Literary Comedy

I am a little short on time this wonderful Friday morning, so I must keep it brief. I have so many great post ideas coming your way (time permitting), but for right now I thought I would check in and offer a little PhD comedy in place of a traditional Cocktail Tidbit. It has been a very interesting, stressful, and fun week. I got to know some of my fellow grads a little better, I had some interesting new discussions about my dissertation, and I learned a lot about teaching new material this week. I also realized, thanks to some conversations with friends who read this blog, that I am not always good on keeping my blog promises  - I haven't even mentioned how the Midnight's Children Book Club went. So now that I am aware, I have a new system, and I promise I will blog about it (how could I not? It was awesome!). Anyway, I stumbled on this gem of a website recently while researching helpful grad student resources, and this particular strip reminded me very much of a conversation I had recently with my mother.

Strip from www.phdcomics.com 

I also picked this up from a friend of mine - it warmed my heart a little :) 

Literary Meme Part 2

Here is the second part of my Literary Meme project - check out Part 1 as well.


27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Everyday in Tuscany by Frances Mayes – whenever I feel like I need a break or a deep drink from the well, I turn to one of her Tuscany books. This one is her most recent travelogue, and it never fails to straighten me out.
28. Favorite reading snack?
Pumpkin seeds – sprinkled with lime juice and cayenne pepper, and roasted in the oven.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I am weird in that if a book gains a lot of hype, is everywhere, and everyone gets to read it before me, I often never get around to picking it up. A good example of this is The Kite Runner. It has been many years since it was popular, but here it sits on my shelf unread. It is not that I feel above reading popular books – I do this often, but it is possible that there is a “reading window” for a hyped book that once passed is hard to find again.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I find myself often liking critically acclaimed books – sometimes more often than most people who are more drawn to popular books, but then there are many deviations. For example, I just found out recently that Sarah Vowell’s Wordy Shipmates is her least loved history book. Even though I have not read everything by her yet, I find that I adore Wordy Shipmates – even more than some of her other work. When this happens, my friends and family chalk it up to my nerd factor.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I do not have a lot of experience with this, but there are a few books that are considered indispensable classics to which I would give a bad review. It makes me nervous to do this, however, since I know that they have their merit and that many colleagues would heartily disagree with my views.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Hindi and Urdu – I have never had the opportunity to learn these languages, but I would love to be able to read some of my favorite stories in the original.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
In the past I was extremely intimidated by many works of theory – probably the most intimidating to read (and I am not even through all of it yet) is Lefebvre’s The Production of Space. However, now I do not find it as intimidating.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
I am a little nervous about beginning A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth – do you know how large this thing is? My edition is 1474 pages in teeny-tiny print!
35. Favorite Poet?
The only poet that I have read for absolute pleasure and of my own free will is Pablo Neruda. I have one edition of his original works with translations. I have not picked it up in a long while, but he might be my favorite. Oh, and I also really like Rumi’s poems –especially the ones about wine.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
I am at a low point right now with only two books checked out, but in a typical semester I have an average of 6 checked out at any one time.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
When I had course work, I would often get 6 library books per class for term papers, but never get around to reading them all.
38. Favorite fictional character?
This is too difficult, but I will say that one of my favorite fictional characters is Beatrice in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Again, this is too hard, but I do love Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost – best Satan ever.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
My guilty pleasure vacation books often consist of historical adventure novels in the likeness of Dan Brown’s books – I never can remember the authors and most of them are badly written, but I still love them.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Including newspapers, magazines, or blogs? Probably the eight hours that I sleep every night, but if we are talking about books alone – maybe a week.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Here comes a guilty confession: I never did finish Native Son by Richard Wright. This is one of the classics I mentioned above where I can absolutely see the merit, but I just could not make it to the end. This is odd, since I really enjoy his travel writing and some of his other works, but for some reason I just could not stand this novel.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Talking or TV
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
BBC Pride and Prejudice, of course
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
The 2005 adaptation of P&P with Knightley – it was so bad.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Over $300, but that was back in college when I bought all my books at once.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Never really, unless it is a book that I am unlikely to buy/read.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
I have to constantly snap back into focus to get through one page – I read for a living, so I don’t exactly have time to read books that cannot even keep my attention.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
My books are organized by period and/or geographic region, but they are not alphabetized – I know where they all are.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I prefer to keep them if I like them – you never know when you will need to consult them in the future.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
My anthology of American Literature which I will need to consult soon so I can create my syllabus.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
I took a job to edit a book manuscript once – I cannot even remember the name of it now, but it was the most awful crap that I have ever read, and I am not even talking about the writing style. It was racist, xenophobic, and sexist. Of course I did not know this until I was half way through the damn thing, so I had to finish editing it.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald. It is a children’s book that I had to read for a class and which I thought would bore me to tears, but it was a very beautifully crafted 19th century children’s book.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
This only happened once with Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. I was embarrassed that I did not like this book since it was so widely loved and so relevant to my work, but I picked it up again almost a year after I first read it with new eyes. Now I love the book!
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Any of the works from my favorite Diaspora writers are both pleasurable and guilt-free since I often use them for my work.

