Matthew Cowin, Staff Writer
Dr. E.E. Hussey is a visiting assistant professor of creative writing, specializing in fiction, in the English and Creative Writing Department at Sewanee. She received a B.A. in English at University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Science Writing at Johns Hopkins University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama. Originally from the Philippines, Hussey details her distinct experiences living abroad, studying in the Deep South, and ultimately teaching at The University of the South. In addition to her assistant professor role, Hussey’s fiction works have received credit from various groups and workshops including the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference, The Kenyon Review, and Best American Essays.
Though born in the Philippines, she attended schools in multiple different countries; her father’s service in the Air Force led her to Japan, Italy, and eventually the United States to attend school. Hussey notes the impact of the transition between different world regions. “Moving to the U.S. was a jarring experience,” she said. “ I was used to the similar upbringing of multicultural peoples and moving around a lot before.” Despite this, she credits the influence of her former teachers as a tool for continuing her dynamic education in the US. “I had a high school teacher in Italy who taught journalism so well, it taught the ability to find passion and keep following it.” Hussey would continue to discover her evolving passion through the English department at UT Austin.
Upon arrival in the United States, her family settled in Columbia, S.C. while she was in high school. When making her college choice, Hussey would once again immerse herself in a new environment, this time in Texas . “I knew cousins that had gone to UT Austin, and I knew Texas a little bit.”
Throughout her transition to college, Hussey used her passion for creative writing to gain a foothold in a large, unfamiliar environment. “It was a very large school, but I found the English department. I had a rhetoric professor with the same theme of storytelling. The department was so welcoming and allowed me to bridge my interests in Science and Writing.” This served as inspiration for her desire to attend graduate school for science writing.
Hussey began a series of conversations with her family to determine her post-graduate path. “My father was a pilot but encouraged me to do something different, and becoming a veterinarian didn’t quite work out,” she said. “Science was in my family- father a pilot, grandfather an engineer, and mother was a volunteer nurse- but graduate school allowed me to best connect science and writing.”
After her master’s degree, Hussey worked as a research specialist and performed medical research before thinking deeply about her next step. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. I thought back to a Dallas, Texas writing workshop encouraging an M.F.A. program to be more in my wheelhouse – that’s how I ended up at the University of Alabama.” Hussey credits the program’s integrative and accommodating academic environment to her creative writing studies. “It was a place where you can set boundaries and meet readers, writers, and teachers. You could also cross-mix poetry, drama, novel-writing, short fiction, and essays among its offerings.” Tuscaloosa would also serve as her brief home, as she taught creative writing as a graduate assistant.
After two years as a graduate assistant, Hussey briefly went back to science writing and worked for a coastal science agency . She then decided to continue her career in education. “I missed being in the classroom, and that’s why I’m here.” She credited her students as the greatest joy and pure essential to the liberal arts environment. “The students here are absolutely amazing; it’s a great joy to be back in the classroom as everyone is so insightful and generous to each other.”
Additionally, Hussey spoke of the sense of place present in her childhood experiences and her first year at Sewanee. “You may have 15 students in a classroom, some from Tennessee, Maine, China, all bringing their own unique experiences. It’s a place of diverse people, minds, and abilities similar to my upbringing around the world.” She later described a similar sense of community in her colleagues and faculty.
According to Hussey, this sense of community is most present in the expansion and leadership in the new Creative Writing department. “[Our leaders] Kevin Wilson and Misha Rai do a fabulous job of supporting students. They bring time to them and are really helpful in all purposes of creative writing. The Mountain Goat Journal is also in its 100th year – we encourage students to participate and it bridges harmony with the rest of the department.” As for the future, Hussey will focus on her priorities to work with both students and faculty to allow creative writing to thrive in Sewanee’s liberal arts environment. She will commit to education by promoting thought in places and people of wonder.