Small Town Dispatches: Mathew Goldberg

Welcome to Small Town Dispatches, a new feature on The Peak that recognizes the efforts of sustaining a writing practice in places with unconventional resources. Writing can be deeply isolating, especially when you live outside of cities that are seen as cultural epicenters. So here, Special Features Editor Nadeen Kharputly interviews Shenandoah contributors to gain insights about what it’s like to live in small towns (and towns that feel small): rural areas, college towns, islands, hamlets, and more.

Writer: Mathew Goldberg

Town: Rolla, Missouri

Bio: Mathew Goldberg’s story collection, Night Watch (Willow Springs Books) won the 2025 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Shenandoah, American Short Fiction, and Boulevard, among other journals. He has received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Arkansas Arts Council and a Special Mention for a Pushcart Prize. He has a MFA in creative writing from the University of Arkansas and a degree in engineering from Duke University. He lives in Missouri with his wife, son, and long-eared dog. He can be found at mathewgoldberg.com

Tell us about your small town - how small is it?

I’ve lived in Rolla, Missouri for the last fifteen years where I teach at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Rolla is a town of just under 20,000 people, 100 miles west of St. Louis. Route 66 runs directly through town along with the BNSF Rail, which you can hear from most neighborhoods.

What makes your town a unique place for your writing practice?

Rolla offers stillness on a literal path of transit. There is a sense of quiet, with nature all around, the Mark Twain National Forest surrounding us. The cost of living is low, and the university encourages the arts. I take writing breaks to walk the trails that snake through town and I let my mind wander.

Do you have a favorite writing spot?

Our home office overlooks our deck and a grove of trees populated by deer, rabbits, robins, and woodpeckers. Our dog loves patrolling the yard. My desk is cluttered with fidget items like my Greek worry beads, my Prague golem figurine, my shark’s tooth, and my thrift-store compass.

I also go to Panera, order a refillable mug of coffee, turn off the Wi-Fi, put on noise-cancelling headphones, cue up some Mingus, and try to turn off my inner censor.

How do you build community with other writers or creatives in your town?

The university is the center of our creative community. I’m the advisor for our department’s Creative Writing minor and the university’s arts magazine which solicits and promotes creative work from students, faculty, and staff.

I hold campus events with visiting writers, and I serve on the university’s Pre-Med advisory committee where I feel especially useful helping students with their personal narratives. With S&T being a STEM school, I work to show the value and connection of writing. I’ve run book clubs and advised design teams with our energetic honor students.

What do you appreciate most about where you live?

The low cost of living for someone in the humanities is a definite plus. But so is the sense of space and immersion in nature. Right now, I’m looking out my window into the trees at a grazing family of deer.

Our students and Rolla’s permanent residents are respectful and friendly. I grew up in Washington D.C., where, with the lack of personal space, I got reproached if I looked a stranger in the eye.

What are some of the challenges of living there?

Shopping feels limited at times, so we drive to St. Louis a few times a month for entertainment, special groceries, and dinner. We bring a cooler, Trader Joes’ bags, and sunscreen.

What sort of rituals have you cultivated in your town?

Nature walks with our dog, biking with our son along the city’s trails, Saturday morning pastries at our friend’s French bakery, Friday happy hours at the local brew pub.

Can you share any writing advice that's inspired by your living situation?

Log out and turn off. Easier said than done, I know.

Also, keep in touch with your best readers. They can transcend place.