Faculty Remarks:
James appeared in my intro creative writing class and did what freshman don’t always do: surprise you. His writing had a wit about it, and not in the way that some folks aim to be clever or impress. James was interested in the inevitable surprisethat language could unearth, both in himselfand his characters. As a freshman, James was already exploring. Fast forward to a year later when James resurfaced in my intro fiction writing class, only to impress me further with both the tumbling motion of his characters and the scaffolding that had slyly emerged tohold up his stories. I was an eager advisor and reader of James’s thesis, Denizens of Summer, atenacious novella brimming with riotous characters, tragic humor, and vulnerability. James has excelled admirably in his craft of language, and his thesis is only one exemplar of his dynamic work. – Michelle Dove
