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