2021年6月发布
Sarah Prager (CAS’08) 她著有三本关于LGBTQ+历史的书,并在七个国家就此主题发表过演讲。 她的文章曾出现在《纽约时报》、《大西洋月刊》、《国家地理》、《赫芬顿邮报》、NBC新闻和其他地方。
After her two recent books were submitted as fan-favorites (or better yet, Terrier-favorites) for our list of Crowdsourced: Favorite Queer Books & Movies, author and alumna Sarah Prager (CAS ' 08) agreed to talk to us about her career and time at BU. 莎拉不仅在文学界脱颖而出; 她也是一位致力于推进LGBTQIA+权利和包容性的坚定倡导者。 Read the Q&A below to learn more about how her passion for advocacy and writing brought her to where she is today.
告诉我们一些关于你自己的情况,以及最初是什么促使你在波士顿大学攻读西班牙语言文学学士学位。
我知道我想为非营利组织工作,我需要一个文学学士学位,但不像某些职业那样需要一个特定的学位。 我选择学习西班牙语是因为我对这门语言的热爱,而且我知道这对社区工作是一项有用的技能。 我喜欢在波士顿上学,喜欢参加所有的学生团体,也喜欢在当地的非营利组织实习。 毕业后我留在了这座城市,开始从事非营利传播工作。 现在我是一名全职作家。 I don’t use my major much anymore, but I’m still happy to have had the time learning deeply about something I love.
在过去的五年中,您已经出版了两本书,并且正在准备出版第三本书。 你一直想成为一名作家吗?如果是的话,为什么你选择关注LGBTQIA+教育?
小学时,我想成为一名作家,但我觉得这就像我想成为一名演员一样不可能。 The chances of success were so slim that I didn’t even pursue it. 现在我很感激自己找到了通往梦想的路。
2015年,哈珀柯林斯(HarperCollins)的一位编辑突然联系上我,带来了一份改变我一生的梦幻图书合约。 那个项目是关于LGBTQ+的历史,我的激情所在。 他们联系我是因为我在那个领域的工作,那只是当时的副业。 Now I’ve published dozens of articles on LGBTQ+ history and dozens more on other topics as a freelance writer in between books. 我喜欢有弹性的工作时间,选择自己感兴趣的项目,从一个项目快速转移到另一个项目。
I write on LGBTQ+ history for young people because I believe knowing who we are and where we’ve come from is extremely powerful. It’s important for young people, queer and not queer, to know that queer people have had a huge, positive impact on the world for all of human history.
对于想要成为作家的应届毕业生,你有什么建议吗?
首先,成为一名作家可能只是你的工作之一。 I’m a speaker, consultant, freelance writer, etc. in addition to an author, as are many authors. 我发现让我的其他工作与我写的主题相关,而不是必须与出版相关,这对我很有帮助。 That way my work helps build up my expertise and network in my field, even though much of it isn’t in the book world. Choose what you’re writing about and see if you can find other jobs in that field. 发表关于这个主题的文章会对你的职业生涯有帮助,而拥有一个关于这个主题的职业也会帮助你发表文章。
你有什么建议给那些想要更多地参与激进主义的梗友吗?
当我在波士顿大学的时候,我发现加入学生团体非常有帮助,但也加入了校外团体。 All of the social justice issues in the world are also playing out on campus, so whether you act on campus or off, you’re making a difference. Stretch yourself to learn about causes that don’t seem like they personally affect you. 在波士顿大学和波士顿,你有机会结识来自世界各地的人,来自各行各业的人,所以好好利用这个机会,在课堂之外自学吧。
Meeting and connecting with people from all walks of life doesn’t have to end once you graduate. 部连接,一个致力于促进校友、员工、新濠影汇赌场和学生之间专业联系的平台,让你可以与波士顿大学社区的成员取得联系。 Meet new people by joining one or more of the 20+ networks available within 部连接 (examples include the LGBTQIA+ Network, Media & Communications network, and Creatives & Artists Network).