Monthly Archives: February 2015

Singapore Bound — Singapore is one of the smallest nations in the world in terms of its physical size, but it looms large in my plans for spring break. Several months ago I received an invitation from a program jointly sponsored by Yale University and the National University of Singapore (YaleNUS College) to participate in an international symposium on censorship. Titled “What Children Shouldn’t Read: A Global Controversy,” the symposium will take place on March 3-4, although there will be related events before and after the official symposium.

I am by no means the only English Department faculty member who is engaged in projects that relate to global issues and themes. I could list at least a dozen examples, but I will limit myself to three. Pilar Blitvich’s research on pragmatics is international in nature, and she regularly publishes in European linguistics journals. Juan Meneses’s research on postcolonial literature transcends national boundaries. Alan Rauch is the series editor for Intersections in Literature and Science, a book series published by University of Wales Press. Every year, numerous members of our department present papers at international conferences or conduct research outside the United States. Nowadays UNC Charlotte is incorporating the theme of globalism in its educational and research mission, and the English Department is clearly a participant in this development. As Shakespeare once wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” The English Department is already a player on this very wide stage.

CLGO Colloquium — On February 20, the Children’s Literature Graduate Organization sponsored an event titled “Mockingjays, Mirrors, and Mysterious Missions: A Colloquium on Dystopias, Distortions, and Other Worlds.” Five graduate students presented papers at this event. Amanda Loeffert presented a paper titled “Fighting in Flats: How Kamala Khan is Revolutionizing the Female Superhero.” Dina Massachi presented a paper titled “What Makes a Child’s Utopia: Thomas More and L. Frank Baum.” Hannah Mayfield gave a paper on “Katniss Everdeen and Her Band of Not So Merry Men: The Outlaw Hero’s Journey from Myth to Dystopia,” and Julia Morris delivered a paper titled “Battle on the Playground: A Discussion of War in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” Richard Smith presented on “Weird Stones, Familiar Places: The Other World of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.” The colloquium concluded with a faculty panel discussion featuring Balaka Basu, Paula Connolly, and Beth Gargano.

Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:

Boyd Davis co-edited with Dena Shenk a special issue of American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias (February 2105). The theme of this special issue is “Technology and Dementia.”

Allison Hutchcraft recently had four poems accepted for publication in the May 2015 issue of The Kenyon Review.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is a deadline to keep in mind:

February 27 — Mid-term grades are due by noon on Friday, February 27.

Quirky Quiz Question — Singapore is a city-state located on an island very near a much larger Asian country. What is the name of this larger Asian country?

Last week’s answer: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Immortality — In the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins answers a series of knocks on his round door. Each time he opens the door, a dwarf walks in, and soon there is quite an assemblage of them. After gathering in Bilbo’s home, they talk of treasured memories and future plans, and then they set about the more serious business of preparing for the immediate challenges that await them. I was reminded of this scene last Saturday. Around 1:00 in the afternoon, I started answering series of knocks on the main door to the English Department. Each time I opened the door, a graduate student entered the lobby. Soon they formed a convivial party of six. They quickly began exchanging greetings and chatting amongst themselves, but they clearly shared a sense of purpose. They gathered together on Saint Valentine’s Day to celebrate and remember a beloved professor: a professor from whom they had all taken courses; a professor who had helped them appreciate the treasure of literature; a professor named Jim McGavran.

These six graduate students—Brook Blaylock, Yekaterina Dolmatova, Beth Greene, Lisa K. McAlister, Joye T. Palmer, and Breanne Weber—all agreed to participate in the  upcoming “Celebration of the Life of James McGavran.” As part of this event, they will give an oral reading of William Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.” They spent much but not all of Saturday afternoon in the Conference Room diligently rehearsing their performance. From my office, I could hear them reading Wordsworth’s poem, but I could also hear them sharing stories about Jim’s courses and laughing at amusing things that Jim did in class. After a few hours, they informed me that they were ready to recite the poem. I joined them in the Conference Room, and they proceeded to amaze me with their professional and passionate presentation.

After the graduate students left, I sat in my office and reflected on the notion of immortality. Wordsworth’s poem revolves around this theme, but I found myself thinking about Jim’s enduring spirit. The experience of spending an afternoon with Jim’s students helped me realize that his wisdom, his passion for the British Romantics, and his love of poetry and nature writing live on through his students. As a result of Jim’s deep commitment to teaching, he achieved his own form of immortality. Such is Jim’s legacy.

Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:

JuliAnna Ávila will journey to Middlebury College on February 24 to speak at a workshop for faculty and students about the changing nature of academic English.

Chris Davis recently had two poems published in an anthology titled Words Without Walls: Writers on Addiction, Violence, and Incarceration (Trinity University Press). He also had a poem titled “Along the Crimes Against Nature Trail, Look,” accepted by Exit 7, a journal published in Kentucky.

Janaka Lewis participated in the panel discussion of “Living Thinkers: An Autobiography of Black Women in the Ivory Tower” for the Center for Graduate Life on Feb. 12. The event was coordinated by English Literature Master’s Student and Graduate Life Fellow Kristen Reynolds.  Also, Janaka will read her poem “New Southern Blues” from 27 Views of Charlotte on Wednesday, February 18, at 6 pm at North County Regional Library, Huntersville.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:

February 18 — Historian Lawrence Friedman will deliver a lecture titled “Inconvenient Visionaries: Crafting World Peace” on Wednesday, February 18, from 4:00 to 5:30 in Fretwell 290B. This lecture is sponsored by the American Studies Program.

February 20 — “A Celebration of Jim McGavran” will take place on Friday, February 20, from 2:00-4:30 in the Rowe Recital Hall (Rowe 140). The official program will begin at 2:30 to be followed by a reception in the main lobby of Rowe.

February 27 — Mid-term grades are due by noon on Friday, February 27.

Quirky Quiz Question — While William Wordsworth was composing “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood,” he was in frequent contact with another Romantic poet with whom he shared a close friendship. What is the name of this other Romantic poet?

Last week’s answer: The Carolina Israelite

Rosey E. Pool during a Black Nativity tour in England (ca. 1965), with (a.o.) Marion Williams, Alex Bradford, Vinette Carrol and Madeleine Bell.

Black History Month — February is Black History Month. One aspect of this history is the longstanding and mutually supportive relationship between African Americans and Jews. Jeffrey Leak’s most recent research project deals specifically with this relationship. Jeffrey began this project by studying the life and career of the African American poet Robert Hayden. In the process of conducting his preliminary research, he discovered a fascinating connection between Hayden and Rosey E. Pool, a Jewish editor from England. This spring Jeffrey plans to go England to examine Pool’s papers. I asked Jeffrey about his research trip, and he sent me the following information:

I’ll be journeying to England to visit the archives at the University of Sussex, located in Brighton. I’ll be looking through the papers of Rosey E. Pool (1905-1971), who grew up in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. While training to become an English teacher, she came across a poem by the Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen; as a result, she she developed a life-long passion for African American poetry and culture. Her family was interned at Westerbork Transit camp, but only she survived. During that time, they would sing what were referred to as Negro Spirituals. At war’s end she continued to celebrate and analyze African American poets, editing volumes of poetry in England. She lectured widely here in the U.S. at historically black colleges and universities in the 1950s and ’60s. She was a major voice for black literature in Europe, and her archive provides a social and cultural history of African American writers from the vantage point of Great Britain and Western Europe.

Jeffrey’s research relates to a larger story with intriguing ties to the Charlotte area. Last year the Levine Museum of the New South sponsored an exhibit titled “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges.” As this exhibit made clear, many historically black colleges and universities, including Johnson C. Smith University, provided teaching opportunities for Jewish refugees from Europe during the World War Two era. African Americans and Jews also collaborated during the Civil Rights Movement. Charlotte’s own Harry Golden is an important example of a prominent Jew who played a key role in this movement. As we celebrate Black History Month, we should make note of this chapter in African American history and remember the strength that comes from forming alliances and coalitions.

Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:

Amanda Loeffert, a graduate student in our children’s literature concentration, recently had a paper accepted for presentation at the upcoming Children’s Literature Association Conference. Her paper is titled “Fighting in Flats: How Kamala Khan is Revolutionizing the Female Superhero.”

Katie Hogan recently had a chapter titled “The Academic Slow Lane: Creating Alternative Professional Identities” accepted for publication Staging Academic Women’s Lives (State University of New York Press).

Dina Massachi, a graduate student in our children’s literature concentration, recently had a paper accepted for presentation at the upcoming Children’s Literature Association Conference. Her paper is titled “Starving for Readers: The Epidemic of Glamorizing Eating Disorders in Young Adult Fiction.”

