CFP EGSU 2017 Conference: Finding Frontiers: Then, Now, and Beyond

Call for Papers for WVU EGSU Conference 2017

Finding Frontiers: Then, Now, and Beyond

Keynote speaker: Professor Holly Dugan, George Washington University

In 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Frederick Jackson Turner declared that “[by] moving westward, the frontier became more and more American…each frontier leaves its traces behind it, and when it becomes a settled area the region still partakes of the frontier characteristics.” For Turner, the frontier and the American pursuit of the ever shifting frontier line was the force that shaped our democracy. It left upon future generations a temporal residue that found its way onto coming frontier lines, and the future definitions that came out of them Where, then, is the frontier now? How do we identify it if/when we find it? Turner’s declaration, and the questions it elicits, recall parallel issues of space across ages, disciplines, and texts.

The students of the English Graduate Student Union (EGSU) at the West Virginia University Department of English invite you to explore the idea of frontiers and the complications that they entail. The conference this year will be titled Frontiers: Then, Now, and Beyond, and will be held March 11th, 2017 at the West Virginia University downtown campus in Colson Hall.

This interdisciplinary conference seeks to look further at the unexplored, undefined, indefinite nature of frontiers like those that Turner describes in his thesis. Presenters should feel free to explore the idea of frontiers in some of its broadest terms. Guiding questions include: what are the implications of imagined borders within the frontier narratives of 19th century America? How do literary borders situate, sustain, and undermine the British empire during the same period–and where do we find additional historic, scientific, and cultural parallels?  How does the rise of post-apocalyptic fiction in popular culture speak to the constant search for new frontiers? How does the proposed Anthropocene affect the drawing back or expansion of sensual or ecological frontiers? We urge you to broadly explore all questions of, or pertaining to, frontiers. You may consider one of, but are not limited to, the following categories:

• Ecocriticism and Environmental Studies
• African American Literature
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality
• Popular Culture
• Liminality
• Posthumanism
• American Literature
• British Literature
• Transatlantic Studies
• Hemispheric Studies
• Hispanic, Latino/a, and Chicano/a Literature
• Native American Literature
• Postcolonial Literature
• War and/or Trauma and Literature
• Film Studies and Film Theory
• Queer Theory
• Critical Theory and Aesthetics
• Architecture and Urban Planning
• Digital Humanities

Proposal abstracts of 250 words should be submitted electronically to egsuconference2016@gmail.com by January 13th, 2017. All proposals should include the title of the work, presenter’s name, institutional and departmental affiliation, and any technology requests. We also welcome and encourage panel proposals of three to four presenters. We encourage panel organizers to experiment with different formats, including more speakers and shorter papers, discussion groups, PechaKucha, etc. The subject line of your email should also indicate if your abstract is a proposing creative or academic work. Panels will run for one hour and fifteen minutes, and speakers should be prepared to give a presentation lasting approximately fifteen minutes. This allows for ample opportunity in the interim for discussion of each paper. Chairs will see that all panels start and end on time, and that no speaker or group goes over their allotted time. Notification of proposal status will be within two weeks of the submission deadline.

Creative writing panels are also encouraged. Possible panel topics for creative writers might include defying boundaries of genre and/or genre blending, the resurgence of fairy tales in contemporary creative writing, or influences on your work out of genre or that deal in any of the possible subjects listed above. Fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry panels should plan to read for 7-10 minutes per participant and field questions from their audience.

More information can be found at https://wvuegsuconference.wordpress.com/.

PWE Capstone Poster Winners Announced!

Yesterday, the Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) program hosted the biannual PWE Poster Exhibit, where PWE capstone students showcase their writing and editing internship work for the university community.

Judges' and attendees' votes have been tallied, and the winners of the top poster awards are:

First Place: Abigail Humphreys, The Daily Athenaeum

Second Place:  Krislin Nuzum, WVU Office of Accessibility Services

Third Place:  Matt Jarrett, Digital Publishing Institute

Congratulations to all of the interns on their accomplishments this term, including:

• Abigail Humphreys, who created four new blogs for The Daily Athenaeum: TheDAeats.WordPress.com; TheDAsports.WordPress.com; TheDAabroad.WordPress.com; and TheDAstyle.WordPress.com.
• Matt Jarrett, who served as a managing editor for WVU’s Digital Publishing Institute.
•  Megan Lawrence, who took on website content development tasks at WVU Extension Service.
• Krislin Nuzum, who raised student awareness of accessibility services through the WVU Office of Accessibility Services.
• Cody Roane, who racked up bylines at New South Media.
• Samantha Thomas, who wrote blogs and designed a brochure for the WVU Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.
• Alexandra Vaughn, who joined the WVU Department of Communications Studies in conducting research on television binge-watching.
• Thomas Wolfe, who’s editing work helped improve the consistency and efficiency of the US General Services Administration internal communications.

