Who do we have here?

Why, it's Professor John Lamb looking, well, very professorial! Who else would read King Lear in the sun?

Dispatches from the 2017 West Virginia Writers' Workshop

Happy Summer, everyone! We just enjoyed four marvelous days of reading and writing here in Morgantown, as part of the 2017 West Virginia Writers' Workshop! Here's a rundown of our speakers from the poster:

The poet laureate of West Virginia, Marc Harshman spoke on our first day, to a full house in the Gold Ballroom of the Mountainlair.

Here is Marc with some of our High School Workshoppers! 

Geffrey Davis and Courtney Brkic ran craft talks and workshops on poetry and fiction, while David Hassler and Ann Claycomb gave incredible readings and shared their writerly insights with all of us all weekend long.

David Hassler

Courtney Brkic

Ann Claycomb

Publishing Panel, featuring our High School Workshop Leader, Natalie Sypolt, and Geffrey Davis!

Thanks to the Assistant Director Renee Nicholson's Narrative Medicine Workshop, we also heard presentations from Dr. Lorence Gutterman, Aimee Mepham, and Erich Grant. Renee's Workshop also had presentations from Dr. Carl Grey, and the Office of Accessibility Services as they discussed Renee, Carl, and Whit Arnold's work in the infusion clinic of the WVU Medicine Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

Dr. Lorence Gutterman

Ready to start Friday morning!

Some of the Dream Team

Sunday morning offered the (fan favorite) Publishing Panel, and we closed the Workshop with a Memorial for Dr. Jamie Shumway, who passed away in October of 2014 from ALS.  Renee had worked with Jamie to complete his forthcoming memoir Off Belay, so Jamie's wife Betsy and Renee offered a tribute to him, and his work during this breakfast celebration.

Betsy, reading from Off Belay

Renee offering her memories of Jamie as well

The Writers Workshop would like to thank the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English Faculty and Staff, and all of the Workshop Faculty, Writers, and Participants.  You can relive the magic on our Facebook page, our Instagram account, our Twitter handle, and with the Periscope Live App, so check us out all over social media!

 Thanks for coming everyone, and safe travels as you return home!

-Dominique

Spring 17 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: Jordan Miller, WVU Office of the Provost

Second Place:  Kayla Birnie, Eberly College Office of Undergraduate Studies

Third Place:  Olivia Wheeler, Literacy Volunteers of Monongalia & Preston Counties

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

• Kayla Birnie, who helped the Eberly College Office of Undergraduate Studies, revamp study desk content for an interactive guide for future and current WVU students.
• Adyline Bowders, who created press releases, fliers, and promotional material for the WVU LaunchLab.
• Abbey McCave, who interned at the WVU Office of Accessibility Services and honed her writing process.
• Jordan Miller, who helped WVU celebrate its 150^th year working on communications from the WVU Office of the Provost.
• Molly Moore, who interned with Literacy Volunteers of Monongalia & Preston Counties to promote literacy amongst ESL learners.
• Deni Remsberg, who demonstrated how having knowledge of statistics can help in editing scholarly journals at FiT Publications.
• Kathryn Samuels, who showed us how some editors work from a distance via her remote internship with Pro Se Productions.
• Emily Scopel, who wrote for all of “Wild and Wonderful” West Virginia through her internship at WVU Extension Service.
• Olivia Wheeler, who developed fundraising materials and instructional experience at the Literacy Volunteers of Monongalia & Preston Counties.

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: Cheryl Ball, John Jones, and Sarah Morris.

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