Mini-Grant Projects: Alexis Atwood
Blogging for Scholars: Feeding Curiosities Through Research and Writing
By. Alexis M. Atwood MA '26
Losing touch with the things that inspire us most is an
almost imperceptible process. In youth, we are often pulled in vastly different
directions; devouring books one day, exploring art or building scale models the
next. These interests can fade into obscurity if not looked after carefully. As
we grow to take on more responsibilities, we can begin to lose track of the
small joys that lift our spirits and fill our days with simple wonder. As a
scholar, I write firstly to remind myself of the things that I have lost touch
with; to reconnect with a sense of imaginative play and exploration. I write
also for others, to hopefully spark a sense of lighthearted curiosity for
anyone who may come across my work.
I was fortunate at a young age to have friends who aspired
to write novels and some who had journals and journals filled with poetry,
friends who made me wish I had something to say and something to write about. There
was no distinct moment when I myself knew I wanted
to become a writer, I simply remember trying to write, failing, and trying
again. My website, NomadicComposure.com (or simply NC), was born from my return
to writing, but also stems from a desire to explore, experiment, and learn
through experience and practice. NC is my longest-running academic project to
date where I write about art and mythology, write book reviews, and work to
create an aesthetic and inspiring academic space for myself and others.
NC started as a small blog where I fumbled around with
formatting and ideas, wrote about anything that piqued my interest, and, for
about a year, where I simply practiced writing. Eventually, I took inventory of
the topics that interested me most, sifted through old writing projects for
recurring themes, and then restructured the website to center on those ideas. NC
is now a digital space where I work to make subjects in art and literature more
accessible; where I share my interests and thoughts; and where I hope to
inspire others to dive deeper into the topics that they are most drawn to. It
is a digital space dedicated to different academic subjects and a space where I
rehearse what I’ve learned by writing digestible and aesthetic articles for the
public.
While I still have a lot of work to do before becoming a
Dorothy Parker or a Clarice Lispector, my website has given me the confidence
to branch out and take my research and writing seriously; I started writing
articles for a magazine in RI called Motif, I began developing my first
work of fiction, and I starting submitting my poetry to different publications.
NC has nurtured my academic spirit, while also pushing me to hone my writing
skills and keep seeking out the books, artists, and curious nuances in the
humanities that stimulate me and make me hungry to explore.
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| image courtesy of nomadiccomposure.com |