Thank you to everyone who supported these talented English majors by attending the poster exhibit and voting for their favorite posters. A special thanks to the events' three judges, as well: Lydia Welker, Nathalie Singh-Corcoran and Tom Sura.

Nov. 29th Gathering to Affirm Diversity, Equality, and Justice

The English Department

Invites

Students, Colleagues, Alumni, Affiliates, and Friends

To our Affirmation of Diversity, Equality, and Justice

Tuesday, November 29^th, 3:00-5:00 in Colson Hall

We will gather to voice our aspirations for a just, respectful, and humane community, one sustained by reflective engagements with language and literature. We affirm our support of the vulnerable, our commitment to fair-minded inquiry, and our facilitation of pluralism. Please join us to listen, learn, and share your words.

Everyone Welcome

Refreshments Served

Post-It Power

Inspired by the post-it notes popping up along New York City subway walls and underground connections, our English department took over a space in the Lair (our student union building, and Chik-Fil-A hotspot) to encourage students to write their own messages, words of strength, hope, and affirmation in the wake of this election week.

“We are here for you in whatever way you need.”

People stepped up and came together in the best ways, offering supplies (a table cloth!) (a poster!) (candy!) as well as their company and presence.  Thank you.

“Un BESO, un abrazo, olo que sea que necesites. SI SE PUEDE.”

“FIGHT FOR WHAT’S YOURS!”

“You DESERVE to be here and have a voice. You aren’t ever alone.”

It’s tempting to trivialize or sentimentalize small actions of love or resistance. We like to claim that either they don’t matter in the grand scheme of the universe, or that somehow one post-it note will be the snowflake that causes the branch to fall—pat ourselves on the back, our work here is done!

“Love everyone, race, gender, sexual orientation. And this world would be a better place to live in.”

“People care about you.”

“We All Belong Here!”

“AMOR y PAZ.”

Of course the truth is somewhere in the middle.  And we will “Be Resolute.”

 

Dr. Teresa Pershing, Ph.D.

 

The Tenants are pleased to announce that, as of 6:00 this afternoon, Ms. Teresa Pershing is now Dr. Teresa Pershing, following a chat with her dissertation committee: Lara Farina, Marilyn Francus, Adam Komisaruk, Richard Sha (American University), and yours truly.  The topics addressed in a meandering discussion of Teresa's dissertation, which argued for the critical value of making a distinction between erring (as non-normative mistake) and errancy (as a queer mode of escaping the norms), ranged from a lengthy discussion of Malthus to an even longer discussion of Smear the Queer. Congratulations to Dr. Pershing!

Oh, Nostalgia!

I've got nothing deep to say about nostalgia—I'll let Dennis and others handle that—but I do want to alert you to this article about—drumroll, please!—the Easy Bake Oven! Yes! I know! I love(d) it too! And here it is in all its glory:

Sure, Easy Bake cakes were not always edible, but, hey, lots of cakes aren't! The oven is a more sublime experience than that, providing true Nourishment. 

And, guess what: turns out, boys like the Easy Bake Oven too. Yep. It's all in the article. And lest you think the Oven has gone by the wayside, be assured that it has not. You may purchase one even today. 

Finally, this post would not be complete without a shout-out to MA student SJ Stout who, under my, um, direction, wrote a fascinating essay about log flumes (!) and lyric poetry (!) and who is now deep into nostalgia. SJ, I hope this post will service as the help I promised you.

Voices Behind the Bars: Four Stories from Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy

Hungry Poets 2016 Contest Call for Submissions

Coming up much earlier than usual this year is the deadline for the Hungry Poets contest in memory of Gabe Friedberg. Usually a spring activity, the contest this year has been shifted to the fall. If you are a poet under 30 years old who would like to participate in a great event please see the flyer below for details. And if you teach creative writing classes (or any English or humanities classes) please distribute this information to your students as soon as possible. Don't be afraid to emphasize that there are cash prizes for first, second, and third place.

Please note that entries must be emailed in on or before 29 August, so the deadline is coming up quickly. See the flyer below for more information, and again, please distribute this flyer to your students.

Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers' Workshop: Day 4

Hello and welcome to the last day of the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop. We all came to Colson 130 at 9:30AM for our Panel on Publishing, with all of our Workshop Faculty.  This is always a fun morning, because we’re able to talk about what we can do with all of the writing that we have generated over the last three days (and that we got to enjoy last night at the Open Mic at Mother India).

