HWS News
7 April 2020 National Literary Magazine Features Fredericks Nonfiction
Abbey Frederick’s ’20 creative nonfiction piece, titled “Bearings and Borrowings,” was recently featured in Louisiana State University’s literary magazine NDR. A nationally acclaimed journal for celebrated and emerging writers, Frederick’s work is among authors of international acclaim, including Anne Carson, Billy Collins and Robert Olen Butler.
Through a series of 11 short vignettes, Frederick navigates her personal geographies in “Bearings and Borrowings.” An architectural studies major and English and writing colleagues double minor, the reflections draw upon the people, birds, buildings and sky around her. In one section, Frederick writes about the geographic and urban properties of Geneva, N.Y. In another, she describes how she inherited a piano from her grandparents. Frederick’s writing is also concerned with how the living world navigates urban space.
Frederick wrote “Bearings and Borrowings” while enrolled in “The Lyric Essay” with Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature Geoffrey Babbitt. “Professor Babbitt helped me revise my essay and identify journals to submit to, and I am very grateful for his encouragement and advice,” Frederick says. This year, she is pursuing an Honors project with Babbitt as her adviser in which she examines the lyric essay as a tool for understanding how identity is based in memory and place.
While previously studying abroad in Germany through a Blocker Fellowship, Frederick created mixed media sketches of life in Berlin and wrote of her observations. Published together on her blog, Frederick’s sketches and stories create snapshots of the city.
On campus, Frederick is the co-editor and production editor of Thel, HWS’ literary arts journal. After graduation, Frederick intends to pursue a career in publishing, specifically in production and book design.
