Shifting from biology, professor Talvikki Ansel has found a passion for poetry. PHOTO CREDIT: poetryfoundation.org
University of Rhode Island professor Talvikki Ansel is sharing her knowledge of creative writing and poetry, full-time, for the first time this year.
URI’s English department welcomed Ansel as a full-time lecturer after serving as an adjunct professor at the University for the past 18 years.
According to Ansel, a full-time position has allowed her to get more involved with the English department and its staff.
“This year has been great,” Ansel said. “I’ve taught a lot of creative writing, which is what my background is in.”
According to Ansel, she received a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree at the University of Indiana for creative writing. This year, she’s taught various classes focusing on creative writing, poetry and short story writing.
Writing, particularly poetry, has been a prevalent part of her life, according to Ansel.
“Poetry is what I’ve been interested in,” Ansel said. “It’s the art form that I work in.”
According to Ansel, she grew up in eastern Connecticut without a television, which led to her interest in reading. Although she is passionate about writing, her interests varied as an undergraduate.
“I took biology courses,” Ansel said. “I was interested in birds and field biology, that type of work.”
As an undergraduate, Ansel volunteered as a field assistant on bird research projects. Her interest in birds has remained, according to Ansel. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ansel volunteered at the Kingston Wildlife Research Station, which helps to track migration patterns during migration season.
Ansel said she has lived in various states across the country, such as California, Maine, Virginia and Rhode Island. She moved to Rhode Island in 2001, but her favorite state is Maine.
Ansel often implements nature into her writing. Her interest in biology has formed her style of writing to focus on location, according to Ansel.
“I think biology is a good background,” Ansel said. “It really teaches me to look and observe things carefully.”
Ansel has published three books titled “My Shining Archipelago,” “Jetty and Other Poems” and “Somewhere in Space.” Her publications mirror her interest in nature.
Her first book titled “My Shining Archipelago,” published in 1997, is partially inspired by her volunteer work studying birds in Brazil through the World Wildlife Fund. This publication was through the Ohio State University Press.
Her second book, “Jetty and Other Poems,” and her third, “Somewhere in Space,” are also inspired by the natural world.
According to Ansel, her writing process is gradual.
“It involves a lot of revision,” Ansel said. “Eventually, when I feel like it holds together as a book, it’s time to send it out.”
Unlike some writers, Ansel’s publications are not planned. She has no current plans for publication, but is still constantly writing.
Ansel reiterates patience as an important skill for writers. She encourages students to not be discouraged if ideas, jobs or passions are slow to arrive.
“You need to have a job, to make a living,” Ansel said. “But you also need to keep a corner where you’re working on what you really care about.”
Ansel has seen students develop relevant passions for their writing that connect back to the real world.
“There’s a huge awareness of the fragility of the natural world,” Ansel said. “And a real awareness that it’s not an inexhaustible source.”
According to Ansel, she finds students to be attentive and passionate about climate change, the general well-being of our environment and social justice, which to her, demonstrates a meaningful future for the writing world.