Storied Charlotte

Monday Missive - May 9, 2016

May 09, 2016 by Mark West

Collaborations — Many members of our English Department work collaboratively with other writers and scholars, but as far as I know, only Andrew Hartley has entered into a collaboration with a rock star. Andrew and Tom DeLonge (the lead singer of Blink-182 and the founder of the new rock band Angels and Airwaves) have just published their co-authored thriller novel titled Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows. This novel, which is intended to be the first in a series, has already received a number of very positive reviews.

Andrew’s latest collaboration prompted me to think of other English professors who engage in collaborative work. A number of our professors have regular research and writing collaborators. Here are three examples that immediately come to mind. Jen Munroe often collaborates with Rebecca Laroche and Lynne Bruckner on scholarly projects related to ecocriticism and ecofeminist theory. JuliAnna Avila often collaborates with Jessica Zacher Pandya on research related to digital literacy. Boyd Davis has a long list of collaborators, but recently she has worked on numerous gerontology-related projects with Dena Shenk, the former Director of UNC Charlotte’s Gerontology Program.

Several of our faculty members collaborate with other faculty on teaching-related projects. Kirk Melnikoff, for example, has team-taught several sections of a Prospect-for-Success with Kent Brintnall from the Department of Religious Studies. Their course is titled “Sexing Shakespeare,” and it is tied to the General Education Program. In their course, they apply contemporary theories of gender and sexuality to Shakespeare’s plays. Ralf Thiede and Dan Boisvert from the Department of Philosophy are also co-teaching a Prospect-for Success course. Their course introduces students to the evolution of human language as well as the impact of language on the evolution of humans. Allison Hutchcraft and our visiting creative writer, Michelle Cahill, worked closely together in developing Michell’s advanced creative writing course. While they did not co-teach the course, they fully collaborated in the preparation of the course.

I could list many more examples of faculty members from English who regularly engage in collaborative writing, research and teaching projects, but the above mentioned examples demonstrate that our department is not a collection of isolated professors working in the solitude of their offices. While most of us do collaborate with rock stars, the department as a whole rocks when it comes to collaborative projects and mutual support.

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:

Sarah Davis, one of our graduate students, has accepted her offer (with full funding) to become part of the PhD program in English at SUNY Stony Brook in the fall.

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

May 14 — The CLAS Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 14, at 10:00 AM in the Student Activity Center.

Quirky Quiz Question — Andrew Hartley’s new collaborator, Tom DeLonge, became famous when his band, Blink-182, released their debut album in 1995. The title of this album comes from the name of a fading feline from British children’s literature. Can you guess the title of Blink-182’s debut album?

Last week’s answer: the dodo bird

In addition to teaching creative writing courses, Allison Hutchcraft is a publishing poet. She has published a number of poems that make reference to a particular type of bird that was once common in America. Do you know what type of birds do so often show up in Allison’s poems?

Monday Missive - May 2, 2016

May 02, 2016 by Mark West

Dean Nancy Gutierrez and award winners

Celebrating Our Part-Time Faculty Members — Last week Allison Hutchcraft received the CLAS Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member. I sat next to Allison during the awards ceremony, and I felt so proud of her when it was announced that she had won the award. My pride, however, extends to our entire cadre of part-time faculty members. The English Department is fortunate to have such dedicated and professional part-time faculty members teaching high-demand courses and contributing in many other ways to the work of the department.

Our program in technical/professional writing program benefits greatly from the work of our part-time faculty. When I had to cover Myles Hassell’s technical/professional writing courses after his unexpected death, two part-time faculty members–Melodye Gordon and Lane Rhodes–picked up his courses and helped his students deal with their grief over losing their teacher. Connie Douglas, another part-time faculty member, also helps us meet the tremendous demand for Introduction to Technical Communication (ENGL 2116).

Our creative writing program benefits tremendously from the contributions of our part-time faculty members. In addition to Allison, these part-time faculty members include Paula Martinac, Coleen Muir, and Lance Phillips. Not only do they teach a variety of creative writing courses, but they have also helped organize poetry readings and other events open to our students and faculty.