Literary Meme Part 1

Do you know what a meme is? Lately I have seen "memes" everywhere. At first I thought it was just another hip thing that I did not understand. I rely a lot on my much cooler friends to keep me in the loop. Then I discovered that a Meme is nothing more than an idea, behavior, or style which passes from person to person in a culture. Memes have been around forever. I remember writing "memes" in letters for my pen pals. Anyway, I thought I would finally jump on the band wagon of 21st century memes. I have one of my favorite blogs to thank for this exercise, but I am going to split it up since I am sure I am the only one who likes to read about reading this much.

1. Favorite childhood book?
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
2. What are you reading right now?
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez and Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None at the moment, but I am expecting a surge in the following week.
4. Bad book habit?
I read some books over and over and over, just reading the parts I like to relax because I know they will satisfy me.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Approaches to Teaching Gothic Fiction and The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Not yet; I am holding off until the perfect one arrives and until all the books I need are digitized.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I prefer to read one book at a time, but in my profession I often have several books going at a time – some for teaching, some for working, and, if there is time at the end of the day, one for pleasure.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I would not say that they have changed drastically, but writing about what I want to read and what I will read definitely inspires me to move ahead with the actual reading. I guess you could say that if I had not written about OneHundred Years so often, it would still be gathering dust on the shelf.
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Much of the literature anthology that I must teach from for my Introduction to Lit class – I find myself rarely using its “analytical” sections because they are too elementary for my taste.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
That would probably be Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies, although One Hundred Years is shaping up to be an all time favorite.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often. I read so much for my two jobs and for my personal gratification, that it does not leave a lot of time to read books that I either do not like or do not spark my interest. That being said, I read a wide variety of texts all year long, so my comfort zone is quite large.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
The center of this zone would definitely be British Literature and specifically 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st century Brit Lit.
13. Can you read on the bus?
I can read just about anywhere.
14. Favorite place to read?
I like curling up on the couch or in my reading chair.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I do not mind lending books at all.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Yes, I highlight, underline, and dog ear some of my books – I prefer active reading if it is a book that I will work with or teach. However I have many books that are in pristine condition.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
I do more highlighting or underlining than writing in the margins, but I will often have a notation or two – many of the books I read and work with are extremely long and complex with winding narrative structures, so it helps me to use colored tabs and notes to mark significant moments.
18. Not even with text books?
Actually, I am less likely to mark in textbooks – at least this is how I worked in college. I was more likely to return textbooks than my novels and anthologies, so I rarely marked them up.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English – and linguistically/culturally hybridized versions of English.
20. What makes you love a book?
I love books that transport me out of myself; that make me want to write entire dissertations on them; and that inspire me to live the life I want to be living.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
As many of my family and friends know, I often recommend certain books that I think they will like. Most people ask me for these recommendations because they have never read anything in my field before – so usually my recommendations are driven by the desire to entice them with the best selections.
22. Favorite genre?
The Novel
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Poetry. Let me clarify: I read a lot of poetry compared to most people, but most of it is excerpted in novels or for the classes that I teach. I rarely read poetry for pleasure or intellectual curiosity – this is not for a lack of desire to do so, but I often feel adrift in a sea of poetic works and authors with no guidance. Since I am limited on time and already have to read so much, poetry often falls by the wayside.
24. Favorite biography?
Queen Noor’s biography – I typically like reading about extraordinary women; although I have enjoyed many fine biographies of men.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
When I was younger I read self-help books all the time – mostly things like SARK and Spilling Open which are self-help, but artistic responses to those needs.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Cat Cora’s Classics With A Twist – I love this woman’s approach to cooking and to life in general. Cat Cora organizes my ideal type of cookbook – with just enough anecdotes and serving tips to make me dream about all the ways I want to use her recipes.

