Follow your bliss

Photos by Jo McCulty Stephen Kuusisto, assistant professor of English, teaches English 266 Writing Poetry, to undergraduate students. The workshop class is taught in Denney Hall's third floor seminar room, where the walls are decorated with quotes about writing by famous writers.

Poet teaches to share love of writing

By Susan Wittstock, onCAMPUS staff

When Stephen Kuusisto stands to teach a class, he isn't able to see individual faces or identify which student has taken which seat. Instead, he leans forward on the table in front of him, fixes the room with a confident smile and a leisurely gaze, and draws his students in with the power of language, wielding words with loving gusto.

Legally blind since birth, Kuusisto knew from the age of seven that he wanted to be a writer.

"Poetry has everything to do with listening and a delight in words," he said. "It's also a form of psychological compensation. As a disabled kid who endured bullying, I learned how to talk faster and be funnier and more inventive than my tormentors, which earned me a lot of friends."

He uses that quick-thinking personality in the classroom, as an assistant professor of English who teaches creative nonfiction and poetry in the Creative Writing Program.

During a recent seminar class, English 266 Writing Poetry, Kuusisto did his best to keep the 18 undergraduates engaged for nearly two hours, leading them through a discussion of William Carlos Williams and T.S. Elliot.

"So much depends upon a red wheel barrow," Kuusisto announced, and asked if anyone could finish the poem.

After class, Kuusisto removes the harness from his seeing eye guide dog, Vidal, to give students a chance to play with him.

A student in back raised his hand, then put it down quickly, and spoke up, "I think so." The volunteer recited the short poem, with Kuusisto and a couple other students chiming in with help when he hesitated.

"It almost seems like a graffiti, a Post-It note you might leave around the house someplace, doesn't it?" Kuusisto said, and recited the poem again. "It puts us toward poetry for the people and the power of the image on the page. The poem is as accessible to us, as immediate as a photograph."

Later, as he discussed another poem by Williams, "This is just to say," the soft rumble of snoring could be heard emanating from near the front of the seminar room.

A student or two giggled, but Kuusisto seemed not to notice. He is used to the rudeness of Vidal, his Labrador retriever, who likes to grab a little shut eye at his master's feet whenever his services as a seeing eye dog are not needed.

Teaching as a sight-impaired person has had its challenges for Kuusisto, who has taught at Ohio State since 2000 and spent nearly a decade teaching at Hobart and William Smith colleges, but he manages a normal workload by making use of the resources available to him.

"You have to have a multi-faceted approach for a disability," he said. "My dog gets me through the world. The computer helps me read student work. The ADA Coordinator's Office, working in concert with the department, has helped me get a 10-hour-a-week student to help me find books."

His desktop computer has a deep male voice that reads student papers to him or the morning's headlines from online newspapers. "You can change the pitch and the length of the line, but it always sounds like Stephen Hawking with a head cold," he said.

Kuusisto is excited by the University's emerging program in disability studies and praised the ADA Coordinator's Office and the Office for Disability Services. "OSU has long been known as one of the best universities in terms of supplying support service to students with disabilities and I was aware of that reputation before coming here," he said

He wants all of his students to feel comfortable in his classroom, particularly when asked to share words they've written.

Stephen Kuusisto teaches a poetry workshop for undergraduate students.

"Maybe because I'm blind, I have an advantage in that area," he said. "When I come into a room with a dog and a talking computer under my arm, and I talk about difference and honoring who you are, and throw in some humor (like reminding them not to raise their hands in class because I can't see them), they start sharing. 'It's Joe, and I have an idea.' Ironically, an area that might create stiffness, breaks down barriers."

If a younger student writes a weak poem, Kuusisto likes to keep things in perspective. "I remember first that the world isn't harmed by bad poetry," he said, and chuckled. "And then I look for a way to excite them to reach deeper."

For his undergrads, he tries to give them a sense of the playfulness of language.