We have several part-time faculty members who teach core courses in the English Department curriculum or the general education courses offered by the department. These faculty members include Valerie Bright, Sonya Brockman, Saxby Chaplin, Abby Dobs, Peter Larkin, Sarah Minslow, Tiffany Morin, and Sam Shapiro. Not only do these colleagues teach essential courses for the department, but they all participate in the culture of the department. They attend departmental events, provide students with extra help, and contribute to the department’s research agenda.

I know that many administrators call part-time faculty members adjunct faculty, but I do not like this term. To me, the term adjunct implies being on the periphery, and our part-time faculty members are not on the periphery of the department. They are right in the middle of our department. My thanks go to all of our part-time faculty members for everything they do.

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:

Bryn Chancellor recently gave a fiction reading and craft talk at Vanderbilt University as part of the Harold and Gertrude Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Series.

Heather Vorhies recently learned that her article titled “Women and Corporate Communication in the Early American Republic” has been accepted for publication in Peitho Journal.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:May 4 — The English Department’s Student Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 12:30–2:00 in the Halton Reading Room at Atkins Library.

Quirky Quiz Question — In addition to teaching creative writing courses, Allison Hutchcraft is a publishing poet. She has published a number of poems that make reference to a particular type of bird that was once common in America. Do you know what type of birds do so often show up in Allison’s poems?

Last week’s answer: Sam Watson

At the English Department spring party, both Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell were honored as they complete their last semester before retiring. After I presented them with their retirement gifts, they both talked about their experiences in the department. Both of them mentioned a retired colleague who now lives in McClellanville, SC, and writes poetry. What is the name of this retired English professor?

Monday Missive - April 25, 2016

April 26, 2016 by Mark West

Valuing Community – At the conclusion of the “As You/We Like It” event held last Saturday, Andrew Hartley talked about how the performance of Shakespeare’s plays builds a sense of community that encompasses both the performers and the audiences of the plays. As Andrew so eloquently stated, these plays, when performed, provide us with common experiences. Not only do these plays draw us together to enjoy shared theatrical events, but they give us language that we can use to express our shared interests and concerns.
Andrew’s comments caused me to think about the word community. This word can be traced back to the Latin word communitas, which refers to the values, beliefs, and traditions that we have in common. The sense of belonging to a community involves more than just being in the same physical space with others. It also involves a true sense of being engaged with others and sharing experiences with others. In many ways, healthy communities undermine the whole concept of otherness. I think it is significant that organizers of event on Saturday added the word we to the title of Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.” Otherness is all about you, whereas community is all about we.

For me, the sense of belonging to a community is tied to being a member of our English Department. In just the past two weeks, I have participated in several department events that have reflected our community values and spirit. I am thinking of Juan Meneses’s excellent faculty talk and the lively conversation that ensued. Juan’s presentation was well attended, and those who came readily engaged in a stimulating dialog with Juan and with each other. I came away from this presentation with sense of being part of a community of scholars. I am thinking of the memorial service we had on campus for Sara Endres, our student who passed away last semester. Several of our faculty members and students joined Sara’s family and friends to celebrate Sara’s life and to plant a tree in her memory. I came away from this event with a sense of being part of a caring community. I am thinking of the Shakespeare event in which our colleagues Andrew Hartley, Kirk Melnikoff and Jen Munroe shared their insights into Shakespeare’s plays. I came away from this event with a sense of belonging to an engaged and generous community that reaches out to the public. I am thinking of the English Department’s spring party in which so many members of the department gathered to enjoy companionship and to recognize the careers and accomplishments of Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell, both of whom are retiring at the end of this academic year. I came away from this event with a sense of belonging to a celebratory community.

Michelle Cahill, our visiting creative writer, came to the spring party. She told me afterwards how much she enjoyed the party and how pleased she has been with her participation in our department. “You have such a friendly department,” she said. “I already feel like I am part of a community.”

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:

Maya Socolovsky recently published a review of Market Aesthetics: The Purchase of the Past in Caribbean Diasporic Fiction by Elena Machado Saéz.College Literature 43.2 (2016): 470-472.

