Skip to main content

English Major Received Drinko Research Grant

Posted on Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Westminster College senior English major Samantha Killmeyer received an undergraduate research grant from Westminster's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Killmeyer's research, "Forming Experience: the Poetry of Denise Levertov and Paula Closson Buck," is a comparative study of the two poets in several themed sections - the power of the concrete image; what it means to be a female poet; and how emotions, such as grief and love, are explored and transformed through poetry - that culminates in a final statement about the importance of poetry.

The project looks at Levertov's early work (1960-1967), essays, letters, and interviews and compares them with Buck.

"I chose Buck because she is at a similar point in her writing and she writes about similar themes in what can be classified as organic form," Killmeyer said.  "Since Buck does not have such a vast pool of published essays, interviews, and letters about her thoughts on poetry, I complemented my study of her poetry with an interview."

Killmeyer's project is her Honors capstone and is advised by Westminster associate professors of English Dr. Andrew Ade and Dr. Ross Wastvedt.

Killmeyer is a daughter of Steven and Diane Killmeyer of Medina, Ohio, and a graduate of Highland High School.

Contact Ade at (724) 946-7349 (email) or Wastvedt at (724) 946-7352 (email) for additional information. 

The Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning was created to enrich undergraduate education at Westminster through advancing world-class teaching as well as by participating in collaborations that address community and regional needs including strengthening K-12 education.  The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides funding for students to conduct research and to present their research at regional and national conferences.  Click here for more information about the Drinko Center and its programs.

Samantha Killmeyer