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Monthly Archives: February 2018

Monday Missive - February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive

Making Connections at the Seuss-a-Thon —  The Seventh Annual Seuss-a-Thon will take place this coming Saturday, March 3, at Park Road Books from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  This community event is co-sponsored by the English Department and Park Road Books, Charlotte’s only full-service, independent bookstore.  As such, it represents a cultural connection between our department and the larger Charlotte community.  However, there are many other ways in which the Seuss-a-Thon serves as a connecting point.

The Seuss-a-Thon brings children and adults together to share stories, celebrate word play, and collaborate on creative projects.  By reading Dr. Seuss stories aloud to children, the adult participants in the Seuss-a-Thon forge connections with the children who are listening to the stories.  We often think of reading as a solitary activity, but during the Suess-a-Thon reading is a shared experience.

Although the Seuss-a-Thon is organized by the English Department, it involves the participation of people who are not associated with the English Department but who feel connected to the work of our department.  Among this year’s participants are members of UNC Charlotte’s College of Education, including Ellen McIntyre, the Dean of the of the College of Education.  The event includes participants from the Charlotte Teachers Institute and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  State Senator Jeff Jackson, a strong advocate for early childhood education programs, plans to participate.  Many people from the Charlotte community, including authors, teachers, and parents of young children, will be participating.

A number of our students are also contributing to this year’s Seuss-a-Thon.  The members of the Children’s Literature Graduate Organization and Sigma Tau Delta are taking charge of the arts-and-crafts table. These students will be at the Seuss-a-Thon for the entire four hours, helping children create Dr. Seuss-related art projects.

In a way, the Seuss-a-Thon is functioning as a sort of cultural catalyst.  It is bringing together people who appreciate imaginative stories, and in the process, it is creating a time and place for people to make their own connections with stories and with each other.

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

Nadia Clifton, a recent graduate of our M.A, program, published a book review of Young Adult Literature, Libraries, and Conservative Activism in the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.  

Boyd Davis is the lead author of two recently published two articles.  One is titled “What We Can Learn from Mismatched and Unexpected Responses to Questions in Interviews with People Who Have TBI,” which appeared in the Journal of Interactional Communication Disorders.  The other is titled “Narrative and Ageing:  Exploring the Range of Narrative Types in Dementia Conversation,” which appeared in the European Journal of English Studies:  http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/i58ZM235YXmYixqnrtH3/full

Cara DeLoach, a recent graduate of our M.A program, published a book review of American Girls and Global Responsibility:  A New Relation to the World during the Early Cold Warin the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about an upcoming event:

March 5–10 — Spring Recess (no classes)

Quirky Quiz Question —  Dr. Seuss is one of Theodor Seuss Giesel’s pen names, but it is not his only pen name.  He often used another pan name for the beginner books that he wrote but did not illustrate.  What pen name did he use for these books?

Last week’s answer: Scott Gartlan

The English Department supports the Charlotte Teachers Institute by offering seminars and participating in other CTI events.  As a result, the English Department is in frequent contact with CTI’s  Executive Director.  What is this person’s name?

Monday Missive - February 19, 2018

February 19, 2018 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive

Educating Educators — Bobbie Cavnar, who received an M.A. in English from our department in 2011, has just been named the nation’s best teacher for 2018 by National Education Association (NEA).  Bobbie is an English teacher at South Point High School in Belmont, North Carolina.   Bobbie received this award on February 9, 2018, in Washington, D.C.  Here is the link to the NEA’s article about Bobbie’s award:  http://neatoday.org/2018/02/12/2018-nea-foundation-gala/

During his graduate studies in our English Department, Bobbie focused on English Renaissance literature, but he also took courses in other areas.  For example, he took my seminar on Children’s Literature Award Winners for which he wrote an excellent paper comparing Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.  All of us who had Bobbie in our classes remember his passion for literature–a passion that he now shares with the students in his high school English classes.  I know that I speak for the entire English Department in congratulating Bobbie on winning this prestigious and well-deserved award.

Bobbie’s latest award underscores for me our English Department’s connections with area educators.  For example, members of our department regularly lead seminars for area teachers through the Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI).  Over the years, Lil Brannon, Paula Connolly, Jeffrey Leak, Ron Lunsford, Alan Rauch, Ralf Thiede, and I have also led CTI seminars.  Next semester both Sarah Minslow and Alan Rauch will be leading CTI seminars.  Sarah’s seminar is titled “‘A Person’s a Person No Matter How Small’:  Teaching Human Rights,” and Alan’s seminar is titled “Animals, Culture, and Society.”