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

April 27 — Janaka Lewis will be presenting from the new project titled “Freedom and Play: Studies in Black Girlhood” on Wednesday at 12:30 pm in Garinger 123 for the Africana Studies Brown Bag Series.
May 4 — The English Department’s Student Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 12:30-2:00 in the Halton Reading Room at Atkins Library.

Quirky Quiz Question — At the English Department spring party, both Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell were honored as they complete their last semester before retiring. After I presented them with their retirement gifts, they both talked about their experiences in the department. Both of them mentioned a retired colleague who now lives in McClellanville, SC, and writes poetry. What is the name of this retired English professor?

Last week’s answer: William Randolph Hearst

When I read Sam Shapiro’s review of the new Orson Wells biography, I was reminded of Wells’s classic film Citizen Cane. The central character in this film is based on a famous American newspaper publisher. Do you know the name of this newspaper publisher? Here is a hint–one of Charlotte’s skyscrapers bears the name of this publisher.

Monday Missive - April 4, 2016

April 05, 2016 by Mark West

National Poetry Month — April is National Poetry Month, so it seems very fitting to me that Michelle Cahill is joining the English Department for the month of April. Michelle is a highly regraded poet from Australia and a regular instructor for the Kingston Writing School in London. During her month here, she is teaching an Advanced Creative Writing course. She will also be giving a reading on Tuesday, April 12, at 4:00 p.m. in the Dale Halton Reading Room of the Atkins Library.

By joining our department as a visiting poet, Michelle is adding her name to an already impressive list of poets who have associations with our English Department. Among our current creative writing faculty members are a cluster of published poets, including Chris Davis, Allison Hutchcraft, and Lance Phillips. The rest of our creative writing faculty members also help with the teaching of poetry writing. These faculty members include Bryn Chancellor, Beth Gargano, Aaron Gwyn, Paula Martinac, and Coleen Muir.

Over the history of our English Department, many published poets have contributed to our creative writing program. This list includes Peter Blair, Lucinda Grey, and Robert Grey. It is also worth noting that for many years our department was the home to The Southern Poetry Review.

For more information about National Poetry Month, please click on the following link: https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home

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:

Balaka Basu recently has an article titled “Virgilian Fandom in the Renaissance” published in Transformative Works and Cultures; the essay appeared in a special issue on “The Classical Canon and/as Transformative Work.”

Paula Connolly recently learned that the second chapter of her book Slavery in American Children’s Literature, 1790-2010 (Iowa UP, 2013) on Confederate Children’s Literature—“Slavery Debates for Children: 1830-1865: Proslavery Responses”—has been reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism.

Jen Munroe participated in the “Histories of Sustainability” seminar at the Shakespeare Association of America conference in New Orleans, LA (Mar 23-27). Her paper was titled “Recipes as Alernative Histories of Sustainability.” At that conference she also presented at the Digital Humanities Salon about her ongoing ,work on a database for early modern recipe transcription with the Early Modern Recipes Online Collective. Jen also presented a paper titled “The Dangers of ‘Speaking for’: Violence against Women and Nonhumans in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus” as the Renaissance Society of America Conference in Boston (March 31-Apring 2).

Ralf Thiede recently delivered a paper at the SouthEastern Conference on Linguistics in New Orleans. His paper was on the “Cognitive Linguistics and Literature,” describing how authors can intentionally distribute the reader’s processing load across cognitive domains that interface with language. Ralf is also serving as SECOL’s vice president and will assume the presidency a year from now.

Heather Blain Vorhies recently presented “Are We Splitting Hairs to Our Detriment? Approaches to Graduate Genre Instruction in the Writing Center” at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Houston, Texas.

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

April 8 — The First Annual Transcribathon event will take place this Friday (April 8) from 10:00 to 3:00 in the Student Union 340 C-F. This event will be hosted by our own students–the Early Modern Paleography Society. At the event participants will be working collectively to transcribe an entire manuscript recipe book. Everyone is invited and no experience is necessary.

April 12 — Visiting poet Michelle Cahill will give a reading on Tuesday, April 12, at 4:00 p.m. in the Dale Halton Reading Room of the Atkins Library.

