Brent Essmyer: Why did you choose English as your major?
Douglas Musgrove: I really like to write. I write a lot of science fiction, poetry and short stories. I’m working on a novel. My main goal is to get my degree, my bachelor’s in English and minor in creative writing, then dive back in for my master’s. I’d like to be an English professor.
Essmyer: Have you ever been published?
Musgrove: I definitely want to be published as far novels go. I have been published a couple times in The University of Houston Dateline-Downtown, The University of Houston Downtown student-run newspaper. I’ve had two short stories published on Toprightcorner.com. As far as my publishing career, that’s about it.
Essmyer: Why did you transfer to UH from UH-Downtown?
Musgrove: Mainly because of the major. UH-Downtown had an English degree, but it didn’t entail as much of the writing-oriented classes that UH does. That’s what I’m mainly interested in. They have a class here simply called How to Write a Novel. It’s a semester class about writing a novel. That class I’m really looking forward to.
Essmyer: Who are you going to vote for in the upcoming election?
Musgrove: I plan to vote for Barack Obama, as he’s the lesser of two evils. I do like some of the things John McCain has to say, but deep down inside it’s really nothing spectacular. I’m a liberal at heart.
Essmyer: Did you watch either of the two conventions?
Musgrove: I did watch a little bit of it. I read this in Rolling Stone all the time that a good percentage of Americans get their news from The Daily Show and John Stewart. I always read magazines that are a little biased, so I take everything with a grain of salt. First and foremost I’m an American, I’m going to vote for what’s right. But Obama is the lesser of two evils, and the one I agree with more.
Essmyer: What do you like best about UH?
Musgrove: Oh man, the campus atmosphere the first day. When I got here I was walking to the library to print some stuff for my biology class and I saw three people sitting outside playing Frisbee. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is a real college campus, and this is the genuine all-American college campus.’
