Nicholas Holt & Barbara Hamby

Nicholas Holt - Honors in the Major Student

Nicholas Holt

Creative writing

Oh — To Be A Worm!

Questions for student:

Where are you from?

I grew up here in Tallahassee, Florida.

In a few sentences tell us about your honors thesis! How would you describe it to someone not in your academic field?

My thesis is a manuscript of eighteen free-verse poems. Poetry these days is typically just a garland of sensory images, and that’s what the poetry in my manuscript is all about. I love humor, and it appears in all my poems in one way or another: one of them is about being pelted by a rapid-fire burst of hot dogs, and one of them is about a possum breaking into Krispy Kreme. They often evoke surrealism too, which I think is what happens when you try to give a funny image a sense of gravitas. It’s like humor without a punchline!

How did you choose your mentor, and what do you recommend students interested in starting an honors thesis look for in a mentor?

I chose to work under my mentor, Barbara Hamby, because I adore her poetry, but more importantly, I adore the way she teaches it. She places an emphasis on making poetry accessible without sacrificing its artistic integrity, all while taking her student’s visions seriously. If I were looking for a mentor, I would look for someone who has a goal in their field that you admire — that navigates academia the way that you would.

What are your plans after you graduate from FSU?

Thanks to the rewarding path that this thesis has led me down, I will be attending a Masters of Fine Arts Program in the Fall of 2021. This thesis has been the most rewarding work I have ever done, and I feel more prepared than ever to take the next step with an MFA.


Barbara Hamby - Thesis Director

Barbara Hamby

senior lecturer, distinguished university scholar

Thesis Director

Questions for mentors:

What motivates or inspires you to mentor undergraduate students?

Working with undergraduate poets is one of the utter delights of my teaching career. Every time I teach an undergraduate poetry workshop, I am on the lookout for students who might want to go on to study for an MFA. The honors thesis is a perfect preparation for that degree. In essence it is a practice run in preparing the MFA thesis and defending it. The thesis also gives them the writing sample for their applications. I love to see my students go on to graduate programs and live their dreams.

What do you think characterizes a good mentoring relationship between student and honors thesis mentor?

I think that mutual respect is the most important quality. After that when we decide to work together, I set up a schedule of meetings for the thesis. This really gives students a sense of confidence that what looks like an enormous amount of work (and it is) can really be done. I also try to make the whole process fun. We’re both doing this because we love poetry. If you can’t have fun doing what you love, something’s off kilter. I love poetry, and I want my students to love it as well.