April 14 — The English Department is sponsoring a screening of F. W. Murnau’s classic silent film Nosferatu in Storrs 110, on Thursday, April 14, at 6:30. Ethan Uslan will provide “live” piano accompaniment. Sam Shapiro will introduce the film and Murnau.

Quirky Quiz Question — The silent film Nosferatu is based on a novel by Bram Stoker. Does anybody remember the title of this novel?Monday Missive

Monday Missive - March 21, 2016

March 21, 2016 by Mark West

Left to right: Maggie Owen, Tracy Gaiten, Nafis Bilal, Chelsea Moore, Megan White (not pictured, Emily Haigler)

A Welcoming Place — I just returned to Charlotte after serving as an external program reviewer for another department in an out-of-state university. As I entered the foyer to our English Department this morning, I experienced a pleasant sense of coming home.

The space itself is welcoming, but even more important than the space are the people. We are fortunate to have a cadre of enthusiastic work-study students to welcome people as they enter the English Department. In many ways, these students represent our department, and they always do an excellent job of greeting visitors, helping their fellow students, and lending a hand to the faculty and staff of the English Department. I always appreciate their cheerful greetings and their willingness to help keep the department running smoothly. As I set out to write today’s Monday Missive, I decided to thank these students in a more public way. Please join me in thanking Nafis Bilal, Emily Haigler, Tracy Gaiten, Chelsea Moore, and Megan White. Our thanks should also go to Maggie Owen, another student who works in the English Department through the University Professional Internship Program. These students help make the English Department a welcoming place.

National Council for Black Studies Conference — Four of our English graduate students participated in a round-table presentation at the National Council for Black Studies Conference, which took place in Charlotte last week. These students were Shanon Murray, Melissa Ligh, Kaneisha Gaston, and Kristen Reynolds. The round-table presentation was titled titled “Reading Contemporary Black Poetry: Lessons from University of North Carolina at Charlotte Graduate Students.” They presented their insights on poems by Yusef Komunyakaa, Patricia Smith, and Claudia Rankine.

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:

Pilar Blitvich recently learned that her co-edited collection “From speech acts to lay concepts of politeness: A multilingual and multicultural perspective” is under contract with Cambridge University Press. She has also been invited to join the editorial board of the Journal of Pragmatics, the flagship journal in her field.

Juan Meneses recently presented the paper titled “Counterstories: Visual Spectacle and the Global Novel” at the American Comparative Literature Association Conference, which took place last weekend at Harvard University

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

March 22 — This year’s English Major Day will take place on March 22 (Tuesday) in Fretwell 290B. This annual event will feature three workshops. The first workshop is titled “The English Major as Preparation for a 21st-Century Career,” and it will run from 11:00 to 12:15. The second workshop is titled “Publishing a Book,” and it will run from 12:30 to 1:45. The third workshop is on “Preparing for Graduate School,” and it will run from 2:00 to 3:15. Please encourage your students to participate in this event.

March 28 — The Children’s Literature Graduate Organization is sponsoring a presentation titled “Diversity in YA Literature,” which will feature an author panel and book signing. The YA authors who are participating are Renee Ahdieh, Alexandra Duncan, and Lori Special. The event will take place on Monday, March 28, from 3:30 to 5:00 in the Student Union 340B.

Quirky Quiz Question — Can you name the member of our staff who hires and supervises our cadre of excellent work-study students?

Last week’s answer: The Pleiades

The Seven Sisters form a famous constellation. What is the name of this constellation?

Monday Missive - March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016 by Mark West

Seven Sisters Constellation

Founding Mothers — Given that March is Women’s History Month, now is an especially apropos time to celebrate the women who played key roles in the early history of our Department of English. Since the establishment of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1965, the English Department has benefited from the leadership and dedication of many women, but there are seven women whom I see as the department’s founding mothers. Listed below are the names and a little information about each of these women.

Margaret Bryan joined the department in the early 1970s and played a central role in developing and teaching the department’s writing courses. She believed in the integration of literature and writing, and this approach is reflected in a textbook that she and Boyd Davis co-authored titled Writing about Literature and Film.

