Even in college, Elizabeth Genovise ‘06 loved literature, Associate Professor of English Justin Jackson said.
Today, Genovise writes her own short stories. She celebrated the publishing of her second book, “Where There Are Two or More,” on March 15 and is currently finishing up her third.
“We were walking with several students, and they were asking, ‘What literature do you like?’” Jackson said. “I said British literature. She said American literature. I said, ‘Oh, you mean American writing. I don’t really think there’s American literature.’ She said, ‘American literature is just as good as British literature.’ I laughed, ‘Let’s play a game. I’ll name really good British authors, and you respond with really good American authors, and let’s see who wins.’ I’m thinking it’s a rigged game, so I thought I’d be funny. I started off, ‘Shakespeare,’ thinking we’re just going to end the debate with Shakespeare.
“I don’t think I got the ‘eare’ of Shakespeare out of my mouth when she said Mark Twain. She was deadly serious. She had her eye toward American literature. It was really wonderful to see that she was willing to put forth an argument that Twain was every bit as good as Shakespeare.”
Now, Genovise is writing her own American literature.
Like her first book, “A Different Harbor,” which was published last year, “Where There Are Two or More” is a compilation of short stories.
“She’s done a fine job for a first collection,” Associate Professor of English John Somerville said. “It’s especially nice to see how she’s progressed as a writer over the years. I’m eager now to see her newer stories.”
While the characters in her latest book range from children to elders and live far different lives than one another, their stories all take place in East Tennessee — where Genovise herself has resided for the past six years.
“Where I live is near the Smoky Mountains, the national park,” Genovise said. “I strongly relate to place, so setting is really important to me. A lot of my characters have really powerful connections with setting, with the geography out here. It fit really well.”
“Where There Are Two or More” is a quote from the first short story of the book, when a young child, Genovise said, “botches” Matthew 28:20: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“It’s really representative of what happens in these stories because people connect to each other and rescue each other to grow or be more dynamic,” Genovise said. “I hope they recognize some universal truth. All of my endings have ambiguous endings so that these characters may be redeemed in some way.”
Genovise used what she learned from publishing her first book while completing this one.
“It was a little bit easier,” Genovise said. “I was able to get more material out there. My first book had five stories, and this one has thirteen. I got a lot of feedback, and that was really helpful. I think I did a better job of knowing how to revise my stories.”
Tennessee is not the only place that has influenced her work. Genovise explained her experience as a Hillsdale student has seeped into her writing.
“I’ve had more than one character in a situation of a small private college,” Genovise said. “I actually have one character in that situation in this book. There’s one story that’s a coming-of-age story where he’s going to a private college and kind of realizing he doesn’t know himself as well as he thought he did.”
While Genovise didn’t start focusing on her own writing until graduate school, Hillsdale was a great influence on her as a writer.
“Between Dr. Somerville and Dr. Sundahl, they taught me to love and understand and appreciate literary fiction,” Genovise said. “I was learning to write. That’s the way to learn — to read excellent writers and understand how they do what they do. When I eventually decided to write, I already had the tools I needed to go into fine arts school.”
Even before publishing her first book, she showed her strength in English by writing an honors thesis on Fyodor Dostoevsky, graduating as the Most Outstanding Senior in English in three years, and publishing her first story in “The Southern Review.”
When not teaching English at Roane State Community College or writing, Genovise, who loves the outdoors, works on a goat farm.
“I spend all my time hiking and getting very dirty,” Genovise said. “Last year, I was thinking I’d love to volunteer or get additional work outside, maybe on a farm. It was kind of a joke because I said I had zero real-life skills and an English graduate degree, but just wanted to work outside. These people who had a small goat farm called me back, saying they needed some help. I stuck with it, and we take care of goats and pick vegetables. It’s kind of a part of my life now.”
Readers can look forward to goat stories in the third book she is looking to publish.
“There’s several goat stories in there,” Genovise laughed.
“Where There Are Two or More” is currently available on Amazon and the Barnes & Noble website.
“I want people to experience these stories,” Genovise said. “My characters are family, so it’s doing justice by them, getting them out into the world.”
