Poetic Emojis
Molly Gorelick ’19
First-year student Molly Gorelick is a WDCV DJ and an award-winning poet who edits an online and print magazine, Pop Culture Puke. Last summer she also delved into publishing when she released her own fierce-voiced poetry zine, Prayer Hands Emoji. Here, she talks about the public figure who “radiates power and generosity,” how she chose Dickinson and the joys of the ice-cream shop.
Major:
Undecided, but probably English with a minor in creative writing.
Clubs and organizations:
Liberty Cap Society (campus tour guides) and WDCV-FM.
Honors/scholarships/awards:
Founders Scholarship; winner of the Main Street Voices poetry contest (2015), Caroline Buck Book Award (2015) and Argo Poetry Award (2015).
Favorite book:
Scarecrone by Melissa Broder.
Favorite movie:
Frances Ha.
On choosing Dickinson:
When I visited Dickinson, it just felt right. I knew the college had everything I wanted academically, which is important, but the most important part of the [search] process for me was finding a place where I knew I’d be happy. That place ended up being Dickinson, and now that I’m here, I know I made the right decision.
Favorite professor:
[Associate Professor of English] David Ball, who teaches my first-year seminar, Graphic Narratives in a Global Frame, is awesome. His class is lively, and he’s truly passionate about comics and literature. I always leave his class feeling like I’ve learned something new. I also enjoy seeing him outside of seminar during the yoga class we both attend every Wednesday.
As a kid, I wanted to be …
… an ice cream scooper at Baskin-Robbins. In second grade I entered an essay contest with the prompt, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I wrote about scooping ice cream. I was pretty shocked when a girl who wrote about wanting to be a lawyer won.
Post-Dickinson plans:
After Dickinson I would like to be writing as much as possible. My ultimate goal would be to publish collections of poetry and write my own TV show.
Little-known hobby/talent:
I like to embroider. Last year I finished sewing an image of a giant composition book that took me six months to finish. It’s a relaxing process, and the feeling of finishing a piece is really satisfying.
If I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be …
… Nicki Minaj. She radiates power and generosity. She’s a successful rapper and businesswoman, she always talks to her fans about the values of education and she’s producing and starring in her own television show for Freeform [formerly ABC Family]. I saw Nicki in concert over the summer, and her hard work was so inspiring. She told the audience, “Fight harder this year than you’ve ever fought before,” and I’m trying to follow that advice as best as I can.
Learn more
- Department of English
- First-Year Academic Program
- “Making Connections Before Day One”
- More Student Snapshots
Published February 4, 2016