Ann Carver helped establish Shakespeare Studies as a strength of the English Department. She often brought UNC Charlotte students to Great Britain to study Shakespeare and attend Shakespeare plays. She encouraged students to study Shakespeare’s plays in a performance context, and this approach is still reflected in the way in which Shakespeare is taught in the department today.

Boyd Davis joined the English Department in 1971, and she is still teaching in the department today. She has played a central role in making applied linguistics one of the department’s core strengths, and she has been a mentor to all of our current faculty members in linguistics. She has also served as the department’s leader in obtaining external funding for research projects.

Mary Harper played a key role in developing and teaching African American literature courses in the English Department. She also helped establish the department that is now known as the Africana Studies Department. Her leadership prepared the way for other faculty members to teach courses in African American literature. These faculty members include Sandra Govan, Malin Pereira, Jeffrey Leak, and Janaka Lewis.

Kay Horne served as the main administrative assistant in the English Department for approximately two decades, during which time she worked with several department chairs. Her wisdom and administrative know-how helped make the English Department a well-run unit. She has served as a role model for the department’s subsequent administrative assistants, including Eleanor Stafford and Angie Williams.

Anita Moss became a member of the English Department in the mid-1970s, and she immediately set about to build the department’s offerings in the area of children’s and young adult literature. As a result of her leadership, the English Department became known internationally for its children’s literature program. She also played a pivotal role in hiring the faculty member who is serving as the department’s current chair.

Anne R. Newman taught many of the English Department’s core literature courses, especially American literature courses. She developed a course on the Literature of the South, which she taught repeatedly. Her pioneering curricular work in Southern literature set the stage for other faculty members to teach in this area, including Paula Eckard.

These seven women all knew each other and supported one another. Like the Seven Sisters from Greek mythology, these women make up a constellation of stars.

National Council for Black Studies Annual Conference — The Africana Studies Department (with support from the English Department) will host the fortieth annual conference of theNational Council for Black Studies (NCBS) from March 17th through 19th at the Omni Hotel (132 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202). The theme is Forty Years of Black Studies in the Local, National and Global Spaces: Past Accomplishments and New Directions. As part of this conference Janaka Lewis will be giving a presentation on “Black Women and Lessons of Freedom” at NCBS this Friday at 3pm.

The conference is open and free to UNC Charlotte faculty, staff, and students. Registration is required for attendees who are not affiliated with UNC Charlotte. This can be completed at http://www.ncbsonline.org/.

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:

Alan Rauch recently presented a paper titled “Environmental Sensibility and Despair in Hudson’s Green Mansions” at the Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies Conference, which took place in Asheville.

Maya Socolovsky recently presented a paper titled “Running and Reading: Border Crossings and Migrant Workers in U.S. Latino/a Children’s Picture Books,” and was part of a roundtable panel presentation on “Global Diasporas and Multi-ethnic Studies at The Society of Multi Ethnic Literatures of the United States (MELUS), Charleston SC.

Lara Vetter‘s article “H.D., India, and Gendered Narratives of Imperialism” recently appeared in Review of English Studies 67.278 (2016).

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is a date to keep in mind:
March 18 — Dr. Chris Bongartz, who many of you may remember from her time in the English department at UNCC, will be visiting Charlotte and is scheduled to give a talk for us this Fridayafternoon. Here are the details:

Title: “The Role of Narratives in Bilingual Teaching”

Date: Friday, March 18

Time: 4:15-5:30

Location: 290B Fretwell

Quirky Quiz Question — The Seven Sisters form a famous constellation. What is the name of this constellation?

Last week’s answer: Emily Dickinson

Myles Hassell taught courses in technical and professional communication in the Department of English, but he had a wide range of interests. He and Joan collected antiques, and he had a passion for the history of New Orleans. He also enjoyed literature. He wrote his English M.A. thesis on a famous nineteenth-century American poet who wrote the following poem:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain:
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Who wrote this poem?

