Writing and the Process of Discovery

Rebecca Pelky, Ph.D., was a child when she pulled a copy of The Poetry of Youth, edited by Edwin Markham, from her grandfather’s shelf and began leafing through it. The collection included classic titles such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Paul Revere’s Ride, Rudyard Kipling’s The Ballad of East and West and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. The poems contained a dynamic rhythm that captured Pelky’s imagination. Before long, the Michigan native had committed many of the works to memory and found that they inspired her own writing.

Today Pelky is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Le Moyne, where she teaches courses in literature and creative writing. She strives to create a learning environment that is student centered, which means providing both guidance and autonomy. Pelky regularly utilizes what she calls a “flipped classroom” model in which students read or work on projects when they meet formally and spend time reflecting on those writings or activities independently. In the age of AI and social media, she is constantly thinking about ways to keep her students engaged. She impresses upon them that learning is as much about the process of discovery as it is any outcome, particularly when it comes to writing. “Be willing to make the attempt,” is a regular refrain in her classroom. 

Pelky is herself someone who is open to possibilities. Prior to going into education, she worked as a zoologist for 13 years, first at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, and later at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana. It seemed to be a natural fit for someone who had always loved animals and considered herself to be an introvert. However as Pelky grew in her career she realized that something was pulling her toward literature, writing and academia. She returned to school, earning an undergraduate degree in English at the University of Indiana, South Bend while still working at Potawatomi Zoo. She went on to receive a master’s degree at Northern Michigan University and a doctoral degree at the University of Missouri. 

While Pelky is still early in her time at Le Moyne, she has found her students to be “kind, generous, and open to learning and listening.” She hopes that she can help inspire them to consider things they may not have been challenged or encouraged to reflect upon before. In particular, she hopes that they will come to see art, including writing, as something that is central to their lives, not incidental, regardless of the vocation they may pursue. That has certainly been her experience. Pelky still treasures her grandfather’s copy of The Poetry of Youth, with his name and address inscribed inside it. The book serves as a reminder to her that we never know where inspiration may arrive.

An enrolled citizen of the Brothertown Indian Nation, Rebecca Pelky’s own poetry focuses on historic and contemporary issues facing Indigenous people, specifically in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions. She is the author of a collection titled Through a Red Place, and another collection of her work is under review, The latter will include several poems dedicated to Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk/Algonquin Catholic saint whose life is celebrated with a statue on Le Moyne’s campus.