By regularly leading CTI seminars and by welcoming area teachers in both our undergraduate and graduate courses, our English Department has a long and proud record of educating educators.

Third Annual Transcribation —  The Early Modern Paleography Society (EMPS) will hold its Third Annual Transcribaton this Thursday, February 22, from 9:30 to 4:00 in the Atkins Library VisLab.  Breakfast and pizza will be provided.  At this year’s transcribathon, participants will be working on an anonymous cookbook, published around 1720, from the Folger Shakespeare Library.  The book is not very long, and members of EMPS are hoping to finish transcribing it on Thursday.  Also that day, the participants will finish making the ink that was started at last week’s EMPS meeting.  The ink is from an early modern recipe.

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

Anita Moss recently published an article titled “In a Deep, Dark Wood:  The Forest in Folk Literature” in the current issue of RISE:  A Children’s Literacy Journal. 

Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about an upcoming event:

February 19 — The Faculty/Staff performance of “Tales From Down There” will be on Monday, February 19 at 7pm in McKnight Hall. This performance will include appearances by the following people associated with the English Department: Janaka Lewis, Tiffany Morin, Angie Williams, Alison Walsh, and Shannon Bauerle. Advanced tickets can be purchased on-line at https://goo.gl/V6SYwq or with cash only at the door.

Quirky Quiz Question —  The English Department supports the Charlotte Teachers Institute by offering seminars and participating in other CTI events.  As a result, the English Department is in frequent contact with CTI’s  Executive Director.  What is this person’s name?

Last week’s answer: Antoni Gaudí

The upcoming panel presentation about the current situation in Catalonia reminds me of a trip my wife and took to this part of the world a few years ago. While we were there, we visited several buildings designed by Catalonia’s most famous architect.  Does anybody know the name of this famous architect?

 

Monday Missive - February 12, 2018

February 12, 2018 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive

Fostering International Understanding — Shortly after the end of World War II, J. William Fulbright, a senator from Arkansas, introduced a bill calling for the establishment of an international exchange program intended to promote “international good will” through the exchange of educators and students “in the fields of education, culture, and science.”   It passed, and in 1946 President Harry S. Truman signed the bill, known as the Fulbright Act, into law.  In the more than seventy years since then, the Fulbright Program has become, to quote from its official website, “the flagship international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”  I mention this history not only because Liz Miller has just been awarded a 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant, but also because the English Department regularly promotes the goals of the Fulbright Program.

For her Fulbright research project, Liz Miller will focus on the topic of second-language acquisition among immigrants in Germany.  This project relates directly to the research she did for her monograph titled The Language of Adult Immigrants:  Agency in the Making.  The research that she plans to do in Germany will nicely complement the research she has already completed on immigrants to the United States, and it will add a valuable international dimension to her research.

A few days after Liz learned the good news about her Fulbright, Juan Meneses brought a guest speaker from Russia to his classes.  Olga Nesmelova, a professor and chair of Russian and World Literature at Kazan Federal University in Russia, visited Juan’s world literature classes last week.  She gave a lecture titled “The Reception of American Literature in Russia,” in which she provided Juan’s students with an overview of how U.S. literature, particularly fiction, has been translated, read by the general public, and studied by academics in Russia throughout the last century.

This week Pilar Blitvich and Juan Meneses will be sharing their unique international insights into the current situation in Catalonia.  Both Pilar and Juan are serving as panelists on a public panel discussion titled “Catalonia:  A Panel Information Session about Spain’s Current Political Turmoil.”  Since Pilar and Juan both grew up in Spain and still have many personal and professional connections in Spain, they are in a particularly good position to comment on the political events that are currently unfolding in Spain.  The panel discussion will take place on February 13, 2018, at 5:15 in the Cone Center, Room 210A.  For more information, please click on the following link:  https://inside.uncc.edu/events/panelists-discuss-%E2%80%98political-turmoil%E2%80%99-around-catalonia-spain

As these three recent examples demonstrate, many members of the English Department try in their own way to support Senator Fulbright’s goal of fostering international understanding.

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

Christine Arvidson recently published a poem titled “A Question of Definitions: What Dictionaries Can Tell Us About Unity” in the anthology Voices on Unity: Coming Together, Falling Apart, which is from Mountain State Press.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about an upcoming event:

February 19 — The Faculty/Staff performance of “Tales From Down There” will be on Monday, February 19 at 7pm in McKnight Hall. This performance will include appearances by the following people associated with the English Department: Janaka Lewis, Tiffany Morin, Angie Williams, Alison Walsh, and Shannon Bauerle. Advanced tickets can be purchased on-line at https://goo.gl/V6SYwq or with cash only at the door.