Monday Missive - March 7, 2016

March 09, 2016 by Mark West

In Memory of Myles Aric Hassell — Myles Hassell, a Lecturer in the Department of English, died unexpectedly from a pulmonary edema on March 2, 2015. A few days before his death, Myles and I had a long conversation during which he informed me that he had prevailed in his battle against cancer. He thanked me and the members of the department for supporting him during this struggle. He talked about how much better he felt, and he wanted to touch base with me about some new ideas he had related to his teaching.

For most of his life, Myles lived in New Orleans. After graduating from East Jefferson High in Metairie, LA, Myles followed his love of music as a writer, lead vocalist, and guitar player in a band called The Local Traffic, performing shows in the greater New Orleans area. He received both his B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of New Orleans, where he also earned his M.B.A. He taught as an instructor at UNO in traditional, blended, and online learning environments for many years. His workplace experience included caseload management for the Louisiana Division of Family Services; employment counseling for Snelling Personnel Services; and retail, national account, and government sales of office machines and systems, representing manufacturers such as Pitney Bowes, Canon, and Sharp. As an entrepreneur for over 15 years, he composed extensive support materials for business textbooks and study guides.

Myles and his wife of 24 years, Joan Hassell, moved to the Charlotte area after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home in New Orleans. After teaching at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler MBA program, he started teaching in UNC Charlotte’s Department of English as an adjunct faculty member in 2012; in 2014 he became a full-time Lecturer in the area of technical and professional communication.

In 2015 Myles was diagnosed with cancer, but he continued to teach throughout his treatment process. Even though I encouraged him to take a medical leave, he wanted to keep teaching. We talked on numerous occasions about his treatment process, and I could tell that he was absolutely determined to win his battle against cancer. He succeeded. His passing should not take away from his hard-fought victory.

During what proved to be our final conversation, I was struck by Myles’s courage, optimism, consideration, collegiality, and dedication to his students. He will be missed.

To honor Myles’ memory in a positive way and to support a cause dear to him, a charitable project in his name is currently being planned with the Coalition to Unchain Dogs. The mission of the coalition is to improve the welfare of dogs living continuously chained outdoors by providing free fences, shelter, spay/neuter, and vaccinations. Details will be announced when available. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial contributions to the Coalition for Unchained Dogs at http://www.unchaindogs.net/.

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:

Sam Shapiro‘s article on the American remake of the German classic “M” was recently published by Charlotte Viewpoint. Here’s the link:http://www.charlotteviewpoint.org/article/3551/The-American-M

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

Quirky Quiz Question — Myles Hassell taught courses in technical and professional communication in the Department of English, but he had a wide range of interests. He and Joan collected antiques, and he had a passion for the history of New Orleans. He also enjoyed literature. He wrote his English M.A. thesis on a famous nineteenth-century American poet who wrote the following poem:

Who wrote this poem?

Last week’s answer: What Pet Should I Get?

A new Dr. Seuss book was just published last year. Does anybody know the title of this new picture book?

Monday Missive - February 29, 2016

February 29, 2016 by Mark West

Promoting Literacy — The fifth annual Seuss-a-Thon will take place this coming Saturday, March 5, at Park Road Books (4139 Park Road) from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. During this event, participants will read Dr. Seuss books aloud to children in a marathon fashion for four continuous hours. Children will also have opportunities to do Dr. Seuss-related craft projects.

In organizing the Seuss-a-Thons, I am trying to promote literacy in the Charlotte community. For me, literacy involves much more than teaching children how to read and write. A literate person, in my opinion, not only has the ability to read and write but also has an appreciation of the written word. By facilitating the sharing of Dr. Seuss books with children, I hope, in some small way, to help children develop an appreciation for stories and to encourage them to play with words. I hope to see you there.

English Major Day — This year’s English Major Day will take place on March 22 (Tuesday) in Fretwell 290B. This annual event will feature three workshops. The first workshop is titled “The English Major as Preparation for a 21st-Century Career,” and it will run from 11:00 to 12:15. The second workshop is titled “Publishing a Book,” and it will run from 12:30 to 1:45. The third workshop is on “Preparing for Graduate School,” and it will run from 2:00 to 3:15. Please encourage your students to participate in this event. My thanks go to Kirk Melnikoff and the members of the Undergraduate Committee for organizing this event.

