English major discusses dreams of being a writer, professor
New Baltimore sophomore Stone Slominis poses for a photo on Feb. 16 outside his dorm at Herrig Hall.
As a writer, New Baltimore sophomore Stone Slominis tries to filter the outside world through his own creative lens.
Slominis is an English major specializing in literature and enjoys reading and writing in his free time. Those who know Stone say he is a student who loves to exist through story and has his own standards he wants to live up to.
Central Michigan Life spoke with Slominis about negating criticism in the Liberal Arts and his future as a writer or professor.
CM Life: What is art to you?
Slominis: “The fewer number of people working on something, the closer it is to art. The most artistic things are done by one artist—one artist’s painting on a canvas or one author’s words in a book.
Once you get editors, it becomes diluted. The purest form of art is when one person has an idea that they express. Even in music, when you have multiple people writing a song, it can get muddy.”
Is there a story behind your name?
Personally, I call myself “Salami.” Slominis is from Poland and was Slominski until it was changed. My mother told me that my middle name is Martin because, if I ever were to become a celebrity, I could change my name to Stone Martin. It sounds like a guy you would remember.
As for my first name, no, not really. (My parents) liked SS, until I let them know that it stands for the Nazi secret service. They didn’t think about it and were probably making sure not to name me “Adolf Hitler.”
But I like my name because I have only met four other Stones. One attends CMU. He moved into my old dorm room. Somebody probably saw it and thought it would be funny. If I was put in that position, I would have done it on purpose.
If you were frozen for 20 years, who would you come back to see first?
We are in a very quickly changing world. If I was frozen for 20 years, I would check out the world. I would go to a place like New York to see the technological advancements. I would be disappointed if everything had remained the same. They say, if you take a caveman and brought him to the present, he would probably die of shock from how different everything is. That timeline is getting shorter, so if I wasn’t dead, I would be disappointed. If I came back to see someone though, it would be my brother.
Are you close to your brother?
Yes. Growing up, we would hang out with the video game kids in the neighborhood. I was never competitive and neither of us enjoyed sports, although I enjoy the outdoors. We would role play as different characters and play as versions of ourselves with powers. He will be at CMU next year, but I probably won't see him too often. You end up letting go. It is natural.
As a student, what do you think defines people on campus that shouldn’t?
There is an idea of the college experience that has everyone trying to fit in. They want to party, get drunk, smoke weed and have sex. Those things are fine, if you really want them. I know though that a lot of people are playing the part, because they think that it is the supposed college experience and what they should be doing. You shouldn’t be defining yourself by those things alone.
I understand that people play social roles. When you find yourself in a roleplaying scenario, you should try to break out of it. It is fine to do whatever you want with your life, but you should really be doing what you want, not what you’ve been told you want. Make the experiences your own. You have to live that way once you graduate. You are going to have to write your own story.
Why do you specialize in literature?
Grammar, if you stick too close to it, is not in your best interest. Rules are set in place so you may learn to find the cleverest way to break them. Shakespeare made things up, like “sticking-place,” or “Oh, I’m in a pickle.” He was the first (recorded) human being to say these things. His works are art and pieces of literature we read to this day. It’s considered the best in the world, which is not at all an unpopular opinion.
Which author has inspired you the most?
Depends on the day. In my actual writing, I try not to imitate. T.S. Eliot says, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” If you put everything in your perspective and filter it through your lens, you’ll get something great. I try to put life through my own lens. I write for myself, but I like making character sketches because it builds another being up.
I don’t want to be published. Writing should be for yourself a lot of times. Kurt Vonnegut described it as a tape on the back of your tongue. You are pulling on it and pulling on it. That is why a lot of authors think about killing themselves, because it is a tired notion.
What are your plans for the future?
I would love to be a professor. Honestly, I feel a lot of people say it, but I would like to write on my own. You can’t say that ever. You can’t say, “Oh, I want to be a writer.” You can only think it. You have to be working toward it while working toward something else. That way you can take either route, whatever one opens up. It’s like a plan A and a plan B type of deal. My parents taught me to do it, so I might as well do it.
I would love to write for a living, but I could never write as a journalist. I could never walk up to the person whose baby has just drowned and interview them.
Does this stem from the criticism that often surrounds the Liberal Arts?
Criticism I take like a king. If you’re straight up wrong, I am going to tell you. “Everyone’s opinion matters,” which was said by Socrates or someone important. I agree that you can’t say, “Oh, I’m going to be an artist,” and exclusively go for it unless you get that little bit that you bite. You have to get the hook first. If you put everything you have into becoming an artist, you might die. There is a certain nobility to starving to death. However, death cuts you off from doing the thing you want to do. You need life first before you can write or be an artist.
Writing has to be the secret plan A. It’s better to say “I want to be a professor,” because it’s easier to explain to people. You don’t get the old, “Oh, but no one does that anymore” if you say (you want to be a) professor. I don’t want to hear, “Oh, are you sure you want to do that? It’s not stable,” or “You can’t rely on art.” I don’t want to hear it. I understand, so I say “professor,” because then people go, “Hey, that’s a profession that gets paid well. That’s a normal thing.”
How would you structure your classroom?
Structure may be the wrong word. There is a lot of structure in science and math, but in English, it should be about thinking, analyzing, and being critical about pieces of literature. I’m not one of those “born in the wrong generation” pukes, but I would love to see a world where thinking takes center stage. I don’t want to sound pompous because I don’t consider myself intelligent. I believe there is almost a striving toward unintelligence. You should always be thinking, in my opinion.
For myself, I never want to stop thinking and figuring out what is going on, even if it is deciding what I’m going to have for dinner. A lot of it is the way the schools are set up, especially in early education. They beat the kids over the head with facts and don’t give them enough time to enjoy thinking.
I would want to provide my students with an environment that few professors provide.