Publishing panels can show us both sides of the literary arts. David Hassler and Jacinda Townsend talked more about the nitty gritty business side of what it means to be a writer, what it means to labor over revisions, and how to stay in the game even through all of the rejections that we will inevitably experience, while Shara McCallum talked about how the spirit of our creative desires should fuel and sustain us, because we love it. As I was having lunch with Natalie and Renee earlier, I realized that our Workshop has both of those elements. Each year we bring amazing authors to come in and be part of our Workshop Faculty, which is a very businesslike endeavor. But all of the authors come to do work and pay homage to the craft of writing, which supports and sustains and fulfills us. Each year, the Workshop is a labor of love. And twenty years in, it’s still the most magical weekend in July.  

These are Mark's Thank-You's to: 

all of you in the Department of English...and...

To our participants -- who came from Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the great state of West Virginia

To Jim Harms -- whose wonderful concluding poem Friday night now makes me think of our local diner as the "Existentialist Cafe, with Milkshake"

To Marsha Bissett -- whose management skills are second only to her grace under pressure

To Cindy Ulrich -- who handles so much so effortlessly

To Ethel Morgan Smith -- whose reading was topped only by the stunningly moving panel she served on

To Breon Batten, Kelly Johnson, and Amanda Tustin -- muchisimas gracias!

To our amazing Workshop faculty, who came from far (Jacinda Townsend, who is heading out for a teaching position in California) and near (relatively, in some cases; very in others): Dominique Bruno (social-media maestro extraordinaire), Ann Claycomb, David Hassler, Brent House, Alonzo LaMont, Shara McCallum, and Howard Owen

To Natalie Sypolt, who displayed her usual firm patience with (and inspired) 16 high-school participants

To Bonnie Thibodeau, who had the night-shift with the high-schoolers and lived to tell the tale

To our grad-student and undergraduate-student assistants: Megan Fahey, Bryce Berkowitz, Jordan Carter, and Amanda Gaines

To our dean, Greg Dunaway, whose enthusiastic support of the Workshop justly received enthusiastic applause from our participants and faculty Friday night 

To our president, Gordon Gee, who has talked up our Workshop frequently ever since his welcome (second) arrival at WVU

To the WVU bookstore, which came through

And of course to Renée Nicholson, whose commitment to the Workshop is unrivaled and deeply, deeply appreciated.

If I missed anyone -- please accept my absent-minded (but grateful) thank you!

Planning for next year's West Virginia Writers' Workshop is already under way. We hope to see you there!

In the meantime, be sure to "Like" and follow us on Facebook: @WVWritersWS

On Twitter: @WV_Workshop

And on Instagram: wv_writersworkshop

The hashtag that Renée came up with is #wvww20 for our 20th Anniversary.  You can do a search for that on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to re-live your favorite moments!

Thank you thank you thank you to all of the Workshop participants this year, and over the last twenty years. Doing the social media for this Workshop is the highlight of my summer, and I love every minute of it. 

'Until next year Tenants-

Dominique 

Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers' Workshop: Day 3

'Just going to leave this here. 

Hello from day three of the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop! We started our day with a brilliant craft talk from Howard Owen, called: “How to Start a Writing Career After 40.” The best part of Howard’s craft talk was how his advice actually applied to any of us, at any stage in our writing career. Howard had brilliant suggestions for writing with discipline and pragmatism.  My favorite suggestion he had (other than reading everything you can) is how he finds pictures from newspapers and magazines that resemble what he imagines a character to look like, and then puts it up on a story board, so that the character’s image is not only in his head, but also in front of his eyes when he looks up. I love that idea, and I might borrow it myself (which Howard also suggested: borrow all of the good ideas and inspiration you can)! Howard has published fifteen books since he turned forty, and he’ sixty-eight now, with more books on the way.  He had a brilliant perspective about writing and living and process and experience, so thank you Howard for an inspiring talk!

Howard in action. 

We then had a powerful panel about performance from David Hassler, Alonzo LaMont, and Ethel Morgan Smith.  The full title is: “A Panel on Public Performance of Poetry and Prose and Plays.” All three panelists addressed the perils, pitfalls, and pleasures of writing for performance (of course I’m trying to be as alliterative as the title of the panel is).  David Hassler, the director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University, spoke about unearthing oral histories of the Kent State Shooting, which happened when he was young but which no one really talked about. Alonzo LaMont talked about Telling, which you can find on Facebook as The Telling Project, a performance project that seeks to bridge the gap between veteran and civilian experiences and discourses.  Ethel talked about transitioning From Whence Cometh My Help from prose to performance, and the power of testimony. Eventually our discussion turned towards the political performance in the world right now, and the role, or even obligation of the arts to testify, and even to heal. Thank you to all of the panelists for a superlative discussion! We laughed, we cried, we testified, and it was magical. 

