A Literary Kerfuffle

As the year’s end approaches, it’s time for the “best of” mania. Part cultural gatekeeping, part marketing ploy, the “Top X” list is an established tradition–as is taking offense at the lists’ sins of commission or omission. Our case in point is this year’s Publisher’s Weekly top ten, a list which includes not one work by a woman (although it does include books about women. Cold comfort, indeed!). To be fair, the sub-lists (best fiction, best poetry) do include works by women authors.

Here’s a case where English professors step back from the fray, rub their hands together with glee, and revel to see people talk so passionately about books, no matter what side of the debate they take. Online ‘zine salon.com has an overview of what the internet is saying about PW, which you can find here. Discuss amongst yourself. Oh, and happy reading–there are some great things on these lists!

Obituary of Scholar Claude Lévi-Strauss

Claude Lévi-Strauss died on October 31. He was an immensely influential scholar whose ideas concerning Structuralism affected many different fields, including literary studies.

 

Here is a link to an obituary from the Telegraph in London.

A new “reference” for American Lit and Culture

File this one under “I’ve-got-to-get-this-book.” Academic odd couple Greil Marcus (a cultural critic known for his groundbreaking work on the intellectual antecedents of rock music) and Werner Sollors (erudite, German-born race theorist) have joined forces to bring out a “new” look at the great moments and monuments of U.S. culture. A New Literary History of America promises to offer a fresh take on the significant events in our literary past, writ large, and to unseat the stodgy, establishment approach to some of our “great works,” ranging from Gatsby to Emily Dickinson’s poetry, Jackson Pollock, and hip hop.

It’s an ambitious undertaking of nearly 1100 pages, broken down into some 200+ essays, so I expect it to be somewhat uneven in approach and idiosyncratic in its historical coverage. Still, the project of re-imagining our shared past from some new vantage points–and especially the prospect of Ishmael Reed taking on the vexed racial politics of Twain’s Huck Finn is enough to get me to add this to my bookshelf.

Here’s a review essay from the LA Times, and here’s the Harvard UP link, which includes a full table of contents.

Have your review on my desk by the end of next week.

Sneak Preview: the Departmental “Coffee House” is open for business

the Java Jive

No, we still haven’t managed to acquire an espresso cart for Wyatt Hall, but students, alums, and others in and around Tacoma should mark your calendars: the department’s “Coffeehouse” evening is scheduled for Weds., November 18. Professor Florence Sandler will be featured at an informal discussion of the Biblical Tradition in Literature at the Humanities House on Union Ave., from 5-6 p.m. Watch this space for further information, and plan to join us for a stimulating session of intellectual conviviality, coffee, and conversation. We thank the Humanities Program for their generous sponsorship of this community-building event.

THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH Has Opened on Campus

Puget Sound’s production of Thorton Wilder’s play, The Skin of Our Teeth,  has opened, with the second performance occurring tonight in the Norton Clapp Theater on campus.  More performances (including ones in the afternoon) are scheduled over the next couple of weeks.

Margaret Atwood’s New Novel

As Professor Tracy Hale noted in a post last month, Margaret Atwood’s new novel has been published.

And now the Director of Collins Library, Jane Carlin, has sent along a link to more information about the book:

http://www.yearoftheflood.com/us/

Thanks to Allison and Jane for the information.

 

National Gallery of Writing

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) opened its online National Gallery of Writing on October 20, 2009.  The gallery features writing in a wide variety of genres.  Writers who are 13 years old and above may submit their work, and they may also open a “local” gallery on the site.  For more information, please follow the link:

http://www.galleryofwriting.org/

Francisco Goldman Today (Wed.) At Four

Our colleagues in Arts and Lectures have written to remind us about the following (free) event today:

 

Francisco Goldman, novelist, journalist, maestro, professor of English language and literature, Trinity College, CT:  “The Art of Political Murder,” (sponsored by Latin American Studies, Hispanic Studies, The Graduate School of the Univ. of WA, Seattle), 4 p.m., Wyatt Hall, Room 109, free

Alumni Sharing Knowledge: Employment Opportunities

Kris L. Hay writes to remind us that the next ASK night is coming up. Here are some details:

Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Night 2009
Thursday, Nov. 5: drop by anytime between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m.
Wheelock Rotunda

Light snacks provided.

ASK Night is an opportunity for students to:

· Make contacts/network with alumni professionals in a wide variety of careers

· Connect with and seek advice from alumni

· Hear about what others have done with their Puget Sound education

About ASK Night •   List of participants •   Networking tips

We’ll see you there! Kris

Kris Hay
Communications Coordinator
Career and Employment Services
University of Puget Sound
879.3249
www.ups.edu/ces

A Literary Conference for Undergraduates

Professor Molly Hiro of the University of Portland writes to tell us about a literary conference for undergraduates:

“Next March, we at the University of Portland will be holding our seventh-annual conference for undergraduates: the Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL).  We are asking for your help in recruiting students to submit their work for consideration for this year’s conference.

We have attached (as well as pasted below) a letter that gives details about NUCL and explains why it’s a good event to promote to students.  Next week, we will be mailing out conference brochures and bookmarks to your department, which we hope you’ll share with your students.

We want to alert you in particular to the fact that because this year’s NUCL is a few weeks earlier than in past years (March 20, 2010), our deadline for submissions is also earlier.  Therefore, we’ve established a submission period: from December 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010.  Please encourage your students to submit early, ideally before leaving for winter break!

Meanwhile, please consult our website (http://www.college.up.edu/english/nucl ) or contact us at nucl@up.edu for more information.

Many thanks,

Cara Hersh and Molly Hiro, Co-Chairs of NUCL 2010″

Thanks to Professor Hiro for sending along this information.