Write the poem you’re afraid to write. That’s the mantra-like advice Jan Beatty has been prescribing to budding poets of all stripes for over three decades, as the now-retired professor has seemingly had a guiding hand in the education of every writer in Pittsburgh.
For many working-class folks, the job can become an integral part of who they are, a reason to be. Yet when pressed to share his views on jobs as identity, Newman cuts against the grain, saying “I try to separate the idea of work and jobbing. Jobbing is what most of us do to pay the bills. Work is what keeps us alive and sane. Writing is work. Cooking dinner is work. Gardening is work. Work is a creative task that is essential.