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 Connolly’s Slavery in American Children’s Literature, 1790-2010 just received a very positive review. The review appeared in American Literature (87.2) 2015.

Bonnie Shishko, one of our part-time faculty members, recently published a book review of Dickens and the Imagined Child. The review appeared in the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.

Quirky Quiz Question — A new Dr. Seuss book was just published last year. Does anybody know the title of this new picture book?

Last week’s answer: Truman Capote

Harper Lee based some of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird on real people. The character of Dill is based on her childhood friend who went on to become a famous author. Does anybody know the name of the real person upon whom the character of Dill is based?

Monday Missive - February 22, 2016

February 21, 2016 by Mark West

To Kill a Mockingbird and Childhood Memories — The recent death of Harper Lee brought up many memories of my various encounters with To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel originally published in 1960. About five years after the book came out, my father decided to read it aloud to my brother, my sister, and me. We were all attending a small elementary school in the mountains of Colorado at the time, and none of us had ever visited the South or knew much about the history of racial prejudice, but the book still resonated with all three of us. I contacted my brother and sister after learning of Lee’s death, and I asked them if they remembered Dad reading the book to us. They both were able to bring up memories from our first encounter with Lee’s classic story.

My most distinct memories of hearing the book read aloud all involve the child characters in the story: Scout, the protagonist; Jem, Scout’s older brother; and Dill, their neighbor. I generally identified with boy characters during my childhood, but I remember liking Scout the most of all of the characters in the book. I liked Scout’s inquisitiveness, her playfulness, and her sense of fairness. Her willingness to be daring appealed to me as a boy and still appeals to me. In fact, Scout was one of my favorite fictional characters from my childhood.

There was also something special about having my father read this book aloud to my siblings and me. As everyone knows who has read this book, To Kill a Mockingbird celebrates the relationship between a father and his children. The fact that my father chose to share this book with my siblings and me caused me to associate my father with Scout’s father–Atticus Finch. My father was an eccentric dentist, not a small-town lawyer like Atticus, but I know that my father shared Atticus’s sense of decency and commitment to due process. Even as a child, I understood that this book clearly meant a great deal to my father, and in my childhood mind, I sort of conflated Atticus Finch and my father.

I have since reread the book several times as an adult, and a few years ago I taught it in a graduate seminar on Growing Up in the South. As an adult, I am more aware of the historical and political elements in the book, but I still think that Lee’s depiction of child characters is one the most appealing aspects of Lee’s novel. Her child characters ring true. Scout, Jem and Dill still seem like real people to me. I will always feel a sense of debt to my father for introducing me to my friend Scout. As far as I am concerned, Scout and I are still friends.

CLGO Book Drive — Recently the Children’s Literature Graduate Organization (CLGO) has partnered with Smart Start of Mecklenburg County to promote child and adolescent literacy by hosting a book drive. CLGO will be receiving new or gently used books throughout the end of February and beginning of March. Students, faculty and staff can deliver new or gently used books to the Department of English in the box designated “CLGO Book Drive.”

All donated books will be delivered to Smart Start of Mecklenburg County as part of their Reach Out and Read program- a national evidence-based model that makes early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care with a special emphasis on children who grow up in low-income communities. More specifically, books will be delivered directly to CMC North Park where medical physicians partner with families to develop critical early reading skills in children.

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:

Sonya Brockman recently learned that her article titled “Trauma and Abandoned Testimony in Titus Andronicus and Rape of Lucrece” has been accepted for publication in College Literature.

Jeffrey Leak recently published an article titled “The Worlds We See: From Henry Dumas to Today, Race Can Play a Role” in UNC Charlotte Magazine. To read the the article, click on the following link: https://issuu.com/unc_charlotte/docs/magazine-q1-2016/1

Quirky Quiz Question — Harper Lee based some of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird on real people. The character of Dill is based on her childhood friend who went on to become a famous author. Does anybody know the name of the real person upon whom the character of Dill is based?

