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IN ENGLISH (ENGLISH DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER) |
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IN ENGLISH Reading Schedule Update Thurs., November 8--Screenwriter Kathleen Lohr has been a working professional in Hollywood for over 20 years. Her recent screenplay, The Brainiacs, was produced by Disney. Thurs., November 29--Award-winning poet Charles Webb is the recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry. Among his books are Reading the Water, which won Samuel French Morse poetry prize and Liver, which won the Feliz Pollak prize. A former rock musician turned psychotherapist, he is on the faculty of the creative writing program at Cal State Long Beach. Tues., Feb. 19--One of America's preeminent poets, Philip Levine has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for his book, What Work Is. This reading will be in the Shannon Center. Thurs., March 14--Award winning poet, Marilyn Chin is scheduled. Although she is on the faculty of U.C. San Diego, she is currently teaching at the University of Sydney in Australia. NEW--Thurs. March 28: Poet Michael C Ford, author of Emergency Exits, and Grammy-nominated "Spoken Word Artist" will read. NEW--Tues. April 9: Screenwriter Phil Hay, author of Crazy Beautiful, will speak. NEW DATE--Thurs., April 25--Novelist and poet Kate Braverman is the author of the groundbreaking novel, Lithium for Medea. Stay tuned for updates/additions/corrections/etc. January and Spring Course Updates Below is supplemental information from our faculty about some of our courses to aid in registration for January and Spring. The details are always subject to change, but we hope this will help. Please see the instructors for answers to questions these descriptions might raise. January 2002 ENGL 378, Wilderness Writing, Susanne Weil, "will give students the chance to study environmental literature in context. As weather permits, classes will meet at sites in the San Gabriel Mountains, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Joshua Tree, and Los Padres National Forest. Our objective: that students grasp the changing ways American writers have understood the human relationship to wilderness, not only through readings, but by examining features of specific environments and analyzing how our authors address them. (When weather makes meeting outdoors improbable, we will meet at Susanne's home, which has, shall we say, its own quasi-wilderness features.) We will survey American wilderness writing from the Puritans to the present, reading works by Mary Rowlandson, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, William Bartram, Meriwether Lewis, George Caitlin, John James Audubon, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Mary Austin, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, Gary Snyder, Jon Krakauer, Mary Oliver, Aldo Leopold, Barry Lopez, T.C. Boyle, and Terry Tempest Williams. Each student will also choose a writer not on the list and tell the class how this writer contributes to our discourse. Students will keep journals and write a final integrative paper.” "Anyone interested in taking this class MUST complete a course application and attend one of two informational meetings: either Monday, October 29, 5 p.m. OR Tuesday, October 30, 5:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the upper Hoover lounge area. Syllabi, gear lists, and course applications will be distributed then. This course is instructor's permission only and is limited to ten students." ENGL 390, Robin Hood through the Ages, Sean Morris. "How have successive generations adapted Robin Hood to address their own concerns, and why do these stories continue to fascinate us after more than 600 years? We'll read the original medieval ballads, plays, and chronicles; Renaissance versions such as Ben Jonson's The Sad Shepherd and Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona and As You Like It; Walter Scott's Ivanhoe; Tennyson's The Foresters; and works by Keats and Dryden, among others. Along the way we'll dip into tales of other outlaws medieval and modern, including films like The Adventures of Robin Hood and perhaps Zorro. Some readings in Middle English. Permission of instructor required, so don your caps, heft your bows, and sojourn over to Hoover 209 for your signature. "Welcome to Sherwood…" Spring 2002 ENGL 120, Introduction to Literature: "Knowledge and Self-knowledge," Sean Morris. "Readings will include Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, E.M. Forster's A Passage to India; Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (tentative); and lots and lots of lyric poems." ENGL 120, Introduction to Literature, Laurel Bogen. "For Intro to Lit, I am teaching Othello, Death of a Salesman, Frankenstein and a section on poetry." ENGL 120, Introduction to Literature, “The Seeds of War,” Susanne Weil. “We’ll explore the connections between rhetoric and violence, both personal and national, through essays by George Orwell and others, Shakespeare’s Henry V , Shepard’s