Maybe it helps that our panelists are so darn good looking. (It sure doesn't hurt!) 

After the panel presentation, writers were able to have a catered lunch, and hear the writings from the high school workshop writers.  What an amazing group we have this year! All of the readers had such passion and energy, and, coupled with their writing talents, the lunch reading was a revelation. (After all, not every reading will have someone open with Bertolt Brecht’s “The Lovers.”) Thank you high school writers, and thank you Natalie for your teaching and reading with the high schoolers every year. We know that it’s an intense endeavor. (After all, folks only have four days to write, and work together on revision.) But every year all of the high schoolers rave about getting to work with you and are so excited to present their work to us. One student has returned for all four years of high school, and we are going to miss her when she goes to college next year. Hooray for Natalie, and hooray for all of our writers this weekend! 

'So professional...

Our afternoon reading featured David Hassler, Alonzo LaMont, and Howard Owen.  David Hassler read from May 4th Voices, which is an oral history play that recounts the Kent State Shootings in 1970’s. (My favorite was a high school teacher blessing Pavlov, when a potential fight evaporates as the class bell rings.) Alonzo read a dramatic monologue of "B-SideMan," which will be performed in New York in October. The monologue built from the wild madcap humor of the summer of love, and a small college in Vermont, to meditations on fatherhood, the death of a child, and the life of an artist. Pretty much the entire room was in tears after he finished reading. Howard read from Grace, his most recent Willie Black mystery novel that will be released in October. When I talked to the other writers tonight, even ones who don’t always read mysteries, they were most struck by how accessible Howard’s work is, and how he makes the genre so exciting to both mystery novel experts, and novices alike. Every single writer this afternoon brought their A-Game to their readings, and it was an amazing day. We were kind of all reeling as we split into our Workshops. 

David Hassler

Alonzo LaMont

Howard Owen

For this last workshop, I sat in on the tail end of Natalie’s High School workshop before I met for a manuscript one-on-one with a high school writer.  Both of those events were fantastic, I have to say. I’m really grateful to Natalie for giving us the opportunity to talk about all different kinds of writing with high school writers who are so enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and about finding new things to read! 

Some pictures from the High School Lunchtime Reading

Our last evening of the Workshop is always our Open Mic dinner, so thank you to Mother India on High Street for their third year supporting our Workshop! Our takeaways this year include the fact that Karen Valentine never needs a microphone, Mark is going to work on his Elvis impression, and that poems are always better if they mention cake. But as it is every year, it was a wild and wonderful time down on south High Street.  I just came home from meeting a couple of writers at the Iron Horse Tavern, and they were still recounting their favorite moments.  

Renée's little polaroid was a huge hit this evening! I didn't make it to each table, but I made it to a lot of them.  

Karen Valentine killing it, as usual

Actually everyone did an amazing job!

Well, that’s it for today, Tenants. Are you following us on assorted social media? Because you should.

Be sure to "Like" and follow us on Facebook: @WVWritersWS

On Twitter: @WV_Workshop

And on Instagram: wv_writersworkshop

The hashtag that Renée came up with is #wvww20 for our 20th Anniversary, so use that when you attend and post about our events! 

Tune in tomorrow, as we talk publishing, and say goodbye until next year! 

~Dominique 

Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers' Workshop: Day 2

Here we are for day two of the 20^th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop! We opened in Elizabeth Moore Hall for a craft talk with the lovely and talented Renée Nicholson (who rocked out the flamingos on her dress, earrings, and bag this Friday) as she gave her craft talk:  “The Origins of Connection: The Relationships Others Have On and With Your Writing.” Renée started with a brief discussion of Charles Darwin (you know, like you do) while describing the evolution of our processes as writers, and these points of connection and interaction that we accumulate to create a work. I even got to participate for a little while with a high school writer, when we did a listening exercise that Renée had first done for her Narrative Medicine training at Columbia University with Doctor Rita Charon. The writer had to listen to me tell a story (so I told a story of a time that I broke a law), and then summarize the story I told, while I then had to write about how it felt to be listened to. When we got a chance to share, it was an elevated sort of sharing. Even a seemingly ordinary anecdote, like a trip to the beach, or getting a dog, seemed like a more significant experience when we all knew that we were listened to when it was told. It was an authentic experience (and for many of our writers, it was clearly very moving). I love when a craft talk makes me feel more connected to the speaker, and to the other writers in the room, and that’s just what Renée was able to do. 