Quirky Quiz Question —  The upcoming panel presentation about the current situation in Catalonia reminds me of a trip my wife and took to this part of the world a few years ago. While we were there, we visited several buildings designed by Catalonia’s most famous architect.  Does anybody know the name of this famous architect?

Last week’s answer: Gaffney

South Carolina is not only the home to Dori Sanders’s peach farm, but it is also home to a famous peach-shaped water tower called the Peachoid.  In what town is the Peachoid located?

Monday Missive - February 5, 2018

February 05, 2018 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive

Dori Sanders’s Writings — February is Black History Month (also known as African American History Month), which makes this a fitting time to celebrate the writings of Dori Sanders, one of the Charlotte-area’s most influential African American authors.  Born just south of Charlotte in York County, South Carolina, Sanders has spent the majority of her life growing and selling peaches on land that her family has owned since 1915.  Although Sanders sees herself primarily as a peach farmer, she has written three notable books:  Clover, a children’s novel published in 1990; Her Own Place, a novel for adults published in 1993; and Dori Sanders’ Country Cooking:  Recipes and Stories from the Family Farm Stand, published in 1995.

The growing and preparation of food figures prominently in all three of Sanders’s books, but in Clover food takes on added significance.  In this novel, food functions as a nonverbal language.  The characters use food to communicate their feelings toward each other.  Ten-year-old Clover Hill, the novel’s central character, learns about her extended family through the medium of food.

This week Joanne Joy will discuss the importance of food in Clover as part of the kick-off for the program on “The Southern Child in Literature and Film.”  Joanne will deliver a presentation titled “Lessons at the Southern Table:  The Fusion of Childhood and Food in Dori Sanders’s Clover.”  This event will take place on Thursday, February 8, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. in the Atkins Library’s Halton Reading Room.  For more information about this event, please click on the following link:  https://exchange.uncc.edu/event/the-child-character-in-southern-literature-and-film/

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

Bryn Chancellor’s novel Sycamore has just been released in paperback with Harper Perennial; it includes a P.S. section with discussion questions, an author Q&A, and author recommendations for books about small towns. Central Piedmont Community Colleges’ Levine Campus selected it for this spring’s inaugural Levine Reads program, a campus-wide common read, and Bryn will visit the campus as part of CPCC’s Sensoria arts and literature festival in April to discuss the book with students, faculty, and staff. https://sensoria.cpcc.edu/

Sara Eudy, one of our graduate students, recently published an article titled “The Language of Diaspora:  Multiraciality and Resistance in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” in The Sigma Tau Delta Review.

Allison Hutchcraft and Juan Meneses have published four translations of contemporary Spanish poet Concha García’s poems in the Winter 2018 issue of West Branch.

Becky Roeder was named the Graduate Professor of the Year by the English Graduate Student Association at their 18th annual conference.

Sam Shapiro, one of our part-time faculty members, recently published a book review of Denis Johnson’s short story collection titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden in the book section of The Raleigh News and Observer.  

Daniel Shealy recently published an article titled “‘Lost in the Hurly-Burly’:  Louisa May Alcott’s Jamie’s Wonder Book” in Resources for American Literary Scholarship.  

Lara Vetter‘s A Curious Peril: H.D.’s Late Modernist Prose, has just received a 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award.  According to Choice, books that receive this award are selected for their excellence in scholarship and presentation, significance of contribution to the field, and value as an important—often first—treatment of their subject. Only nine percent of the titles reviewed by Choice during the past year, and two percent of the more than 25,000 titles submitted to Choice over the same period, constitute Outstanding Academic Titles.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about upcoming events and deadlines:

February 6 — The UNC Charlotte Alumni Association is sponsoring a program called “A Fireside Chat with Bryn Chancellor.”  During this event, Bryn will discuss her debut novel, Sycamore.  The event will take place on February 6, 2018, in the Harris Alumni Center from 5:30 to 7:00.  The event is free, but registration is required.  For more information, please click on the following link:  https://49eralumni.uncc.edu/s/1721/interior.aspx?sid=1721&pgid=1306&gid=2&cid=3574&ecid=3574&post_id=0

Quirky Quiz Question —  South Carolina is not only the home to Dori Sanders’s peach farm, but it is also home to a famous peach-shaped water tower called the Peachoid.  In what town is the Peachoid located?

Last week’s answer: Julian Mason

Every year the English Department gives an award to an outstanding graduate student with an interest in Southern literature.  Do you know the former faculty member for whom this award is named?

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