Piskor Professor of English and Department Chair Peter Bailey can’t imagine a better job than the one he has. “I enjoy the interactions with students in the classroom, and I enjoy spending time with my colleagues,” he says. “St. Lawrence is a great place for students and faculty.  It’s as good as it gets here.”

Bailey received his undergraduate degree from New School College, New York City, in 1968.  “It was a more informal school, but I found the professors to be so interested in what they were doing, and such interesting as people,” Bailey says.  He says his undergraduate experience is why he wanted to become a professor.  He received his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1971 and his doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1980. 

After receiving his doctorate, Bailey came to teach at St. Lawrence.  “I like ideas and the life of the intellect,” Bailey explains. 

One of Bailey’s favorite courses to teach at St. Lawrence is Techniques of Fiction.  “It’s the one course where I know students improve,” he says. “The class pushes people through a lot of writing structures, and I think each student leaves the class as a different writer, and that’s gratifying.”  He also enjoys teaching Black, White, Blues, a class that focuses on African American music and literature.

Bailey’s book Rabbit Unredeemed: The Drama of Belief in John Updike’s Fiction was published last fall by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. “This was one of the high points of my career,” Bailey says.  His interest in Updike goes back to his undergraduate days; given the opportunity to pick the topic for his final project, he chose Updike.  “Whenever I travel, I bring one of Updike’s books with me because it makes me feel at home,” he says.