Photos by Tony Rinaldo

Elaine Auyoung RIGF '10 is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at Harvard University. The dissertation she’s completing as a graduate fellow at the Radcliffe Institute, “The Economy of Literary Representation,” draws attention to the economical means by which fictional persons, places, and worlds can be constructed. Auyoung recently joined a writing group that includes 2009–2010 Radcliffe Institute fellows Ravit Reichman and Roy Kreitner. “The writing group will be a source of really valuable feedback for our works-in-progress,” she says. “Perhaps its most important function for me, though, will be to help impose writing deadlines, which make a such a big difference in how I use my time.”

How would you describe your work to the person sitting next to you at a dinner party?

I’m interested in our readiness to believe in fictional persons and places that remain, in many ways, unknowable.

How did you find your course of study?

Alex Woloch taught me how to read, John L’Heureux taught me how to write, and I don’t like arithmetic.

Which aspect of your work do you most enjoy?
 
Occasionally transforming an amorphous thought into a clear, interesting, sometimes even beautiful sentence

Who are your heroes?
 
Jhumpa Lahiri, Elaine Scarry, Michelle Obama

Which trait do you most admire in yourself?

My willingness to participate in interviews

What would your colleagues be surprised to learn about you?
 
One of my dream jobs would be to produce radio stories for This American Life.

Describe yourself in six words or fewer.
 
Curious

What is your most treasured possession?
 
A 50 mm f/1.4 camera lens

What inspires you?

Transcendent aesthetic experiences, unseen acts of kindness, an impossibly blue sky

Name a pet peeve.
 
When recyclables get thrown into the trash

If your life became a motion picture, who would portray you?

Jane Lynch

What is your greatest triumph so far?

Teaching Ulysses

What is your greatest extravagance?

Triple-crème cheese

Which talent would you most like to have?

To sing beautifully

What is your motto?

There's always more than meets the eye.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Somewhere I can’t imagine

What do you think you’ll take away from your year at the Radcliffe Institute?

The knowledge that I’ll never again have such a great office