Friday’s here, and so is another Meet the Editors post! This one focuses on Assistant Poetry and Fiction/Nonfiction Editor Noah Slowik, who also recently began blogging for us!
Noah is a junior studying English Language Arts and Secondary Education at Lewis University, with a minor in Theology. On campus, he works as a tutor in the Writing Center and as a reporter for The Flyer. He is entering his third year coaching high school boys’ volleyball at Breaker Volleyball Club and also works seasonally at Dunkin’ Donuts. He enjoys reading the science fiction novels and short stories of H.G. Wells, Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia Butler, and Ted Chiang, among others. Inspired by the imaginative tales of these authors, he has also started writing science fiction stories of his own. In his free time, Noah explores bands emerging from the indie music scene in Chicago, such as Twin Peaks, The Walters, and Whitney.
Below is our Q&A with Noah Slowik:
Who are you and what is your role in the Jet Fuel Review?
Hello all, my name is Noah Slowik and I am a fourth-year junior double majoring in English and Secondary Education with a minor in Theology. At the Jet Fuel Review, I am an Assistant Poetry Editor, Assistant Fiction/Nonfiction Editor, and a blogger writing a series on indie music.
What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
You will always find some sort of classic science fiction on my night stand. I am a big fan of novels such as Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, and H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, among others.
If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
It will never happen in a million years, but I would love the opportunity to co-write with Lev Grossman. I read The Magicians over the summer and it absolutely blew me away with its quality of prose writing.
Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
On most nights, you can find me huddled up in a corner on my couch with my cat, Gatsby, on my lap, with a book in one hand and a steaming hot cup of black tea in the other.
What might your personal library look like?
Seeing as how I am an aspiring high school English teacher, I would have a healthy mix of contemporary bestsellers and canonical Literature on my ideal bookshelf. I try to stay up to date on the latest and greatest new stuff coming out, but I also immerse myself in as many timeless great books as I can get my hands on.
If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
The Percy Jackson series was one of my favorite collections of books to read as an adolescent. Unfortunately, the movies that they tried to make, starring Logan Lerman, simply did not live up to my expectations.
What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite books. I truly believe that it is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone’s heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark.” –Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
I would definitely like to sit down over a cup of coffee with the philologist, Dr. Elwin Ransom, from C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, to sit back and listen to tales of his intergalactic travels.
Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
First off, my hands-down favorite movie is Stuck in Love, starring Greg Kinnear — I probably know every word. My favorite song is “Venice” by an indie-rock band out of Cleveland, OH called The Lighthouse and the Whaler. I can recite Robert Frost’s poem, “Acquainted with the Night,” from memory because I love it so much. And, currently, my two favorite books are The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz and The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang.
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We’ll be back next Friday to highlight another new editor, so be sure to come back to meet them!
