Writing

For me, writing is a work of the heart, an attempt to use those “less obvious capacities” of the imagination to wrangle meaning out of the world around and within us. It is, in that sense, always an essay—an effort at accomplishing something that was probably never possible to begin with. Our efforts at pinning down why it is valuable always fall short, but we are far richer with it than we we would be without it.

I have written poetry and stories since the third grade, but after receiving my PhD in 2015, I took the time to work on my writing by taking online courses and participating in writers’ workshops and conferences. It’s been a very rewarding journey. I am a member of the Authors’ Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Currently, in addition to my scholarly work, I write fiction, poetry, and essays. I am interested in breaking into the nonfiction market for schools and children. If you would like to contact me about work for hire, email me at s.boyanton@yahoo.com.

Here are two samples of my published writing:

“Yours” is a short spiritual poem that was published in the little magazine Tokens. Click here to read it.

“Zora Neale Hurston on Racial Identity, Ninety Years Later” is an essay I wrote commemorating the ninetieth anniversary of Zora Neale Hurston’s graduation from Barnard College and examining the continuing importance of her famous essay “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” It was published in 2018 by Columbia Review. Click here to read the essay.

Additionally, you can read more bits and pieces of my writing, reflections, and descriptions of my travels on my other blog: tenthousandli.me.

You can download my CV here.