Alumni Profile: Glenn Knight '56

Writer, Teacher (retired)
Major at Linfield: English

What are you doing now?
I write four hours a day. I am working on three new novels, a collection of short works and a major collection of poetry. I volunteer at Brunk House, a historic Pioneer Farmstead Museum west of Salem. I have photographed most of Oregon. This summer I plan on photographing Steens Mountain, the Oyhee country and the Ochoco.

Tell us about yourself.
I have five Oregon novels in print, two pieces of fantasy, a crime story/mystery, a collection of short works (stories, essays, memoirs) and a collection of poetry. I am now working on three novels, another collection of short works and another collection of poetry.

After graduating from Linfield in 1956, I immediately took a teaching contract at Dallas High School (Dallas, Ore.). There I taught English, theatre and forensics for thirty-four years, retiring in 1990. I went on to get my master's degree at Oregon College of Education in 1961, then on to more than sixty hours beyond the master's degree at various institutions of the West Coast: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Washington State University, and California State University at Los Angeles. The bulk of my study after achieving my master's degree lay in writing of one form or another.

I take pride in that my speech teams won four state championship trophies and a number of second, third and fourth place trophies. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some brilliant, fascinating young people. All of this with the aid of what I brought with me from Linfield College and the great instructors I found there.

How did Linfield help prepare you for your career?
Began my writing career under Colleen Anderson. Linfield gave me the courage to go on in spite of adversity, what to read, how to use words judiciously, and how to see with more than the eye.