annihilate, reveal and provoke” — by weaving her own tale of personal loss, ruin and resurrection. The memoir is both about Chihaya’s journey preceding and following her “nervous breakdown” and her relationship with literature such as “Anne of Green Gables,” “The Bluest Eye,” “The Last Samurai” and more, which all come together to craft a raw story of survival.

2025 is bound to be a great year for books, but between assignments, exams and extracurricular commitments, it can be hard to keep up with them all. So, this spring break, if you’re looking for your next read — whether in the mood for fantasy, memoir or a lyrical retelling — don't forget these stunning works that have been released thus far. Happy reading!

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking.