The Recursive Nature Of Ideas

I began my writing career studying poetry as both an undergraduate and graduate student. As a kid, though, I was equally interested in science. I spent years in Pennsylvania's Junior Academy of Science, presenting experiments at local and state levels, designing imaginary underwater research stations, and trying to decide between marine biology and creative writing. Creative writing won. Mostly.

At Binghamton University, where I studied for my M.A. and Ph.D., I found a way to bring those two interests back together. My dissertation, a collection of original poetry alongside critical scholarship and interviews with contemporary poets, explored HIV/AIDS as one of the defining medical crises of the twentieth century, merging a lifelong interest in science, medicine, and writing into a single sustained project.

Once I joined the faculty at LaGuardia Community College, I discovered a new version of that same intersection: how writing and teaching are being shaped by technology. That question has defined my scholarly work ever since from early research on basic writers and digital environments, through a decade of ePortfolio scholarship, to my current work on AI literacy, pedagogy, and the ethical dimensions of generative AI in higher education. You can find a full list of my scholarly publications on my CV.

Writing for Kids

Running alongside the scholarly work has always been a creative life. In recent years that creative life has found its most exciting outlet in writing for young readers.

The world is changing fast, especially the natural world. I believe kids deserve stories that take that seriously, stories that put them in relationship with the ocean, with climate science, with the ecosystems that need their care. So the fiction and nonfiction I write for kids is grounded in science, driven by curiosity, and centered on characters who are trying to figure out their place in a world that needs them.

My first nonfiction piece for kids, "Diving in to Save our Underwater Cities," appeared in Appleseeds Magazine in 2013. Since then I have published several pieces for Spigot Science, including "Oyster Gardens: Good for You, Good for our Water, Good for the Planet" and a piece on geographer Marie Tharp, who created the first comprehensive map of the ocean floor. I am currently seeking representation for my first middle grade novel and drafting a second, both rooted in my love of the ocean and technology.

Because this work is so different in register from my scholarly writing, I write for kids under the pen name Liz Summit. Follow my adventures in kidlit at lizsummit.com.