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here are some dates to keep in mind:

February 10 — The third presentation in this year’s Personally Speaking Series will take place on Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 at UNC Charlotte Center City. John David Smith will speak about his recent book Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops. On March 24, Paula Connolly will give the fourth and final presentation in this year’s Personally Speaking Series. She will speak about her book Slavery in American Children’s Literature, 1790-2010.

February 16 — The Vagina Monologues (faculty and staff cast) – Monday, February 16 at 7pm in McKnight Hall (Cone Center). Angie, Janaka, and Tiffany will each be performing in this important event. This year’s production is being directed by Shannon Bauerle, a former English grad student, ELC Coordinator and part-time instructor. All proceeds will benefit Safe Alliance. Admission tickets are $10. For admission ticket and a t shirt $15. ONLY CASH will be taken at the door. To purchase tickets online:https://ecom.uncc.edu/C21561_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=104&SINGLESTORE=true

February 20 — “A Celebration of Jim McGavran” will take place on Friday, February 20, from 2:00-4:30 in the Rowe Recital Hall (Rowe 140). The official program will begin at 2:30 to be followed by a reception in the main lobby of Rowe.

Quirky Quiz Question — Charlotte’s Harry Golden used his own periodical to voice his support for the Civil Rights Movement. Does anybody know the name of this periodical?

Last week’s answer:

The Last Studebaker – Robin Hemley
Crossing Blood – Nanci Kincaid
Dog on the Cross – Aaron Gwyn
Six Figures – Fred Lebron
The Petals of Your Eyes – Aimee Parkison

Our Fiction Writers: Past, Present and Future — I will be attending a day-long retreat on Monday, so I decided to write my Monday Missive a day early, which is why I am writing this on Super Bowl Sunday. When I came into the office this morning, I wondered if I could make a connection between football and the English Department. I was about to give up, when I remembered Nanci Kincaid’s novel Balls. She wrote this novel while she taught creative writing in our department. Originally published in 1998, Balls explores the world of college football from the perspective of the women who are involved with the coach and players of a Southern college football team. The last I heard, Nanci is now living in Hawaii, but she grew up in the South, and she often writes about Southern culture in her novels and short stories.

Nanci Kincaid is one of a number of talented fiction writers who have helped build our creative writing program over the years. Others include Robin Hemley, Fred Leebron, Aimee Parkison, and of course our current colleague Aaron Gwyn. We are now in the process of searching for a new faculty member to teach fiction writing in our department. As this search process moves to its final stages, I am already looking forward to welcoming a new fiction writer to the department, reading this person’s stories, and helping this new faculty member continue the process of developing our creative writing program.

English Learning Community News — The Learning Communities recently hosted their annual Honor Roll Reception that honors Learning Community students who made the honor roll in the fall semester. The English Learning Community is happy to report that fourteen of our members were honored. Those that made the Chancellor’s List are Sarah Eberly, Nephdarlie Saint-Cyr, Alina Fortunato, Broneicia Williams, Katharine Clarke, Haley O’Brien, and Michael Brooks. Those that made the Dean’s List are Baker Williams, Joshua Johnson, Julie Benavides, Nailah French, Caitlin Murphy, Anna-Beck Panel, and Alyssa Knittel.

Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:

Boyd Davis recently published a co-authored chapter titled “Stylization, Aging, and Cultural Competence: Why Health Care in the South Needs Linguistics” in Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. This book was published by the University of Alabama Press.

Katie Hogan recently had an article titled “Come Closer to Feminism: Gratitude as Activist Encounter in Women’s and Gender Studies 101” accepted for publication in Feminist Teacher.

Malin Pereira has an essay titled “Brenda Marie Osbey’s Black Internationalism” coming out in Diasporas, Cultures of Mobilities.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is a date to keep in mind:

February 10 — The third presentation in this year’s Personally Speaking Series will take place on Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 at UNC Charlotte Center City. John David Smith will speak about his recent book Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops. On March 24, Paula Connolly will give the fourth and final presentation in this year’s Personally Speaking Series. She will speak about her book Slavery in American Children’s Literature, 1790-2010.

Quirky Quiz Question — Here is a list of five books written by fiction writers who have taught in our department. Can you identify the author for each book:
The Last Studebaker
Crossing Blood
Dog on the Cross
Six Figures
The Petals of Your Eyes

Last week’s answer: Portuguese Water Dogs