Celebrating Authors’ Birthdays — I think the fact that we have ten fingers has something to do with why we pay particular attention to birthdays that are divisible by ten. I wonder if we had evolved from octopi if we would emphasize birthdays that are divisible by eight. Regardless of the reason, however, we tend to take notice of birthdays that have associations with the number ten, and two prominent authors have such birthdays in the first half of September. The 130th birthday of Hilda Doolittle (more commonly know as H.D.) took place on September 10, and the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl will take place on September 16.
Lara Vetter is widely recognized as a leading authority on H.D., so it is fitting that Oxford University Press asked Lara to write a guest blog about H.D.’s 130th birthday for their Oxford Bibliographies Blog. In addition to writing about H.D.’s contributions to the modernist literary movement, Lara devotes much of her guest blog to discussing H.D.’s distrust of nationalism. Here is a link to Lara’s blog: <http://blog.oup.com/2016/09/hd-130-birth-anniversary/>.
The upcoming 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s birth is attracting world-wide attention. The Special Collections Department of UNC Charlotte’s Atkins Library is joining in the celebrations by installing a display devoted to Dahl and Beatrix Potter, whose 150th birth anniversary took place this past July. When the organizers of this display learned that I knew Dahl and that I have a large collection of Dahl-related material, they requested permission to borrow some of my Dahl books and correspondence for their display. Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing this display.
Special Team — I know very little about football, but a few years ago I learned that each team has its own “special teams.” Well, at this pastSaturday’s UNC Charlotte’s home game, there was an extra special team. What made this special team so darn special is that its members are all tied to the English Department. Jennie Mussington played in the greeter position at the Judy Rose Field House where all of the players and coaches made their entrances. Angie Williams worked the Team/Player Guest and Media Gate, where she greeted all of the special guests and examined their bags. Rounding out this extra special team were the members of the English Learning Community, who hosted a tailgate event for students and others. Chelsea Moore and Nicole Jones played key roles in organizing this tailgating event. With so many people from the English Department contributing to the effort, it’s only fitting that the 49ers were victorious on the field.
English Learning Community
English Learning Community — Tiffany Morin, the Director of our English Learning Community (ELC), recently shared with me her good news about the ELC. Here is what she wrote: “The English Learning Community is off to a successful start. This year, it is made up of twenty-two members and three peer mentors. They have begun their campus wide scavenger hunt, so you will likely see them wandering the halls of the English Department. You can learn more about the individual members from the ELC bulletin board, located by 290-B. They are beginning to plan their events this semester, so if you would like to involve the ELC in any upcoming events, please contact Tiffany Morin.”
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:
Paula Eckard‘s third edited issue of the Thomas Wolfe Review (39.1-2: 2015; 196 pages) has been published. Still photos from the film Geniusare on the front and back covers. She contributed to an article on teaching Thomas Wolfe in the 21st century. Her section of the article is titled “Thomas Wolfe in Context: North Carolina and the Digital World.”
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about an upcoming event:
The Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the UNC Charlotte Counseling Center are co-sponsoring an event titled “Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project,” featuring the work of Samra Habib. Her presentation will take place on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 @7pm in McKnight Hall. Here are some articles on Samra’s work:
http://qz.com/594969/between-me-and-allah-the-conflict-between-homosexuality-and-islam/
Quirky Quiz Question — In her guest blog, Lara Vetter discusses H.D.’s roots in the Moravian Church. A city on North Carolina has strong ties to the Moravia Church. Does anybody know the name of this city?