Robert Rozema: Writing and the Web

By Katie Cross

As an assistant professor of English at Grand Valley State University, Robert Rozema knows a thing or two about writing. A newly-published author of a text for teachers and pre-service teachers entitled Literature and the Web: Reading and Responding with New Technologies (available for pre-order at amazon.com), he is an accomplished teacher, Professor, and now, professional writer.

How it Began
Rozema attended Calvin College for his undergraduate work with a desire to study music. After awhile, though, he realized that, for him, music was just a fantasy: “I was too nervous to actually perform,” he said. “English was really there all along.”

Rozema has always loved literature, and credits his love of it to the outstanding English teachers he had in high school. His father was also a high school English teacher. “If you like exploring different ideas, there is no better field to go into. To me, reading literature and teaching literature is like a dream.” Rozema went on to graduate from Calvin with a degree in English, and taught at Grand Rapids Christian High School for eight years. At the same time, he was working diligently towards his Doctorate from Western Michigan University: “As soon as I realized that all of these hours spent in the classroom could translate to academic experience, I had to get my PhD in English Education.”

Keeping the ‘Writing Life’ Alive
Writing is a very important aspect of Rozema’s life. “I know this sounds dorky, but I love being a Professor because you can sit and have three hours to just write—you don’t have that kind of time as a high school English teacher.”

For him, writing began as early as middle school with creative fiction and poetry. He continued to write throughout high school and into college, writing for Calvin’s newspaper Chimes.

When it came to teaching, writing became a little different. “With teaching, there is not much time for writing aside from responses on student papers. Although I love to do that, it’s not fulfilling writing.”

Becoming a professor, though, has opened up a lot of writing opportunities. “You kind of have to write, but that’s not a bad thing. I have always loved reading, and writing just happens—the more you read and study, the more you want to get your own ideas out.” Since he began at Grand Valley four years ago, he has written a handful of articles for The English Journal, an academic journal intended for pre-service teachers, along with his book, which will be available in July.

So, What About the Book?
Obviously, Dr. Rozema is very excited about the idea of having his book published. The final copy was sent off at the end of May after a two-year process that began two summers ago. He did not find the text very difficult to write: “The chapters that I wrote have been floating around in my head for awhile; I didn’t start from a blank slate.” He drew ideas from research done for his dissertation and other articles he had written for academic journals.

Basically, his book Literature and the Web: Reading and Responding with New Technologies “takes what effective teachers of literature already do and translates these practices into a technological medium. It reinforces what is already going on in the classroom and just enhances it.” To him, it is important to get students to respond to literature in personal and meaningful ways--the book helps by incorporating forward-thinking technological ideas like blogging and podcasting, among others. It is a technology book that is about content and not the computer.

Life Outside of Teaching, Reading, and Writing
As a father of two (Aidan, 3 years, and Seth, 10 months), much of Professor Rozema’s free time is spent hanging out with his family and trying to “figure out his sons.” He also enjoys reading (obviously), traveling, drinking coffee, playing online videogames, attending Barack Obama rallies, swimming, watching Lost, writing romantic overtures to his wife, and watching movies. He loves Star Trek (he has met William Shatner three times), computers, and his job teaching pre-service English teachers. He was also an avid windsurfer before he had to sell all of his equipment.

Favorite Authors?
As anyone studying English knows, it’s hard to come up with a favorite author. Some of his favorites include Sherman Alexi, Tim O’Brien, MT Anderson, JK Rowling, John Steinbeck, Billy Collins, Ted Kuzen, Zora Neal Hurston, William Gibson, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley. He really enjoys YA literature and Sci-fi fantasy novels, and is also getting into graphic novels—basically, he likes more than he doesn’t like.

Advice for Aspiring Writers
Rozema’s advice is simple: just keep writing (and not the cliché kind of way). “Keep your fingers moving over the keyboard. Give time everyday to write. We are our own worst critics—silence that voice that says everything has to be perfect and just write.”

To see some of Dr. Rozema's writing and get current updates on the latest technology, check out his blog!