Dr. Dustin M. Hoffman and Dr. Ephraim Sommers of Winthrop’s English department are entering the fall semester with more than just teaching their classes on their mind. Both professors are also gearing up for the release of their respective books later this year.
Dr. Hoffman is the director of graduate students in Winthrop’s English department and fiction writing professor at the university. He has previously written a collection of short stories, titled “One Hundred Knuckled Fist.” His upcoming book, “No Good for Digging,” is another collection of short stories. This collection focuses on the struggles of the working class, particularly those in construction, through fictional stories. However, according to Hoffman, these stories will be a mix of the real and the surreal. Stories about workers facing the challenges of life and more magical parts will be threaded together by “flash pieces” from a narrator who speaks to a colony of people living and working inside their body.
When questioned about these flash pieces, Hoffman said they were meant to showcase anxiety and the fear workers have of losing their bodies. Hoffman chose to write about these working class struggles because he worked in construction for ten years prior to becoming a professor. His experience in this field lets him better see how they are mistreated and underrepresented.
Hoffman wants to “show the beauty, the honor, the nobility in these people that are often seen as gruff” and present to readers an honest depiction of a group of people they may not normally see in such a light. Another goal of his through this publication is to bring recognition to a new publication company, Word West Press, as they release “No Good for Digging” as their first book. Hoffman has plans for another, more traditional short story collection along with a full-length novel with similar working class themes at its core.
Dr. Sommers is another professor in the English department, focusing on poetry and creative nonfiction. He has previously penned “The Night We Set the Dead Kid on Fire.” His latest work will be a poetry collection titled, “Someone You Love is Still Alive.” Sommers says the collection will focus on our “contemporary experience” that forces us to deal with mass tragedies, racism, violence, and natural disasters. The poetry in “Someone You Love is Still Alive” will showcase how individual love helps us to handle these terrible things. Sommers wanted to showcase love as “the best act of rebellion against mass tragedy.” When asked about why he chose to write about this topic, he stated that he finds it interesting that humans are not sure how to deal with mass suffering and wants to explore that topic. Sommers hopes the book will show readers that we need to lean into smaller groups for support, fall in love, help our communities, and spread positivity to combat these threats. Dr. Sommers is publishing through Jacar Press after winning their 2019 full-length book prize for “Someone You Love is Still Alive.” He has plans to publish a nonfiction memoir in the future.
Dr. Hoffman’s “No Good for Digging” will be released this December, but is already available for preorder. Dr. Sommers’ “Someone You Love is Still Alive” is coming in November. Both authors hope that these publications will open up eyes of various readers on the topics they touch and encourage them to get more involved in their communities and pay attention to the world around them.
