The Brown & White

Most people only know Jehovah's witnesses as people that come to their doors to push religious ideals.

But one professor is receiving accolades for her fictional account of what it really means to be a Jehovah's witness in search of converts.

Stephanie Powell Watts, assistant professor of English and director of the creative writing program, writes about two Jehovah's witnesses in her short story "Unassigned Territories."

Watts won a 2007 Pushcart Prize for the story.

The story has also been selected for the 2007 issue of Best American Short Stories and New Stories from the South: Best of 2007 Anthologies.

The Pushcart Prize is one of the highest awards a writer can receive. It is an American literary project that honors short stories, poetry and essays that are published in small presses.

Besides national awards, Watts garners much praise from fellow faculty members and students.

"I'm not in the least surprised that it won a Pushcart," said Seth Moglen, associate professor of English. "Stephanie represents a really important new voice in the generation of American writers."

The main themes Watts writes about are family, the South, faith and religion.

"Not just religious faith, faith to keep on going," Watts said. "It's a hard thing to find sometimes."

Unassigned Territories is about Jehovah's Witnesses who are anything but stereotypical.

"It's about people encountering other people who they normally wouldn't encounter," said Elizabeth Dolan, associate professor of English. "It's really moving. She's going to be a really important and significant writer and it's so early in her career."

Rosemary Mundhenk, professor of English, compared Watts to a few literary greats.

"Watts's fiction reminds me of Charles Dickens and Toni Morrison," Mundhenk said. "Watts has Dickens' ear and his delight in the comic and the grotesque. She has Morrison's lyricism and intelligence. That's good company to be in. But additionally Watts prose has a tough spareness and concision. She can capture a complex of contradictory emotions and ideas in a single image."

Nina Granberry, '08, took one of Watts's classes two years ago and has maintained a close relationship with her.

"It was in Professor Watts's class that I began my writing journey," Granberry said. "She taught me how to put into words what I was feeling in my heart and it was very powerful."

Watts said one of her main goals is to inspire students to write.

"Most writers have big questions," Watts said. "The most important part of writing is to find out what your questions are."

Granberry said Watts helped her find her voice.

"I am now more confident in telling my story," Granberry said. "I know that I am not the best writer, but my voice is just as important as the next person and needs to be heard. She helped me to see that."

Granberry said even though Watts is no longer her teacher, she still continues to help her edit her English papers and in any other way she can.

"One of the things that's unique about her is that she's always willing to help students. I don't know why," Granberry said.

Watts has gained respect for her willingness to foster belief in oneself.

"I love believers," Watts said. "I wonder if there's a belief gene."

Watts's writing collection continues to grow. In addition to short stories and poetry, Watts is now in the revision stage of her first novel, "Possessing Hours."

The novel takes place in the time soon after the death of a boy, and is told from the perspectives of his mom, dad and younger sister.

"It's about the possible reappearance of a dead sibling," she said. "They believe they will be able to pray him back to life," Watts said.

Watts has just started working on a new nonfiction project and is currently in the interview process. It's titled "We Don't Have That Here: One African American Community's Response to Mental Illness."

The title refers to a common response that is given when the topic of mental illness is raised, she said.

Through this piece, Watts is trying to explore and understand the taboos surrounding mental illness, Moglen said.

"[Watts's] writing is funny, lyrical and poignant", he said. "Part of what's really important is that [Watts] is bringing really exciting territory into the domain of fiction."

Watts also said the most rewarding part about writing a new piece is getting to know people.

"I think it's true that you can't ever know a person," she said. "But writing gets you closest."

Watts was hired to start Lehigh's creative writing program after studying creative writing at the University of Missouri.

"It seemed like a great fit," she said. "To come do this that I love to do."

Four years later the program is going well.

Watts said her goals for the future of the creative writing program include a master class series for emerging writers, bringing writers to campus to work with students, starting a writing program for the theater that would include both script and screen writing and continuing to teach students to appreciate and write about the environment they live in.

Watts is teaching a course this semester titled Writing Bethlehem, which urges students to make a connection with Bethlehem and Lehigh's surrounding community.

The class is in conjunction with the South Side Initiative.