True West, Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Boyle’s Tortilla Curtain, and plenty of poetry and short stories. ENGL 303, Advanced Poetry Writing, Laurel Bogen. For Advanced Poetry, the textbook will be Writing Poems by Wallace and Boisseau as well as a collection by Philip Levine (as yet undecided but probably What Work Is, if it's still available). ENGL 324, Chaucer, Sean Morris. "You'll get all your favorite Canterbury Tales—the Miller, the Wife of Bath, the Pardoner, the Nun's Priest—and many, many others. Who knew life was so much fun in 1398? We'll also look at Troilus and Criseyde and a dream vision or two. Need I say more? Be there, or be "wood"… All readings in Middle English--but that is not a problem--don't worry!. Permission of instructor required, so grab your palmers' staves and make the pilgrimage to Hoover 209 for your signature today! (Also available in "Pair" form with PHIL 312.)" ENGL 363, Modern American Novel, Charles Adams ENGL 373, The African American Literary Tradition, Charles Adams ENGL 410, Senior Seminar: Dickens, Anne Kiley. I expect to do Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, andOur Mutual Friend. Sigma Tau Delta Our warm congratulations to those students newly inducted into our chapter (the Jessamyn West chapter) of Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honorary society. They are: Sarah Wagner, Nancy Reyes, Emily Curtis, Gerry Perez, Charlene Beal, Joshua Kenney, Mark Barrett, Beckie Ninnis, Veronica Arenas, Ashley Wingfield, and J.P. O'Hara. We induct new members each semester, and the criteria for membership are grades in English courses. One does not have to be a major to qualify. We note that there are a few students who have been invited to be inducted, but have not been able to attend the event as of yet. We hope you will consider doing so on the next occasion--you are still eligible! Ryan Fong is the president of our chapter the year and Kristine Welter is secretary. That group is planning an event for the campus in November --"Literary Jeopardy." Some Alumni News Susanne Weil reports that at this November's annual meeting of the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, our west coast regional division of the MLA, Shellie Banga is presenting a paper distilled from her joint production for Whittier's Shakespeare and Chaucer courses. Her PAMLA paper is entitled "Language of the Eye: What Imagery Does to Criseyde and Cressida." She's presenting in the Chaucer and Related Topics session and is listed in the program as an "independent scholar," which she suspects means that she ought to appear draped in a mysterious veil and equipped with one of those long cigarette holders. . . . Shellie is applying to graduate school and still studying for the GREs in the intrepid study group comprised of herself, Ryan Bradley, Dawn Finley, and Erin Whittemore, who is in the second year of the English M.A. program at Cal State Long Beach and has just become engaged. Anne Kiley reports that she just got an email from Christina Purcell, who is working as a lead singer on a cruise ship and was in Cairo on September 11 (as was Sean Riordan --not an English major , but close enough that we count him!). Christina is back in NY now, will be going into rehearsals in a month for another cruise job, sailing for nine months to Spain, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, then sailing around South America. We have several reports of the presence in the world of one Zada Hathaway, new daughter of Ellen (DeLacey) Hathaway and Aaron Hathaway. What Have We Been Reading? Like our students, the faculty is kept busy during the semester with all sorts of reading generated by the work we are doing for classes. However, we thought it might be of some interest to hear about what some of us are looking at outside of class. Wendy Furman-Adams reports as follows: "I just read Girl in Hyacinth Blue, a lovely historical novel by Susan Vreeland, based on a painting by the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. Over the summer I also enjoyed another "Vermeer novel" written in the fictional voice of the model for one of the painter's most enigmatic works: Girl in the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which gives a wonderfully rich sense of seventeenth-century Delft. Also strongly recommended from my recent reading: Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman (twenty-four meditations on time); The Years with Laura Diaz, by Carlos Fuentes (the history of Mexico from the Revolution to Tlatloco, told through the experience of one extraordinary woman); and Lying Awake, by Mark Salzman (a meditation on the inextricable web of body and mind, and of the fine line between madness and mystical illumination)." Susanne Weil reports: "Before September 11, I was dividing my reading time between economic historians' texts about the Homestead Massacre, Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony and Mary Austin's autobiography, Earth Horizon. Since the 11th, though, when not reading the newspapers, I've been