Translating our ideas unto paper is no easy task. For most of us, writing is an effort and a practice that we are constantly developing. It is an act of opening up oneself to the world. So when we send our work off in hopes of getting published, it is no surprise that any kind of rejection feels like throwing salt on a fresh wound. Indeed, writing makes us vulnerable. But rejection shouldn’t stop us from writing. Rejection can and should be turned into an opportunity. Rejection is not a stop sign, it is a pause along the road. Rejection allows us to revisit our craft and to improve it. It also teaches us that persistance is a skill. And this skill comes in handy most when we continue to persist that our writing – our voice – has a place in the world.
Recently, Cheryl Strayed shared on her Facebook page:
“Going through a drawer I found the submissions/applications log I’ve kept off and on over the years. Just in case you think it’s all been roses I’d like to report that Yaddo rejected me (as recently as 2011). McDowell rejected me. Hedgebrook rejected me twice. The Georgia Review rejected me and Ploughshares rejected me and Tin House rejected me, as did about twenty other journals and magazines. Both The Sun and The Missouri Review rejected me before I appeared in their pages. Literary Arts declined to give me a fellowship three times before I won one. I’ve applied for an NEA five times and it’s always been a no. Harper’s magazine never even bothered to reply. I say it all the time but I’ll say it again: keep on writing. Never give up. Rejection is part of a writer’s life. Then, now, always.”
Debra Houry is a force to be reckoned with. A 2012 OpEd Project Public Voices Fellow at Emory University School of Medicine, we asked her to talk with us about how public thought leadership, and what she’s learned as a fellow with The OpEd Project PVF, has transformed her professional outlook and practice. Here is what she had to say:
Why is it important for physicians to engage in public thought leadership?
The public is increasingly using non-traditional sources for medical and public health-related information, yet physicians are largely not engaged in these venues. I was one of these physicians until recently. I now realize that if we do not speak up for our patients, then others who are less knowledgeable will make decisions that could be detrimental or have unintended consequences. In this age of social media, Joe the Plumber and Honey Boo Boo are talking about issues, so it only makes sense that we as physicians get out there as well and inform the public about healthcare issues.
How has public thought leadership changed your professional practice?
Before the OpEd Project, I was focused on my research and publishing in traditional academic journals. Although most of my scholarship does have community impact such as my kiosk screening for partner violence and intervening after traumas to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder, I was not communicating these findings to the general public.
Tell us about an op-ed you wrote and its impact.
I work on the frontlines of our healthcare system as an emergency physician in an inner-city hospital. I’ve been very active in my specialty organizations, but not engaged with legislators or other decision-makers. While watching election coverage this fall, I became frustrated with Romney’s comment about emergency departments as the source of health care coverage for all. I work in a busy hospital and I see patients all the time with complications of chronic conditions that could have been prevented with early and regular access to healthcare. I realized it was important for me to respond to Romney’s quote and I wrote my first-op “Emergency Rooms are on Life Support”. Afterwards I received many supportive emails from physicians as well as positive comments from laypersons applauding the piece and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine sent it out to its 6,500 members. Similarly, after watching the media coverage of a domestic violence homicide, I found my voice and wrote “Domestic Violence: A Month of Awareness but a Daily Occurrence” about the need for prevention of partner violence, accurate media reporting, and for the importance of supporting the Violence Against Women Act. My third piece was a bit more controversial on racial disparities in health care and I received many negative comments. Instead of discouraging me from writing again, I realized that I had made an impact with the readers and perhaps made a few rethink their positions.
That’s incredible! And, how does public thought leadership compliment your scholarly work?
Since writing these op-eds, my eyes were opened to the importance of having a public discourse. I’ve now given several lectures on public scholarship and physicians including keynote presentations at the New England Society for Academic Emergency Medicine meeting and the American Physician Scientists Association national meeting. I’ve followed up these talks with a column in Injury Prevention on “Public Scholarship and Injury Practitioners”. And, I’m trying to pay it forward. In the class I’m teaching now the final assignment is an op-ed. My hope is to get 18 op-eds out in the public venue to further the discussions after the academic coursework has ended. Although I’ve never been a quiet person, this venue had helped make my voice even louder and more powerful. Thank you for opening my eyes and my work to public scholarship.
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, is Vice-Chair for Research and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Emory Center for Injury Control. You can follow Houry on Twitter: @debhoury
Speak out. Make your voice heard. Never give up. These are just a few tidbits of wisdom that The OpEd Project “Write to Change the World” Core Seminar participants left with at the end of the day on May 5.
The sold-out class in the Los Angeles office of Ms. Magazine was led by Teresa Puente, a multitalented instructor hailing from Chicago. Puente is an assistant professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago who also writes for Chicanísima, an independent news and opinion blog for Chicago Now (Chicago Tribune Media Co.). During the seminar, she spoke about her experience as a member of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board and her experience as a writer on immigration and the Latino community in the United States. Interesting enough, it was Puente’s first time back to California after an extended period of time–she had previously worked at The Orange County Register and The Long Beach Knight Ridder (now know as the Long Beach Press-Telegram). Puente was able to help guide participants in developing their expertise and thinking of ways to construct their arguments.
