Barbara Lawhorn is an Associate Professor of English at Western Illinois University. Professor Lawhorn teaches creative writing and composition classes.

M&L: What genre makes up most of your collection?

BL: Fiction makes up most of my collection, but there is a lot of poetry, creative nonfiction, a ton of mysteries, and books on pedagogy and mindfulness, too.

M&L: Which book is your favorite?

BL: Today, it is Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. 

M&L: How long have you been building this collection?

BL: Since I was in first grade, when my mom gave me Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf and The Everything Book: A Treasury of Things to Make and Do. Both books are beloved by my children and are on my son’s bookshelf now.

M&L: Which book have you had the longest?

BL: Please see above [(Ferdinand the Bull and The Everything Book: A Treasury of Things to Make and Do)], as well as The Callender Papers by Cynthia Voight, the first book I received from the Summer Reading Program at the Macomb Public Library in 1984, when I was 9 years old. I highly recommend that book. It still holds up.

M&L: Which book have you gotten most recently?

BL: The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer: Everything You Need to Know About Craft, Inspiration, Agents, Editors, Publishing, and the Business of Building a Sustainable Writing Career. I got three copies, one for me, one for an incredible graduate student, and one for a phenomenal student I am doing an Independent Study with who will be graduating in December.

M&L: Which is your favorite fiction book?

BL: The Tenth of December by George Saunders.

M&L: Which is your favorite nonfiction book?

BL: The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy.

M&L: Which is your favorite poetry book?

BL: It is a battered anthology that my father gave me in college that he read and annotated in college. Beyond that, I have everything Rita Dove has ever written.

M&L: What makes your library/bookshelf unique to you?

BL: I really resisted the urge to clean up my stacks of books, to order and alphabetize them and/or make them generally presentable. This is what they look like on a busy Monday. My best friend is a bookbinder. She treats books with a reverence I admire, and yet, I lack. I joke that if a book is not coffee or tea-stained, I have not loved it enough. I write in books, bend the pages, shove them in my purse, press them to my chest, and live with them. I always have five going at a time, and I check in with myself as far as what I am in the mood for before bed. I have thinned out my books of late, and I gave boxes and boxes away this summer in a massive purge. I love books. I want to support authors. I also have a small house, so once a book is read, it’s gifted, unless it’s too beloved or a touchstone I’ll return to or reference.