Art Spiegelman To Speak

Author, graphic artist, Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman, best known for Maus and Maus II, will speak in Puyallup. His talk, “What the %@&*! Happened to Comics?” will take place at the Liberty Theater, on March 4, at 7 p.m.. The lecture is part of Pierce College’s 2009-2010 Artists and Speakers Series.

Tickets are $12, $5 for Pierce College students, and are available at the Office of Student Life, College Center building, Room 210, Pierce College Puyallup, 1601 39th Ave. SE, or online at Ticketmaster.

Award-Winning Animator (and Alum) to Visit Campus

Puget Sound alum Scott Bateman (class of 1986) will visit campus on October 5 (Monday).  He will discuss “The Life and Art of an Animator” at 4:00 p.m. in Wyatt 109, and he will also screen some of his animations.  The presentation is free and open to the public, and it’s sponsored by the Writers’ Guild and the Dolliver NEH Professorship.

Scott’s first animated feature film, Atom Age Vampire, is screening as an Official Selection at the Tacoma Film Festival on Sunday, October 4 at 4:30 PM at Grand Cinema. More info at http://www.grandcinema.com/page.php?id=43 and http://www.atomagevampire.org
Links to other animations by Scott may be found at

http://batemanimation.com/

Incidentally, Scott used to draw cartoons for The Trail.

“Where The Wild Things Are”: Preview and Fundraiser

Writer, professor, and Puget Sound alum Jared Leising has sent along information about a preview screening of the film (based on the famous children’s book), Where the Wild Things Are. Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze co-wrote the screenplay, and Eggers will participate in a brief Q&A before the screening, which takes place on October 7 (7:00 p.m.) at the Cinerama in Seattle.

The screening will help raise money for 826 Seattle, a non-profit group that provides workshops and tutorials to students (age 6-18) on creative and expository writing and on acquiring English–free of charge.  826 Seattle is always interested in hearing from potential volunteers, as well. A link:

http://www.826seattle.org/

Poet and fiction-writer Jared Leising earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Houston after graduating from Puget Sound and before teaching in the Seattle area.

Graphic-Novel About Ted Kennedy

Writer Patrick Gavin at Politico.com reports that Bluewater Productions is publishing a graphic-novel about the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The working-title of the novel is “Political Power: Ted Kennedy,” and the novel  will now need to be revised because of Kennedy’s death, Gavin notes.  Bluewater Productions has already published graphic-novels about Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Here is a link to Gavin’s article:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26511.html

Tacoma Literati go Graphic

If you are in Tacoma, or within driving distance, you have the chance to participate in discussions of the Next Big Thing: the graphic novel. Our treasured local resource, King’s Books, is hosting a series of discussions on some of the finer graphic novels out there. Sadly, they have already covered Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, a huge favorite of mine and a staple of several English department syllabi.

To follow up on the previous post, one of Puget Sound’s distinguished speakers this past year was graphic artist Scott McCloud, clear evidence that your dedicated English Department remains on the cutting edge of literary trends and topics, while retaining our focus on the tried and true.

Next meeting of the Graphic Novel Discussion Club is July 6, 7 p.m., at 1022 S. J St., to discuss Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, a work that has appeared on both Professor Mahato’s and Professor Nimura’s Puget Sound syllabi.

Cartoons and Comedians In New York City

(image courtesy of Scott Bateman)

Following up on a recent post about alum Scott Bateman–http://upsenglish.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/puget-sound-alum-is-award-winning-cartoonist/–we’ll mention that the “Scott Bateman Animation Show” is scheduled for July 2-3 in New York. If you happen to be, or to live, in the neighborhood, try to catch the show, which will feature not only Scott’s animation but also the commentary of comedians Janeane Garafolo, Pete Holmes,  and Jamie Kilstein.

Details:

Start Time:

Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 9:30pm

End Time:	Friday, July 3, 2009 at 10:45am
Location:	Peoples Improv Theater
Street:	154 West 29th Street, 2nd Floor
City/Town:	New York, NY

Puget Sound Alum Is Award-Winning Cartoonist

Scott Bateman, a Puget Sound alum, is a nationally known, widely published (and produced, as in animated video) cartoonist–who once drew cartoons for The Trail, we might add.  One collection of Scott’s work is Scott Bateman’s Sketchbook of Secrets & Shame, in which his drawing are paired with short prose pieces by a spectrum of writers. Scott’s work also appears in Salon.com–including the recent short animated carton, “John McCain vs. Healthcare”:

http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/comedy/2009/06/17/bateman_mccain_health/index.html?source=video&aim=/ent/video_dog/comedy