Celebrate Banned Books Week

The web is all atwitter with articles about Banned Books Week which is September 24-October 1. Since I am in the business of studying, reading, and teaching books, I cannot help but see the value in drawing attention to the fact that books are banned and challenged every year. For many people, the idea of banned books is something removed by space and/or time - oh that happened during the Red Scare, in ancient times, in third world countries, etc. But today? No way! In America? Yeah right! Well I hate to be the one delivering bad news, but even in this paragon of freedom land and even in 2011, books are still the subject of much debate. What follows are some resources and articles which are meant as food for thought. Maybe you or someone you know is reading a banned book right now - how does this knowledge change the way you read the book? I welcome your comments, your resources or additional links, or your experiences with banned/challenged books. Take a look, leave a comment.

For a quick survey of the current state of Banned/Challenged books, take a look at "The Top Ten Banned or Challenged Books of 2010" on the Huffington Post. This infographic allows you to scan the book labels and explore the reasons why certain books are banned/challenged.

It is possible that you are wondering about the larger significance of banned/challenged books or you have at least faced questions as to why keeping young people from reading "adult" literature is a controversial issue. It is not as black and white as you think. Too many comments about banned books are mean exchanges about liberals and conservatives - yes, I take issue with the fact that books about homosexuality are often banned/challenged, but I also take issue with the fact that the Bible and Koran are banned/challenged - I am an equal opportunity opponent to banning books.

And I am not the only one: Take a look at remarks from the President of the American Library Association on how Censorship is Alive and Well and how it is linked to Banned Books Week. Another article, "On Being Banned" by Dalma Heyn, is by one of many authors whose work has been banned or challenged and who explores the implications of these experiences. You can also check out the official Banned Books Week website for featured events, a youtube banned book reading project, and resources/data on banned books. There is even a "Mapping Censorship" Map which shows the locations in the US where challenges and bans occur - you might be surprised by the pattern!

Finally, here is a blog devoted to reviewing and reading Banned Books all year. What I like about this blog is the amount of research per post - for all the skeptics out there regarding banned/challenged books, this blogger provides direct quotes from the groups/individuals who want to ban/challenge specific books.

What do you think about banned books?

National Book Festival 2011: Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell

I finally made it out to the book festival this year. What a sight! Even with the weather threatening rain, there were so many people there! I was actually blown away by the numbers. You know, sometimes I can feel a little alone in my adoration of The Book, but seeing the festival cured me of that notion. I mean, it is one thing to read books, to own a lot, or to study them - but it is another thing altogether to get your butt out of bed on a Saturday morning and drive/metro/walk to meet up with a bunch of other book-loving nerds. It made me feel awesome. We did not stay long at the Festival since my roommate and I had other plans, but we did see Sarah Vowell talk about her latest book Unfamiliar Fishes. What a riot! I knew she was funny in her writing, and my roommate is familiar with her radio career, but she surprised me with her off-the-cuff comedy and witty responses to the questions. Early on in her talk she was reading the passage about the banyan tree in Hawaii when she paused and said, "for those of us in the profession, this is a symbol...It is nice to know that even our trees are imperialists.'' It loses something in me recording it here, but it was so funny that I laughed out loud. One fan told her that she teaches English and before she could go on with her question, Vowell said "Heard of it."

Check out the crowd for Vowell's presentation!

When Vowell began speaking, I, who never heard her radio broadcasts, was surprised by her voice. It was familiar because of her character on the Incredibles, but it was not how I pictured her sounding in my head while I read her books. I also, to be honest, thought she was kind of nerdy (which is not a bad thing) - and then she unleashed the funny. I discovered that not only was she an engaging and exciting speaker, but also that she was able to make great jokes out of literature, language, and books - my kind of comedic material.

