Noni D. Carter ’13, whose book “Good Fortune” was recently published by Simon & Schuster, says that “intellectual movies” are a source of inspiration for her.

“The Last Samurai” and “Peaceful Warrior”—two of the films that have influenced Carter’s writing—have strong spiritual overtones that play a role in her fiction, she adds.

Carter also says that she has a “sixth Harvard class” consisting of reading spiritual texts, particularly the works of Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and Don M. A. Ruiz, which she says influence her writing.

For Abram D. Kaplan ’10, the most important inspiration for his writing comes not from movies or from popular contemporary books. He says that Western philosophy bears most on his writing.

“Right now, I could trace a number of my concerns and images to Plato and Machiavelli and Homer,” Abram Kaplan says. “In general, I would say that I draw heavily from what’s called the Western canon.”

For others, literary inspiration stems from surprising sources.

“I tend to enjoy videos of animals doing unexpected things,” says Hale, whose works tend to be “all about animals and kids,” according to a 2009 interview with The Crimson.

DOES HARVARD HELP?

Many undergraduate writers say they have mixed feelings about the extent to which Harvard has motivated them to put pen to paper.

For one, Abram Kaplan praises Harvard for its attitude towards the writing scene. Abram says that Harvard’s liberal arts curricula and the access it provides to “intelligent and passionate people” are two reasons why the College has a strong literary tradition. In the Dudley House Co-op, Abram says he found a “vibrant community” that awarded him “interesting and rich material” for his writing.

Carter shares that sentiment. She adds that “amazing people” at Harvard, who bring a diverse array of personal narratives and writing styles to the literary scene, foster an inspirational environment that is conducive towards writing.

Others, however, are more ambivalent about Harvard’s influence.

Ran “Sharon” Wang ’10 says that Harvard can often stifle artistic expression.

“I think that there is sometimes such an emphasis on being good at thinking that people don’t always let themselves feel,” Wang says.

In Keenan’s view, an education at Harvard has allowed him to become a more sensitive reader and writer. Nevertheless, Keenan says he still does not know how much of an influence Harvard’s classes, people, and organizations have been.

Hale says it might take some time away from campus to find an answer to such a question.

“I might just be too close to Harvard still to understand what it has meant to me,” Hale says.

—Staff writer Tyler G. Hale can be reached at thale13@college.harvard.edu.