In class, he suggested to the students that they always keep a notebook handy. "You'll have these moments when words will come together in odd, satisfying ways," he said. To illustrate, he recited in a sing-song voice, "Hinx! Minx! The old witch stinks!"

The students laughed and Kuusisto smiled and bobbed his head appreciatively. "Boy, that is so satisfying to say. 'Hinx! Minx! The old witch stinks!' What does that mean? Does it matter? What matters is that it sets up a tone so we're free to have a little razzle and dazzle."

Kuusisto and Vidal, who have worked together for three years, pose for a photographer's lens.

He maintains a similar method to teaching graduate students, who, as self-identified writers, may have a harder time taking a light approach when it comes to their own writing.

"Yeats said that a poem should click shut like a well-made box. Grad students tend to know this, but if you think about that concept -- artistic perfection -- it can stop you in your tracks," Kuusisto said. "You try to remind your grad students that Yeats was also crazy and believed in ghosts ringing his doorbell."

An emphasis on student-oriented teaching is part of what pulled Kuusisto to Ohio State. He had spent five years as a national spokesperson for Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York state, a non-profit organization that trains seeing eye dogs and matches them with owners. While there, Kuusisto wrote a best-selling memoir, Planet of the Blind, and met his wife, Connie, who worked in Guiding Eye's admissions office.

He liked the feel of OSU's creative writing program.

"We get to know our graduate and undergraduate students and consequently, it's a very warm and supportive environment. That's not the way many university writing school programs are run. Some are like the old ballet schools, with that severity. The program here is about a decade old, so it's still young, but it's emerging as a nationally-recognized program," he said.

He can't see the path that his students will follow to writing success, but he's more than happy to guide them toward it.

"There are probably 100 avenues to poetry," he said. "Some people discover it while working in a factory, like the American poet Philip Levine. Others find it, like Wordsworth, in the mystery and delight of early childhood and it never leaves them. The Ohio poet James Wright found poetry in the dignified lives of the poor who worked in the blast furnaces along the Ohio River.

"But in all cases, the engine that drives poetry is a passion for language. Poets adore language and they find poems everywhere."

Soaring to glory

By Kevin Fitzsimons Miles Avery, OSU gymnastics coach, gives Randy Monohan, sophomore business major from Elizabethtown, Penn., a hand during a parallel bars exercise.

New facility fuels gymnastics team's drive toward NCAA title

By Randy Gammage, onCampus staff

Coach Miles Avery says a sophisticated new practice facility could be the springboard that helps the Buckeye men's gymnastics team reclaim the national title they won in 2001 and narrowly missed out on in 2002.

"We're ecstatic about the new facility," Avery said. "We appreciate the commitment the administration has made to the gymnastics program, and hope to show our appreciation by winning a national championship this year."

The new Steelwood Athletic Training Facility, 1160 Steelwood Road, opened in June 2002. It provides permanent practice space, offices and training rooms for fencing, wrestling and men's and women's gymnastics, which were relocated in preparation for construction of the Recreation and Physical Activities Center that will replace Larkins Hall (see sidebar below).

With approximately 15,000 square feet of workout space, brand new equipment and multiple practice stations, Avery said gymnasts no longer have to wait during practice. A state-of-the art tumble track that serves as a shock absorber for athletes performing demanding tumbling stunts, an in-ground trampoline that eliminates the fear of flying off traditional above-ground trampolines, and a foam pit for safer landings from apparatus, not only serve as learning aids but help preserve gymnasts' bodies for competition.

"This is a dangerous sport, but with these new features we've made it safe at Ohio State," Avery said.

The team kicked off a nine-meet regular season Jan. 11 at the Windy City Invitational held in Chicago. Competing against teams from around the Big Ten and the host University of Chicago-Illinois, the Buckeyes took first place with a score of 213.00, compared to second-place Iowa with 208.75.

The first home meet is Jan. 25, vs. Illinois-Chicago. The team also will take on Nebraska (Feb. 14) and Michigan (March 15) at home, before hosting the Big Ten Championships March 28-29. Home meets are held at St. John Arena. The season concludes with the NCAA Championships April 11-13.