Last week’s answer: The Audacity of Hope

President Obama’s Dreams from My Father is not the only book he wrote. In 2006 he published a book about “reclaiming the American dream.” Does anybody know the title of this book?

Monday Missive - February 15, 2016

February 15, 2016 by Mark West

Presidents’ Day — When one thinks of academics who study the American Presidency, political scientists and historians usually come to mind, but not English professors. However, several members of our English Department have taken a scholarly interest in particular American Presidents. Given that today is Presidents’ Day, I will provide some information about these professors’ contributions to our understanding of the American Presidency.

Jeffrey Leak regularly teaches a course titled “Reading and Writing the Black Self: Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century African American Autobiography.” One of the autobiographies that he uses in this course is President Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. In a recent email message, Jeffrey discussed his reasons for teaching this text: “The memoir introduces students to a kind of black identity that is literally global. The very idea of the term ‘African American’ is reconfigured through Obama’s African father and white American mother. It pushes students, whatever their racial backgrounds, to think in more thoughtful terms about racial and cultural identity–which in turn complicates their understanding of American identity and citizenship.”

Daniel Shealy has taken a strong interest in President Abraham Lincoln. Daniel’s interest in President Lincoln is tied to his ongoing research on role that Concord, Massachusetts, played in the American Civil War. In November 2014, the Concord Free Public Library opened an exhibit on President Lincoln’s connections to Concord, and they invited Daniel to deliver the keynote lecture for the grand opening of the exhibit. Titled “‘The Pulse of 20 Millions Throbbing in His Heart’: Abraham Lincoln and Concord’s Civil War,” this lecture attracted a large an appreciative audience as well as local media attention.

Both Jeffrey and Daniel have shown how the study of American Presidents can help us gain a better understanding of the larger political and cultural forces that shape our history. Of course, this is quite a challenge, but this is not a job for Superman–it’s a job for English professors.

CLGO Spring Colloquium — The Children’s Literature Graduate Organization (CLGO) is holding its Spring Colloquium on Friday, February 19 from 9:00 to 2:00 in the Center for Graduate Life (Cone 268). Titled “Difference, Other, and Activism: A Colloquium on Expressions of Identity in Children’s and Young Adult Literature,” this event will feature presentations by several of our graduate students as well as an MA student from the University of New Hampshire, and two Ph.D. students from UNC Chapel Hill. The event will also include a faculty panel, featuring Paula Connolly, Janaka Lewis, and Sarah Minslow.

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

February 16 — Sigma Tau Delta is sponsoring a social event called Pizza & Paperbacks. The event will take place in on Tuesday, February 16, from 11:30 to 1:30 in Fretwell 290B. Participants are asked to bring a paperback version of one of their favorite books along with a note explaining why they like the book. Participants will then exchange their book with another person’s book. Free pizza will be provided.

February 16 — Jeffrey Leak will deliver a presentation on his book Visible Man: The Life of Henry Dumas as part of the Personally Speaking Series. The event will take place at UNC Charlotte Center City on Tuesday, February 16, at 6:30 pm.

February 16 — The UNC Charlotte Faculty and Staff production, “Tales From Down There” featuring the work of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues & A Memory, Monologue, Rant & Prayer, will be presented on Tuesday, February 16 at 7pm in McKnight Hall, Cone Center. The performers include Angie Williams, Janaka Lewis, and Tiffany Morin from the English Department as well as Alison Walsh, honorary English Department member.

Quirky Quiz Question — President Obama’s Dreams from My Father is not the only book he wrote. In 2006 he published a book about “reclaiming the American dream.” Does anybody know the title of this book?

Last week’s answer: the monkey

There is always an animal associated with the Chinese New Year. These animals are tied to the Chinese Zodiac. What animal is associated with this Chinese New Year?

Contact Me

Links

Archives

Monday Missive - May 9, 2016

Monday Missive - May 2, 2016

Monday Missive - April 25, 2016

Monday Missive - April 4, 2016

Monday Missive - March 21, 2016

Monday Missive - March 14, 2016

Monday Missive - March 7, 2016

Monday Missive - February 29, 2016

Monday Missive - February 22, 2016

Monday Missive - February 15, 2016