Apart from Puente, American journalist and author Tom Zoellner spoke about his experience as an op-ed writer and how to go about pitching articles to editors. He gave them a few tips on how to approach editors and how to identify whether a news items is still fresh or is already stale. It was very much a collaborative session, with many questions answered and insights from Puente and West Coast Regional Manager Chelsea Carmona.
In addition, the individuals who attended the seminar were from all walks of life. Some had traveled far and wide, visiting from cities like San Francisco and Santa Barbara. The group also showcased a wide variety of professions, from lawyers and professors to city planners and students. The issues also ran the gamut, with some interested in writing about employment law to others wanting to address media culture or feminism.
The day ended with a jovial Happy Hour at Napa Valley Grille, where people gathered on the outdoor patio to sip on beverages and dine on appetizers. There was lots of chatter as everyone mingled in this intimate atmosphere. Special thanks to the past OEP Los Angeles alums who also attended the Happy Hour. It was great to see so many friends and past participants as well as hear about their various writing projects.
Connie K. Ho is the Los Angeles Regional Management Intern of The OpEd Project.
Claudia Garcia-Rojas, our Social Media Fellow, was invited by WBEZ and The Illinois Humanities Council to moderate a panel titled “From the White House to the South Side of Chicago: Can Digital Media Save Young Peoples Lives?” Attended by over 200 people, the distinguished panel featured L. Anton Seals Jr., outreach specialist for The Interrupters, Cathy Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science at The University of Chicago, and Malcolm London, a young Chicago poet called the Gil-Scott Heron of this generation by Cornel West, amongst others.
You can hear the Chicago Amplified recording here.
Source:Sarah-Ji. From left to right, L Anton Seals Jr, Claudia Garcia-Rojas, and Cathy Cohen
Christiana Peppard, Assistant Professor of Theology, Science and Ethics at Fordham University
Two weeks ago, we wrote about Christiana Peppard, an OpEd Project Public Voices Fellow at Fordham Univeristy, being the featured educator in Microsoft’s educational blog, “Daily Edventures”. This week, Claudia Garcia-Rojas, our Social Media Fellow, asked Peppard to share some additional insights on her expertise and on the need for public scholarship.
Tell us something about your field that, we, the general public don’t know?
I am an expert on fresh water, with a focus on economic globalization and environmental ethics in an era of climate change. I am also an expert on theology and science. From those realms, most people don’t know what an aquifer is and why it’s important for fresh water supply! I like to say that an aquifer is the most important thing you’ll never see. (You can watch her TEDEd lesson on fresh water below.)
[People also don't know that] Darwin loved beetles, and he was also (through his mother and through marriage) heir to the Wedgewood pottery fortune—yes, that’s right, Wedgewood as in contemporary wedding china. In other Darwin factoids: The Catholic Church affirms Darwin’s insights about evolution but wants to maintain that human uniqueness and soul are not necessarily part of the evolutionary process.
Tell us about an article that you authored and its impact? For example, did it lead to any collaborations?
The most immediate impact came from an article I published with the Washington Post, “For Catholics, a new kind of pro-creation,” which was the impetus for an invitation to be on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC. And the more that I publish on water, the more I’m called as an expert source, for example by the Christian Science Monitor and CNBC.
Peppard was a recent guest on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC
Do you feel there is an ethical need for public scholarship? If so, why?
Public scholarship is an ethical need in at least two directions.
First, enlightened self-interest: it’s empowering to write for a broad audience, because it’s an opportunity to dialogue with non-specialists in ways that can forge interesting connections. It’s a terrifying process at first—rejection hurts, and many online commentators are jerks!—but it does bear fruit, both in terms of thick skin and eventual publication. It also challenges us to write accessibly and clearly without losing academic integrity; that’s a skill that goes far beyond public forums and can improve the caliber of our scholarly discourse, too.
Second, contribution to the shape of public opinion: There is room for many more voices at the table of public discourse—especially thoughtful, nuanced opinion, which happens to proliferate in scholarship. We traffic in detail and nuance in our scholarly publications and in our teaching; why not in other venues, too? Clear thinking on a public level happens when we can mobilize (in a clear, accessible way) the insights that come from longstanding attention to detail, careful nuance, and rigorous analysis. Moreover, for women and scholars of color to take a public stand is a powerful model for younger generations that the world need not always be defined by the people who inherit vast amounts of money or political power.
Peppard is published in many outlets. You can find two of her Huffington Post op-ed articles here.
This Saturday, 23 up and coming opinionists joined The OpEd Project team at The Wikimedia Foundation to perfect their arguments. Seminar Leader Courtney Martin asked participants to think of OpEd as a metaphor for broader thought-leadership and explained how the OpEd pages can be a front-door forum to all kinds of amazing opportunities!
Three very special Alum Ambassadors joined us for the day: Gemma Bulos, Julius Paras, and Charlotte Fishman.
After the seminar, local alums and mentor-editors joined us for a cocktail hour – and we were thrilled to see special guests OpEd Project Founder Katie Orenstein’s parents!
We welcome these 23 to the San Francisco OpEd Project community – we look forward to reading you!