Obtainable goal

After losing by less than a point in last year's NCAA Championships, this year's team is hungry to regain the crown.

Senior Raj Bhavsar, defending NCAA and Big Ten all-around champion and the 2002 OSU Male Athlete of the Year, will captain this year's team, along with senior Dick Huntwork and junior Jamey Houle.

"We've created an atmosphere for winning here," Bhavsar said. "We know how to do it and we have the heart to do it."

Bhavsar said he expects to return to competition in February, as soon as he is fully recovered from off-season shoulder surgery. Ohio State will count on strong performances by Huntwork, an All-American on floor exercise last year, Houle, an All-American on floor exercise and a solid competitor on pommel horse, and Randy Monahan, who finished first in the all-around at the Windy City Invitational.

Rich tradition

In five years under the direction of Avery, Ohio State has produced one NCAA title, two Big Ten titles, three NCAA all-around champions and 11 All-Americans. Prior to that, during his nine years as assistant coach, OSU gymnasts won an NCAA title in 1996, four Big Ten titles and fielded 40 All-Americans. However, he's quick to point out the program's tradition of success prior to his arrival.

Avery said a national title in gymnastics -- every year -- is a realistic goal, considering the talent available at Ohio State.

"I think the history of the program, with all the success of our gymnasts athletically and academically, has had a big impact on recruiting," Avery said. "This facility is like the cherry on top of it all. It's one of the best, if not the best, in the country."

Avery gives Monohan a hand during a still rings exercise.

Avery is proud that Ohio State is a place where gymnasts can shine in the gym and in the classroom. He points to the fact that OSU won the NCAA title in 2001, and at the same time maintained a 3.0 team grade point average -- highest among male teams at OSU.

"It's a tremendous advantage if you can tell a recruit, 'If you want to get a great education and be an Olympian, come to Ohio State," Avery said.

A prime example is Jamie Natalie, OSU gymnast from 1998-2001. Natalie won an NCAA all-around crown and was an alternate on the 2000 Olympic team, while at the same time earning Academic All-American honors. He is currently attending Medical School at OSU.

The team fielded numerous other Academic All-Americans and Scholar-Athlete award winners during the 1990s.

Bhavsar, a marketing major who earned a 3.8 GPA last quarter, said it was the gymnastics program's reputation -- particularly the pattern of Olympians being fielded -- that first attracted him to Ohio State. The Houston native took several recruiting trips before deciding on Ohio State.

"When I came here I noticed something was different -- there was this rich tradition and pride everywhere I went. It felt like family here," Bhavsar said.

Strong leadership

Bhavsar credits Avery with much of the team harmony.

"When we look at Miles, he emits this force of leadership," Bhavsar said. "Because he is such a strong family man, he brings that same sense of unity to the gym."

Completing the winning formula are assistant coaches Arnold Kvetenadze, a Coach of the Year in the former Soviet Union, and Doug Stibel, a member of the Buckeyes' 1996 NCAA champion squad who still holds the OSU records in both the vault (9.9) and high bar (10.0).

Avery said the coaching staff strives to create an atmosphere of accessibility. Consequently, if an athlete has a class conflict and needs to work out at 9 a.m. (regular workouts are at 2 p.m.) there will be a coach available.

"I don't have any hobbies. I don't hunt. I don't fish. All I do is coach," Avery said.

A four-year letter winner at Temple University in his hometown of Philadelphia, Avery began his coaching career at his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1982. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year in 2001, and served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1996 and 2000.

What does he do to unwind, when the gym is closed and the day's work is finally done?

"There's nothing I like more than going home and playing with my kids," Avery said. He and his wife, Donneaca, have a 10-year-old son and two daughters, ages three and five.

For more information on the OSU men's gymnastics program, visit the Athletics Department Web site at http://ohiostatebuckeyes.ocsn.com/.

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