“It's really important to love what you're writing. Write for yourself first and others later, because you're going to spend a lot of time with that book, even if it gets sold. Having that passion for it makes it easy to revisit the book time and time again and spend so much time with it.”

Yev Gelman (FCLC ‘24) reflects on the English Department’s Family Meal, where alumni, faculty, and current students met for time around the table on September 18th.

“What has helped me just as much through my life and career is being ‘people smart,’ which I partially attribute to relationships and opportunities started at Fordham.”

“in fiction you can let your imagination go a little more”

“The process of writing becomes something you do for a living. You have to commit. You have to put your butt in the chair and your hands on the keyboard and put one word in front of another until you’re done.”

“There are so many skills that an employer can easily teach you, but how to apply critical thinking and how to write well are not among them. These skills are absolutely what an English major provides.”

“The Fordham English department is terrific too because it’s not too big. You can actually get to know people. You genuinely feel like you have a community.“