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Dr. Carey Scott Wilkerson – CSU Department of English

Dr. Carey Scott Wilkerson of the English department passed away last Sunday, July 7. A celebrated poet, author, and dramatist, Dr. Wilkerson had been teaching at CSU since 2009, where his academic areas within the field of English included dramatic writing, poetry, and experimental forms. Colleagues and students of Dr. Wilkerson recall his enthusiasm for his craft, his kindheartedness, and his genuine interest in those around him. 

“Scott had a gift for treating everyone with kindness while also having a sharp wit,” writes Dr. Pat McHenry, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, who also teaches English classes. “I think of Scott as the person I want to stand in line with at the lunch buffet, always engaging, always ready with a turn of phrase to make you laugh. He was absolutely dedicated to his students, which students could easily sense, and he was dedicated to his craft of writing, as his many publications and awards show. I feel a great sense of honor having been his colleague in the English Department.” 

English professor Dr. Nick Norwood shares this sentiment. “Scott Wilkerson was one of the kindest people I ever knew,” states Dr. Norwood. “He was even kind to fellow poets, which is rare. Always supportive and charitable, he was a champion of all the other writers he personally knew, read their work, attended their readings, celebrated their accomplishments. Anytime I ever gave a reading in the Columbus area, at some point before the event began I could expect to see Scott walk in the door, and I could expect to receive a text sometime later that night or early the next day. A recent example: ‘That was a fine performance, some of my favorites. And the new work is splendid!’ The thing I admired most about Scott was his recognition that the most important thing a person can be is kind. 

“On poetry—” Dr. Norwood continues, “—and, for that matter, literature in general, art in general—he had extremely eclectic tastes. He loved the avant-garde (much more than I, I’ll have to admit), but he also loved the traditional. […] This, I think, was another aspect of the generousness of his soul. He was large. He contained multitudes.” 

Dr. Daewoo Jin, another English professor, had a campus visit to CSU in summer 2023 prior to his teaching at the university, during which he encountered Dr. Wilkerson. “Scott’s classroom provided an enthusiastic and welcoming environment for my teaching demonstration,” states Dr. Jin. “When I started that fall, Scott often mentioned it, showing his kindness and support. Scott, thank you for being a wonderful colleague and friend. I am truly grateful.” 

In her statement about Dr. Wilkerson, English professor Dr. Rebecca Gerdes-McClain remembers his intellect and selfless spirit: “No one could turn a phrase quite like Scott.  In fact, I’ve never met anyone who talked like Scott. He would just spit out these lovely, twisty sentences filled with imagery and big words like it was nothing. I used to sometimes wonder how his students deciphered him, but he was so kind and genuine—that’s the answer. […] I know lots of people who are very smart and sound like it when they talk. But Scott wasn’t trying to sound smart. He just loved words and his brain was brimming with all these flawless expressions; little bits of sentences that were so perfect or witty or even just pretty that they would linger in my mind after we spoke. 

“The other thing about Scott is that it was very hard to talk about Scott to Scott. He always had wonderful things to say about whoever he was speaking to, but try and reciprocate the kind words and he’d turn the conversation (usually so skillfully you barely even noticed). It wasn’t an affectation; he was just uncomfortable with being praised at the same time that he was almost incapable of having a conversation with someone without making sure they knew what he liked and admired about them. […] I don’t know many people like that,” Dr. Gerdes-McClain remarks. “People who, no matter how tired or stressed or grumpy they are, meet everyone they encounter with such generosity of spirit. I work with some of the best people imaginable, and even among them Scott stood out. He is absolutely irreplaceable, and we will always miss him.” 

Dr. Shannon Godlove shares her memories of teaching an Honors class with Dr. Wilkerson in Fall 2023: “[It] was one of the highlights of my teaching career. I loved our morning meetings where Scott and I would excitedly discuss the readings for our class and strategize about our lesson plans. Scott was such a fun, open, and brilliant team-teaching partner… [he] was always ready to improvise and brought a spark of pure joy and intellectual and artistic excitement to everything we did. I feel so lucky to have been able to work with and learn from him.” 

I had the privilege of taking this class taught by Dr. Wilkerson and Dr. Godlove. Every day I saw him, Dr. Wilkerson carried with him a liveliness that could be felt even when he wasn’t talking. He was so passionate, so enthusiastic and genuine in his interest in the subject and everything we did as students. He was the kind of professor who made me feel like I was his peer rather than someone studying under him; he had this attitude that we were all learning from each other. He never said that, but it was palpable. He didn’t have to say it. 

Lennox Dodd, a sophomore English Secondary Education major, took a creative writing class with Dr. Wilkerson last year. “I love Dr. Wilkerson,” they write. “He gave us so much freedom and so many creative ideas when it came to our writing.” Dodd shares a memory of discussing with an enthusiastic Dr. Wilkerson a class writing assignment: “I at some point called him ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ and he laughed so hard saying how he was elevated in status from professor to a buddy. It is absolutely one of my fondest memories in that class. He was so open-minded and inquisitive on everything we thought and believed and I truly enjoyed all of my experiences with him. I am going to miss him so much.” 

“He’s able to recommend some brilliance with just a couple words,” states senior English major Carlos Patterson. “Whether it be in writing or life … he would encourage you to push [any idea] further. He would give you hints on how to narrow down and [hone] what you could do.” 

Cymone West, another senior in the English department, describes how Dr. Wilkerson inspired her in her craft: “As he spoke passionately about Joan Didion, showing us her readings, explicating them, and introducing us to her biographical film, my passion for English was reignited. In one paper in particular I referred to her as a kind of intellectual ‘IT girl’, to which Dr. Wilkerson responded ‘yes!’[, a] phrase he often scattered throughout my essays. At the end of my papers he had a tendency to thank me, ‘Thank you for this personal, engaging, engaged response!’ or ‘Thank you for this honest, genuine paper!’. This feedback, along with all the beautiful, fun conversations we had throughout classes, will live in my heart always.”  

West also details how Dr. Wilkerson encouraged her to pursue a passion for theatre she had begun to neglect; his compliments to her comedic abilities inspired her to take up performance “after a years long hiatus that may have never ended had I not [taken] his classes,” West shares. “I credit him for motivating me to act, for instilling a love of intellectual, fashionable women in me, and for bringing me some of the most amazing friends I have now. His classes, words, jokes, and expressions of love for his students, his family, and for the English language will surely stay with me as long as I live. It is my hope to achieve all the things Dr. Wilkerson so wholeheartedly believed that I could, even when I didn’t believe it myself.” 

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“I cannot overstate what Dr. Wilkerson meant to CSU’s English department and to me personally,” writes Dr. Judith Livingston, chair of the English Department. “He was at the center of everything we do. He advocated for every student; he agreed to teach any unstaffed course; he volunteered for every committee or event; he showered all of us with praise and gratitude; and he made us laugh every day. He was one-of-a-kind, and he will be deeply missed.” 

“The passing of Dr. Carey Scott Wilkerson is devastating for the entire Columbus State University community,” Dr. Joseph McCallus articulates. “Scott was an excellent teacher, kind and sensitive to his students. His creative endeavors were diverse, successful, and fascinating, especially the work he did with the libretto. And he was a wonderful colleague, concerned and supportive for the people around him. I will remember and cherish the many conversations we had together. Scott, I will always miss you.” 

We will always miss you.