Partners and Programs — In the history of our English Department, this April stands out as an exceptional month for collaborative programs involving our department and our various university and community partners. These partners include the J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte Center City, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, and the North Carolina Humanities Council. Between now and the end of the month, the English Department will participate in five collaborative programs, all of which are free and open to the public.
The first of these programs is the Julian D. Mason Talk on Rare Books, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, at 4:00 p.m. in the Halton Reading Room in the Atkins Library. Co-sponsored by the Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives and our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, this event will feature a presentation by Dr. Leslie Howsam. The title of her talk is “Book History: A Niche for Nerds, or Essential Knowledge?” Dr. Howsam is a well-known scholar in the field of book history and has published numerous works in this field, including The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book and Old Books & New Histories: An Orientation to Studies in Book and Print Culture. For more information about this event, please click on the following link: http://library.uncc.edu/HowsamTalk
Our next collaborative program is the Center City Literary Festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 14, at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th Street. Co-sponsored by the English Department and UNC Charlotte Center City, this festival is divided into two parts. The day-time part is intended for children and their families and will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The evening part is intended for adults and will run from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information on this event, please click on the following link: https://centercitylitfest.uncc.edu/
On the same day that the Center City Literary Festival will take place, the English Department and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library are co-sponsoring a screening of The Reivers at the Francis Auditorium in the Main Library (310 N. Tryon Street). This screening will take place on Saturday, April 14, at 2:00 p.m. This event is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council and is tied to a larger program titled “The Child in Southern Literature and Film.” For more information about this event, please click on the following link: https://exchange.uncc.edu/event/film-the-reivers/
Our fourth collaborative program is tied to an exhibition at the Atkins Library of original artwork by Romare Bearden from Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy: A Civil War Story, the only picture book ever created by Bearden. Janaka Lewis and I will give presentations on Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy on Monday, April 16, at 4:00 p.m. in the Halton Reading Room in the Atkins Library. Janaka’s presentation is titled “Children’s Narratives of Freedom: Romare Bearden’s Li’l Dan the Drummer Boy.” My presentation is titled “Romare Bearden’s Artistic Influences as Reflected in Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy.” For more information about this exhibit, please click on the following link: https://library.uncc.edu/Bearden
Our fifth collaborative program is tied to Earth Day and is co-sponsored by the English Department and UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens. Called “Gardens and Verses: An Earth Day Celebration,” this event will take place on Thursday, April 19, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens. The organizers of this event are Jen Munroe and Matt Rowney from the English Department and Jeff Gilman, the Director of the Botanical Gardens. This event will feature poetry readings, opportunities to write about nature, a scavenger hunt, and free pizza while it lasts. For more information about this event, please click on the following link: https://inside.uncc.edu/news-features/2018-04-02/earth-day-botanical-gardens
As this listing of upcoming programs demonstrates, the English Department is committed to collaboration, community engagement, and cultural outreach.
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:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1WrKk1L-nh7sg4
Paula Eckard was a keynote speaker on Thomas Wolfe and the flu in a kick-off event for Going Viral: Impact and Implications of the 1918 Flu Pandemic, an interdisciplinary symposium sponsored by the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Quirky Quiz Question — The name for the “Garden and Verses” event is tied to the title of a book a book by a Scottish that was originally published in 1900. Do you know the title of this book? For extra credit, can you name the author of this book?
Does anybody know the name of the new park that is situated between UNC Charlotte Center City and ImaginOn?
