Washington College | Doug Carter '12

Class of 2012

Doug Carter

Doug selects blocks for the letterpress.
Click to enlarge photo.

Sometimes, you're instantly hit with a feeling that something is right. For Doug Carter '12, that feeling hit him as soon as he stepped foot on Washington College's campus.

"I knew that Washington College had one of the best programs on the East Coast for English and creative writing. When I visited as a prospective student, the campus looked so beautiful and I knew instantly that I could feel at home here. I only had to come here once to know that this is where I belong. I knew I could wake up here every day knowing my experiences would transcend all of those in the past."

Doug remembers being particularly impressed by the Rose O'Neill Literary House.

"The house is really what sealed the deal for me here. I could just tell good times were to be had here. I knew I would meet people that I would just love and become really great friends with. I knew a lot of really big things would happen to me here."

So far, he hasn't been disappointed. He has been a Presidential Fellow and a Cater Apprentice. As a full-fledged member of the prestigious Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows, Doug traveled to New Zealand where he examined sustainable farming methods. He is also active in the Writers' Union. But no matter how busy he is, he always feels drawn back to the Lit House.

"This is really a beautiful safe haven for people who love reading, people who love art, people who love to share ideas. It's nice to be around people who love the same things I do and who are delighted by reading a couple sentences on a page and being moved by them, people who share those experiences and understand why they're so important."

One of Doug's favorite things about the Lit House is the working antique letterpress in the pressroom. While in high school, Doug co-edited a literary magazine and bound it by hand. The College's letterpress, as well as the evening workshops offered in letterpress printing, offered Doug a unique opportunity to pursue his love of printing.

"That was another thing that really attracted me to this school. My grandfather devoted his whole life, his entire career, to printing books. He died before I graduated from high school, but coming here gave me a sense of comfort that I was going to be participating in something that my family valued. I really feel that this was a distinct, intimate connection between me and him and the school."

The Lit House also helped send Doug and several other students to the meeting of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) in Chicago. Doug says the opportunity to meet writers from all over the world was an incredible experience.

"This is one of the largest writers' conferences in the world. I met students from other liberal arts colleges, writing programs, and people who are just in love with the written word, and I appreciated that the school would pay for me and five friends to be a part of this sea of people who all share the same passion."

Doug says the school also does a great job of bringing writers onto campus and that these are also valuable learning experiences.

"In one year here, I had tea with Ted Kooser, a former U.S. poet laureate. He was amazing and he completely changed how I write. The words that I use, the way I construct my sentences, the way my poems look on the page, everything. Then, just months later, I found myself having coffee with graphic narrative author Neil Gaiman and a group of other students."

But some of the most valuable resources Doug has found on campus have been his professors, particularly assistant professor of English Jehanne Dubrow, a prize-winning poet.

"She's really taken me under her wing. I meet with her regularly about my work and about going to writers' conferences over the summer, doing some kind of internship and finding ways to network with other people in the writing world so I can follow the same track that she has taken. I think it's great that professors are willing to spend time with students to help them achieve things in the world."

After he graduates, Doug would like to pursue an MFA in poetry and then a Ph.D. in English so he can become a professor and published poet.

"Initially, I really wanted to be a high school teacher. Within months of coming here, I realized this is the kind of place that I need to be for the rest of my life. The people I've met here, the kind of things that go on, it's the kind of environment where I belong."

In the meantime, Doug is trying to use the contacts he made at AWP to secure a summer internship at Red Hen Press. "If I do that, I'll be spending all of next summer in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. I'll be looking through and reviewing work, putting it into print.

"This place is a sanctuary for writers," he continues. "The school does a great job of putting people out there, molding them into writers and making writing real for them. That's what I love so much about this school."