By Elaina Myers
For most college students, getting an internship is crucial to gaining practical experience in a work setting related to their career interests. UW- Eau Claire student Dawson Jollie is no exception. Currently studying creative writing and journalism, Dawson hopes to one day be a published author.
Dawson grew up in Iron Ridge, Wisconsin and took an interest in UWEC after learning that a few of his high school teachers attended the school. It wasn’t until he toured the campus that he fell in love with how inclusive and considerate the community can be. Dawson is most excited to use this internship as an opportunity to improve his interviewing skills and meet more local writers around the Chippewa Valley.
As a new intern myself, I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dawson and learning more about his passions for reading and writing literature that led him into this internship opportunity.
Elaina Myers: What was your favorite thing to read growing up?
Dawson Jollie: When I was younger, I usually read a weird combination of comic books and historical nonfiction, mostly pertaining to military history such as the World Wars. I would seldom read back then, and I think it wasn’t until high school that I took in a fascination for grim-dark science fiction and longer historical nonfiction. Sophomore year was when I really started reading books, including Warhammer 40,000, the universe in which a lot of my favorite books are written in.
EM: What is one book/short story/poem that you wish you wrote yourself and why?
DJ: One poem I wish I would have written is “The Death Bed,” by Siegfried Sassoon. It’s based on an injured soldier during World War I who’s fading in and out of consciousness, essentially on the verge of death. Sassoon’s portrayal of the experience is beautifully uncanny: he paints it as a colorful, dream-like existence that’s constantly interrupted by the pain of his wound, then ends when Death himself arrives to the soldier’s life. In all, it’s an outcry against the senseless slaughter of the young during the war and I completely respect that message.
EM: If you could have lunch with any author (dead or alive) who would you choose? And what would be the first question you ask them?
DJ: I would absolutely choose to sit down with Leo Tolstoy and discuss his thought process behind War and Peace. I would immediately ask him about how he conducted his observations on the events relative to his time and the difficulty of transporting such to written content.
EM: Who is an author you admire and what about their writing do you admire?
DJ: I think I just really admire Dan Abnett and his ability to conduct science fiction with an equal balance of brisk action, thoughtful analysis of the world-encompassing characters, as well as those characters’ believable dialogue.