Elizabeth Inness-Brown ‘76
Major: English and Fine Arts
Profession: Writer and Professor of English at St. Michael’s College
Hometown: South Hero, VT

Although Elizabeth Inness-Brown came to St. Lawrence University with four different majors in mind, through the mentoring and advising of English Professor Joe Bellamy she finally decided to double major in art and English, studying fiction writing with him and poetry writing with Tess Gallagher, a visiting professor. Under Professor Bellamy’s tutelage, she not only developed her writing skills but met many well-known writers, both on campus and at a writers’ conference he ran for several years. In addition, she had opportunities to work both on the national literary magazine fiction international and the student literary magazine, through which she learned the proofreading and editing skills that helped put her through the Columbia University MFA program. After graduating she taught at a number of colleges, including St. Lawrence, before landing at St. Michael’s College.

Since her graduation from St. Lawrence, Joe Bellamy has remained an important mentor. Most recently, Elizabeth consulted him for feedback on her first novel, Burning Marguerite, published by Knopf in 2002. Thanks to Joe Bellamy’s mentorship and excellent example, Liz says, she has found a career that she loves, a career as a writer who loves to teach and a teacher who loves to write.