Elliot Laurence, an M.F.A. student in fiction, discusses his journey from growing up in a challenging environment in the Midwest to enrolling in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film
Elliot Laurence
By Ellie Webb-Bowen, CLA Student Writer - December 11, 2024
Elliot Laurence is currently one of four second-year students in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film’s M.F.A. program. Focusing on fiction, Laurence has stories to tell from his upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri, and time spent in the Air Force.
"I've always wanted to be a writer," Laurence said. "My niche is what I like to call ‘poverty fiction,’ which is fiction about people who are struggling financially."
Growing up as one of five in a low-income household, Laurence struggled with learning disabilities, but was always a big reader. They worked long hours to help feed their family, which hurt their grades and prevented them from participating in extracurricular activities. College wasn’t necessarily on the table for Laurence and they weren't looking to stick around in St. Louis after high school, which led them to joining the Air Force at age 17 as a way to get out. After their high school graduation, Laurence went straight into basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, then technical school for medical logistics training.
“During my time in the Air Force, I met a lot of people who were in similar situations as I was,” explained Laurence.
“They didn't join because they wanted to, they joined because they had a challenging family situation back home, or wanted consistency in their life, or needed to get rid of debt. These people joined the Air Force to eventually have a better life.”
During year three of his six years in the Air Force, Laurence began transitioning, which, as Laurence explains, Air Force administration was unsure how to handle, treating the transitioning processes as though Laurence was injured. Officially classifying Laurence’s transition as a “medical defect,” the duties Laurence was allowed to perform during his time in service were limited.
“They treated me as if I had developed asthma or something,” said Laurence. “And despite my transition occurring during the Trump Administration, it was a celebratory time with friends and family. I was very lucky to be surrounded by people who were very supportive of me, including my unit commander. Honestly, the worst part about it was the administrative paperwork.”
Laurence completed Airman Leadership School and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant after 6 years of service. While in the Air Force, they were also enrolled at Webster University in St. Louis as an English major and creative writing minor. After graduating, Laurence received the Young Alumni Award from Webster for their transgender activism, as well as a guest on Donnybrook, a St. Louis PBS debate program, to talk about transgender rights.
In 2022, Ruminate Magazine published a fictional story by Laurence titled, “Warehouse Song,” about a single mom who works at a clothing packaging warehouse, while living in her car and raising her daughter.
“The story is fictional,” explained Laurence, “but there certainly are themes in there that I took from my own upbringing. I like to write personal stories, whereby at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to survive, typically for love; love for love’s sake.”
While working as Editor of Communication at the St. Louis University School of Law, Laurence began to look at continuing his writing career. OSU’s Master’s of Fine Arts program at the School of Writing, Literature, and Film (SWLF) caught Laurence’s attention, due in part to the small cohort size, non-competitive environment, in addition to being in transgender-friendly state. They were admitted and joined the program in Fall 2023.
While at OSU, Laurence has been elected twice SWLF's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, received the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship, served as an organizer for the M.F.A. Reading Series, and volunteers with the Coalition of Graduate Employees, who strive to ensure fair treatment and wages for graduate employees.
His writing still focuses on themes of “poverty fiction,” Laurence looks to tell stories about those who are under-represented or unheard.
“There’s so much to uniquely explore in the field of American poverty,” said Laurence. “Money dictates so much about how we live, including my own. In my writing, the character is constantly worrying about money, but it doesn’t mean they don’t get stuff done, or have positive relationships, or become involved in a murder mystery.”
For his thesis, Laurence is working on a novel, tentatively titled No One Has a Dollar. The narrator is a 23-year-old transgender man with a side job as a food delivery driver. The story surrounds a recent mysterious murder of another driver. The main character gets a front row seat to the development of the case when he joins an activist group led by an infectiously charming man named Every.
After completing the M.F.A. program this spring, Laurence looks to enter into teaching and continue writing fiction about what it means to be poor and marginalized in America.
“I hope my writing will make readers feel seen,” Laurence said. “Even though somebody might be struggling financially, it doesn't mean that they don't have a rich life.”