My bad phone camera - Vowell Speaking

Now I have a confession to make. Apart from Stephen Greenblatt who came a few years back to speak at my campus, this is really the first reading I have ever attended where I knew and loved the author's work. Oh sure, I have been to plenty of poetry readings and a few authors have visited my classrooms before, but this was really my first experience with an official author reading.

Part of the reason for this is, as you know, I have often been unable to take advantage of the opportunities to see my favorite authors because of work, but it is possible too that I do not have the same desire as other book lovers to meet the authors of my favorite works. Weird, right? This is just conjecture, but when I saw how long the line was to get my book signed by Vowell, I walked away in favor of grabbing an afternoon cocktail. I really wanted her autograph, but not enough to stand in a line for an hour. Maybe I am just content with the reading side of the equation? I don't know.

Check out the Book Signing Line - Too Long for an Autograph
By Barbara K on DCist

 I did walk away with an awesome National Book Festival poster that I will be hanging on my office wall - it needs to be spruced up. And you can bet, that schedule willing, I will be back again in 2012. Did you make it to the Festival? Please share your experiences with me! Oh and for those of you who could not make it, the Library of Congress is trying to create a web page full of videos of the talks and other events. I will keep an eye out for it to pass it along.

Literary Doctor

I would like to thank a friend of mine for this fun little graphic and the theme of my Friday Cocktail Tidbit which explains the real reason why I haven't thrown in the towel yet. In my former workplace, my office mate would answer our phone with "Dr. (my name here)'s office." This was inaccurate for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that we were working for a document control agency in the basement of the pentagon and not a "doctor's" office. Of course I cannot really call myself Dr. yet, but this title often proves to be too tempting for my family and friends. This has sparked a number of conversations about the term "Doctor." I have heard it all over the years: "Why would you call yourself a doctor if you do not have a medical degree?" "Why is doctor used for both physicians and PhD holders?" "What are you a 'doctor' of?"
What most people don't realize is that "Doctor" originates from the latin word "docere" which means "to teach." Originally, the only people who were called doctors were those who studied at university (normally attached to a church or other religious establishment). As institutions of learning began breaking away from religious ties, a variety of degrees and programs were formed. Here is where some controversy arises. I have heard that physicians, seeking to raise up their profession in the eyes of others, "stole" the title. Believe it or not, medicine as a practice was not always looked on with the same reverence and esteem as in modern times. Others have told me that, as the profession of medicine became more established, it began to require a "doctorate" degree, and therefore, it was not "stealing" so much as "joining the ranks." Still, some posit that even today, "doctors" do not really deserve the title because they do not get actual "doctorates" or "PhDs." They get an "M.D." which is more similar to a professional degree like a "J.D." for law than a PhD is for us poor suffering souls. I am not an expert, and I admit that most of this information came from wikipedia. The point is that I will have just as much right (if not significantly more), to call myself Doctor once I complete my PhD. - so there. In the meantime, just try not to jinx me, please.