re-reading some classic texts about war and what Quakers call ‘the occasions (or causes) of all war’: Henry V, George Orwell's essays ("Looking Back on the Spanish War" and others), and John Woolman's journal.” Her "Intro. to Lit" course this spring will focus on this theme. Anne Kiley reports: "I occasionally look at Postmodern Pooh, but if I can manage one essay before I turn out the light, that's unusual." Laurel Bogen reports: "I'm currently reading Margaret Atwood's book, The Journals of Susanna Moody, a collection of poems written in the voice of a Canadian pioneer." Sean Morris reports: "What am I reading now? Ha! Besides material for class, not much…The Harry Potter series when I get a chance. Some books I'm not reading now but that I highly recommend and that are more intellectual: 2 by Stephen Pinker: The Language Instinct; How the Mind Works. Last year: Shakespeare's Henry VI plays: great fun (why are these not done more often?). Carlo M. Cippola, Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy 1000-1700. Charles Adams reports: "I continue to read more baseball stuff, over the summer finishing Bob Costas' Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball , a good novel about Mexican baseball in the 1940's called Veracruz Blues by Mark Winegardner, and Pat Jordan's Fair Tuesday, a memoir. I read a really interesting history of the development of the spice trade by Giles Milton called Nathaniel's Nutmeg. Once the semester started I slowed down on this sort of stuff, but I am trying to get after Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. Also, my family just gave me a complete DVD set of The Prisoner (The 1968 'cult classic' television show created by and starring Patrick McGoohan). I will be watching all that again as soon as I can." 2001-02 Writing Prizes and Publication Opportunities We continue to want to give early notice to all students that in the spring we will once again be soliciting submissions for a number of writing prizes and the Literary Review. Save your work over the course of the year and look for notices here and elsewhere for submission deadlines in the spring. The Newsom Awards in Poetry and Fiction are given for the best student work in each genre. These are financed through a fund named for Roy Newsom, a former president of the College. The Scholarly Writing in English Prizes, funded through generous donations from several sources, are for the best student writing on literary topics. The Literary Review is the annual publication put out by our honor society, Sigma Tau Delta. It invites submissions in any genre of writing from all Whittier students. Other Good Stuff Laurel Bogen's new manuscript of poetry, Washing A Language, was accepted for publication by Red Hen Press. It will be out next year. From Anne Kiley: "Alums responsive to the true spirit [???!!!--ed.] of the English Department might be interested in Anne Kiley's acquisition of Aurum--or his of me--especially since he is one of the feral kittens rescued by Susanne. Or captured, depending on your point of view." The Yosemite Association has asked Susanne Weil to offer an introductory backpacking and literature course for the Yosemite Field Seminar program this July. "Women Writing the Wilderness" will be a five day course for women interested in reflecting on texts by Mary Austin, Annie Dillard, Mary Oliver, and Terry Tempest Williams while learning basic backpacking skills on a trek to Vogelsang Peak in Yosemite's high country. Susanne has also been asked by the "Adventure 16 Outdoors Program" to offer a course entitled "Reading the Desert,” set at Joshua Tree during Whittier's spring break. Participants will camp, hike, and cook together while discussing short works by Barry Lopez, Ed Abbey, Williams, and Austin. Why Did You Get This? The purpose of this newsletter is to keep students, faculty, and friends informed about the wide variety of activities the Whittier College English Department is engaged in. If there are events of a literary nature that could use a bit of publicity through this vehicle, send information about them to the English Department office. We cannot guarantee when or if they will appear, but it never hurts to try! If you get this and do not want it, or if you did not get it but see a copy and want future issues, please let Tina Corral (x4253 or see e-mail list below) in the department office know. How to E-mail Us Some of you have asked how to get us by e-mail, so here are some addresses: Charles Adams: cadams@whittier.edu Tony Barnstone: tbarnstone@whittier.edu Laurel Ann Bogen: laurelbogen@whittier.edu Tina Corral (Department Secretary): tcorral@whittier.edu Chris Davidson: davidson94@yahoo.com Wendy Furman-Adams (Department Chair): wfurman@whittier.edu Bill Geiger: bgeiger@whittier.edu Anne Kiley: akiley@whittier.edu Gary Libman (journalism): garylibman@earthlink.net Sean Morris: smorris@whittier.edu David Paddy: dpaddy@whittier.edu Susanne Weil: sweil@whittier.edu or sespewild@aol.com Katherine Will (President): kwill@whittier.edu
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