Five Goshen College students publish variety of works through Pinchpenny Press

GOSHEN, Ind. – With poems, essays, photos, interviews and drawings, five Goshen College students published a broad range of works during the past school year through Pinchpenny Press, the college’s on-campus press.

According to Beth Martin Birky, chair of the English department, “We’ve found Pinchpenny Press to be a particularly enriching component of our department, because students gain first-hand publishing experience.” Students are responsible for the entire process, which includes not only the traditional writing and editing steps, but also the design, printing and marketing aspects that come with publishing.

“The mission is philosophical – to share voices – but the experience is 
very practical,” said Birky. “The end result is always a pleasure!”

Books range in topic and form from volumes of poetry and essay collections to drawings from international experiences. “I’ve also been impressed with the interdisciplinary range our books 
represent,” said Birky. “This year alone we have books by a math/English major, an 
elementary education major and sociology/anthropology major.”

Rosanna Nafziger (Linville, Va.) cultivated a collection of poems to publish in “Get Back Revenue Man.” Nafziger, a 2006 graduate with an English and mathematics double major, wrote in her introduction, “But truly, our everyday functioning depends upon distilling meaning from our surroundings and presenting it in the disguise of something new. In these poems I have presented all sorts of subversive and dangerous ideas in the innocuous guise of nursery rhymes, ducklings, canned plums, mathematics, vengeful girlfriends, witches and snapping turtles.”

Kristin Walker (Armington, Ill.) published “of Dust and of Sun,” containing poetry that she wrote while living in Perú for three months during Goshen College’s study abroad program, Study-Service Term. Walker is a 2006 graduate with an elementary education major and special education minor. “As I walked along dusty streets or sat in crowded busses in Perú, I pondered educational problems, the role of religion, women’s rights and the day to day of living in a foreign country,” she wrote in the book’s introduction. “What I was able to jot down began out of necessity: to emotionally process and digest events around me in a familiar language so that I could continue thriving and learning in an unfamiliar place. More and more, however, these works gave me voice to the height and depth of emotion that I felt on a daily basis.”

A 2006 graduate, Meryl Roth (Palmer Lake, Colo.) published a book titled “Becoming: Women’s Stories of Menarche.” Roth, a sociology/anthropology major, conducted 19 interviews with women ranging in age from 20 to 80 years old about their menarche experiences. “This is not a lonely or private experience; this is something that women do not weather alone, no matter how private or ‘under the rug’ it is kept,” wrote Roth. “There is an importance in inquiring about these stories, and an equal importance in sharing them. …This manuscript is about understanding common experience and discovering the power of sharing.”

Laurel Yoder (Prescott, Ariz.) edited “Exposition 23,” a collection of student writing from Expository Writing classes between 2002 and 2004. Yoder, a 2006 graduate, is a history and English double major, with a Spanish minor. “We hear to no end that writing is a process – but believe it,” wrote Yoder. “Expository Writing is about that process: the brainstorming, the outline, the peer review, the red ink, the lost documents, even the long hours of staring blankly at a computer screen.”

Amanda Zimmerman (Sarasota, Fla.) edited “Red Cents,” a magazine-sized creative arts journal that includes work from over 15 Goshen College students. Zimmerman is a 2006 graduate with an English major and women’s studies minor. She describes the collection as “an eclectic celebration of student poetry, short fiction, personal essays, drawing and photography.” She wrote in the introduction, “What is exciting about ‘Red Cents’ compared to other Pinchpenny Press publications is its communal effort – this is not the work of one student, genre or art form – it is young, fresh, collaborative and the size of a magazine! I do feel honest when I say that there are unique and exceptional writers and artists on this campus.”

Birky gave glowing compliments to the five works published this year. “Rosanna Nafziger’s writing reflects the importance of place in creative 
writing, as she reflects back on her childhood in the Allegheny Mountains. 

Kristin Walker’s poems reflect the importance of keen observation and 
reflection that is a part of intercultural learning – to see other people with a compassionate eye and write about them with a generous heart. Meryl Roth demonstrates the way that an academic assignment … can spark student creativity.” Birky said, “Red Cents contains a remarkable collection of student talent, and
 encourages students who might not otherwise publish a Broadside or
 Pinchpenny Press book to actually get their work in print. 

Expos 23 is a testimony to student writing ability and again represents
 students from a range of disciplines.”

Pinchpenny Press was begun in 1969 by Nick C. Lindsay and is sponsored by the English department of Goshen College. Pinchpenny Press produces chapbooks, generally 20 to 70 pages in length, for members of the Goshen College community who have their works accepted by the Pinchpenny Editorial Board.

- by Jennifer Rupp

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.