Leah Hamel’s poem, “7 Things I Don’t Have the Chance to Tell You,” originally published in Lighted Corners, has been selected for publication in plain china: Best Undergraduate Writing, the only national undergraduate literary anthology (plainchina.vcu.edu).
The editorial staff of Lighted Corners, the Mount’s student literary magazine devoted to art, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and photography, received an invitation in September 2017 to submit the magazine for possible inclusion of selected pieces in plain china. This year’s editor for
Lighted Corners, Kaela Curcillo, C’18, and Dr. Thomas Bligh, associate professor and editorial advisor, mailed copies of the most recent issue to
plain china.
Hamel, C'18, is an elementary and special education major with a minor in English. Her poem was the only poem chosen from the 100-page 2016 volume of Lighted Corners. Dr. Bligh reflected, “I am delighted to have witnessed the process—watching Leah develop her poem in my fall creative writing class, working with the magazine’s staff on layout and design later that spring, and now celebrating this impressive recognition.” Hamel wrote the poem for, and was inspired by, her previous advisor, Sean Gordon Lewis, Ph.D., assistant professor of English.
After graduation, Hamel will attend George Washington University to pursue her M.A. in speech-language pathology. She has a passion to serve children with hearing loss, and she is interested in cochlear implants and aural rehabilitation. She hopes to work in a clinic or hospital to serve those with speech therapy needs, and some day, to open her own clinic.
“The Mount has given me the confidence I need to pursue my passion, and has given me an incredibly strong liberal arts foundation," Hamel said. "I personally feel that the Mount is one big family.”
The most recent publication of Lighted Corners,
Vol. 37 (2018), has just been published and is available on campus.