All the flamingos!

There was a brief coffee break after Renée’s talk, and then we heard from Ann Claycomb, who gave a talk titled, “The Mockingbird Test: the key role of perspective in taking YA lit from good to great.” Lots of our high school workshoppers were very invested in what Ann had to say, because they are the target audience of this genre, and some of them have tried to write in this genre themselves. Ann had us do an exercise where we had to describe a character that our protagonist had strong feelings about. These could be strong feelings of affection or hatred, or any sensation, as long as the feelings were strong. Ann based her talk title “The Mockingbird Test” on the Bechdel Test (the touchstone for feminist prose) Her argument for how good YA Lit differed from great YA Lit is if it incorporates perspective. We talked about how the perspective of different characters, the perspective of the passage of time, and the perspective of understanding your place in the world all help to elevate YA Lit and make it more memorable. Ann had brought in some evidence of this, so we did some close readings of excerpts from Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other seminal young adult literature to understand these perspectives. We finished with a cool discussion of the slippery genre of Young Adult Literature itself, coming back to talk about and recommend Peter Cameron’s (a Workshop alumnus) Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You, Cirque du Freak, and Dumplin’. 

Ann in action!

After lunch (which Renée, Natalie and I enjoyed with Lud and Mary Gutmann. Thanks Mary and Lud!) We had our afternoon reading from Brent House and Renée. Renée introduced Brent, who based his poem reading selections on the most “wild and wonderful” thing he knows: his five-year-old-son. Brent read beautiful pastorals, peppered with hilarious stories of his son declaring war on all honeybees after a sting, and getting lost in cornhusks. The most beautiful image by far when Brent read about his son as a pine tree, strong and rooted in the ground.  It was a gorgeous, hilarious reading. Thank you so much, Brent! 

Brent House

Megan Fahey introduced Renée next, and Renée opened with her rather elegiac mini-memoirs about the death of Prince, and then a piece about her brother’s fight with cancer.  I have had the pleasure of reading drafts of this memoir as Renée has been writing it, and it was very satisfying to see how far her revisions have come since May. Afterwards, everyone wanted to talk to Renée, hug Renée, and share with her their own experiences with family, illness and listening. That's how you know it was a really powerful reading. 

Our writers separated for their afternoon workshops after that, and then we had dinner before reconvening for our night reading featuring Ethel Morgan Smith, Mark Brazaitis, and Jim Harms. The Dean of Eberly College Greg Dunaway joined us this evening, which was delightful! Ethel started by reading a poem by Langston Hughes, “Democracy,” and then read something new: her book, From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College is being turned into a play that will be performed next spring, and she has the script. Obviously reading a script meant that the work was dialogue-driven, but Ethel painted beautiful pictures with the language she used, and the audience felt the humor as well. It was a warm and generous piece, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait for the play to be performed! 

Mark read next, starting with one of his poems, from the magazine for Peace Corps Alumni: Worldview, called, “What I Remember from the Country I Loved, for John Coyne.” (And Mark spelled out John's name so that I would get that right, because he knew I was writing this blog when he started talking.) He then read an older short story about a newlywed couple moving to the states from Guatemala. In this story, Mark perfectly captures the tension of international travel, moving, repressed family dynamics, and impulsive desires. It was a heartbreaking, funny, and sad (in other words the perfect short story). Mark might be the king of last lines, and though I won’t spoil it for you folks, the ending of this story reminded me of what it felt like to wake up in the United States after several weeks in Italy, and realize if I had been talking in my sleep, it wasn’t in English.

Jim finished us up tonight with several poems for us. I think he only embarrassed his daughter Phoebe (one of our high school workshop writers this year) with one poem about her babyhood insistence on calling spinach “yogurt.” It was adorable.  The last poem he read, (which will be forthcoming next year) described the utter bliss of having a milkshake for breakfast, while still reminding us that life is a painfully complicated thing. Thank you for the reminder, Jim. And if you decide to make milkshakes for us tomorrow before our first craft talk, I think we'll all be amenable. 

Well that’s it for tonight Tenants! We’ll see you tomorrow at 9AM in Colson Hall for a craft-talk with Howard Owen. Be sure utilize social media, and keep coming back here to read recaps of our wonderful workshop.

Be sure to "Like" and follow us on Facebook: @WVWritersWS

On Twitter: @WV_Workshop

And on Instagram: wv_writersworkshop

The hashtag that Renée came up with is #wvww20 for our 20th Anniversary, so use that when you attend and post about our events!

~Dominique 

 

Megan introducing Renée

Anyone recognize these excerpts from Ann's handout?