After eight years of work, Roy Jackson, associate professor of education, has published his fiction coming-of-age novel, “Reel Around the Fountain.” 

On Friday, Jackson and Jessica Baldanzi, chair of the English department, gave a presentation on their recently published writing projects as part of the Faculty Scholars’ Series hosted by the dean’s office. 

“Reel Around the Fountain” is set in the 1980s and follows a working class family navigating a world of religious and family trauma. The family is trying to take agency in their lives while lacking trust in the systems around them.

During his presentation, Jackson emphasized the importance of writing his entire book in the second person and shared some of his personal research on the subject. He noted how people sometimes use “you” instead of “I” when telling traumatic personal narratives as a form of trauma response. Second person also allows the readers to connect with the characters at a deeper level. 

“It forces the reader to have a closer intimacy with a character because they are sort of experiencing it through this work of ‘you’,” explained Jackson. 

After beginning the project in 2018, Jackson completed most of the writing over the following three years. 

Despite facing numerous rejections from publishers, he eventually found Lethe Press, a small publishing company that published his novel this past summer after several years of extensive editing and shortening.

Baldanzi presented her recently published poem, “Respects,” which came out in the North American Review this past summer. For a more detailed look at this poem, read “Baldanzi printed in prominent publication” from The Record’s Sept. 10 issue. 

During the presentation, Baldanzi shared multiple drafts and early versions of her poem from 2024-2025, including a draft from a poetry writing workshop she attended in June 2025. 

One of the editors at this workshop pointed out in her draft, how Baldanzi switched from using mostly “I” to “you” toward the end of her poem. While the “you” didn’t make it into Baldanzi’s final draft, the appearance of second person in her writing process provided an example of the concepts Jackson presented on.

“I had not even noticed I was using ‘you’ instead of ‘I,’” Baldanzi said. “I love that it is something I noticed partly because of what Roy said in this presentation.”

“I just love the way Roy and I were both kind of doing our own halves of the presentation, but we ended up overlapping in a lot of ways we hadn’t realized until we saw each other’s presentations.” Baldanzi said. 

Jackson’s novel, “Reel Around the Fountain,” can be found at major retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart. It can also be found in the Harold & Wilma Good Library. 

Copies of Baldanzi’s poem, “Respects,” can be purchased through the North American Review and from Baldanzi, who has a few copies in her office. 

Both faculty and students are encouraged to attend the Faculty Scholars’ Series, with the next session scheduled for next month, featuring Breanna Nickel, professor of Bible and religion.