Literary Breath of Fresh Air

From KidCulture

Okay guys, I am not going to lie. This week kicked my ass a little bit. I know I promised you an awesome post about seeing the amazing Toni Morrison in person for the first time, but instead I consoled my nearly inconsolable baby sis about her dearly departed rabbit. As a kind of consolation for me, I have had some amazing discussions with people about Morrison leading up to this event. Of course I went around telling everyone my plans to see her which always led to either a "hey, which one of her books is your favorite?" (Beloved) or "hmm...that's nice, what has she written?" Both of these questions, of course, have set me off on extended discussions of Morrison's work (well longer discussions than most people want to have about literature anyway). I am still disappointed that I did not make the event. This is not the first time that I have missed out on a cool event on my campus, and if it is a late night event, well that is difficult with the long commute (to which I ascribe at least 30% of my stress each week since Vdot seems to be conspiring against all commuters at the moment).
So after missing the event, having a long conversations with my adviser (not bad, mind you, but weighty), and being less than prepared for my morning class, I was dragging by 1pm. I felt like the week had just caught up with me, and I was dreading my other obligations. The first breath of fresh air was meeting with a new graduate student. I am her "mentor," but really it is more like a cheerleader or therapist. Well at least that is how I imagine it because that is what I would have wanted when I was a new graduate student. However she sees it, we had a great conversation. We grabbed some coffee, grabbed a bench, and passed an hour talking about her classes, her teachers, her commute; then my classes, my work, and my commute. Our conversation gave me a boost that I desperately needed. It reconnected me to my graduate community and inspired me to think about my work day differently. And I cannot tell you how nice it is to talk to someone who works in my field - a rarity in my experience. I look forward to knowing her better, and hopefully, being useful in some way to her graduate school experience.
The second breath of fresh air was my evening class. I do not want to short-change my morning class because this week the discussions have been off the charts. They really took to Frankenstein and we became so involved in discussion that I ran over time every time. It was really great. But even these great classes did not make me feel as well as my evening class tonight. I was in a kind of slump. I felt like I had been repeating some approach that wasn't working. I felt like they were tired of me, tired of the class (which in hindsight was probably just my projecting my exhaustion onto them), and tired of the semester already. So today I had kind of low expectations for myself, but after I started - I got on a roll! By the end of the class, I had students coming up to me and saying that it was the most interesting class about poetry they've ever had (which may not be saying as much as I think it does) and even thanking me for the class! And yes, we have entered the poetry unit with which, as you may remember, I have struggled in the past. Today I began with some of my old tricks - youtube clips exploring the different ways in which we experience poetry (and a clip from Dead Poets Society which makes them alternately laugh and think). Finally we went over useful terms and two Shakespeare sonnets - 130 and 18 - which I really thought would be a kind of tough sell since I am pretty sure it is the earliest work in English that they've covered. But I was wrong. Once I went over the first poem with them, after having one student read it out loud, and once I showed them how to use the terms to discuss the poem, they took to the second quickly - making observations that impressed me. And best of all, they liked Shakespeare - they liked the whole discussion. This probably should not be seen as a major accomplishment (considering the material), but it seriously lifted my spirits to see their interest.
So I am sorry that I do not have a great Toni Morrison post, but I did have a great class on poetry. Until tomorrow, then.

A Good Reason to Use Commas

Teaching Persepolis today, but I will not be able to blog about it until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this seriously good reason to use the Oxford Comma (courtesy of http://i.imgur.com/5LdZT.jpg)

Literary Plagiarism

Today was just another day where I can hardly bring myself to write this post since I have been staring at a computer for the past six hours. Between student emails, graduate student board work, and my own lesson planning, I am tired out. And I still have to write my lesson plans for Frankenstein. But that may have to wait until tomorrow. Even though I know exactly what I want to talk about, I am not sure what else to bring to the discussion. I have a lot of options - Frankenstein is by no means lacking in critical points of view, cultural references, and interesting biographical details. I am considering some film clips, but possibly for the second half of the book. And they cannot be extensive since we are covering a film adaptation of the book later in the semester. Any suggestions?

The surprising event of the day goes to my first case of plagiarism for this semester. Are you as shocked as I am that it has happened already? We have only been a few weeks into the semester and I have this monstrosity of a plagiarized, easily googleable, essay in front of my face. It makes me want to punch something or cry. But I will tell you why this time is different from all the other cases that I have experienced. It dawned on me while I was writing the reproachful and disappointed email to my student that he had tried to take this class before. Well I accessed his records and emailed his former teachers. What do you know, I am not the only professor to deal with this particular problem with this particular student. I am in the process of emailing my boss to see exactly how to proceed, but throughout this communication process I was reminded by a few blog posts I read about the difficulty with a plagiarism policy in colleges across the U.S. We are, for the most part, allowed to set our own policy regarding plagiarism as long as it is clearly outlined on our syllabus. The problem with this, of course, is that these issues are typically handled "in-house" and rarely end up on the student's record (unless you count  withdrawal or F as a record of such behavior). So what is a college to do? Let the student keep trying to get away with plagiarized work over and over? What do you do in my position? Slap him on the wrist and give him a second chance (even though he has a history of these attempts)? Should it be class-by-class and case-by-case or is zero tolerance better?

I will, of course, keep you updated, and I promise more interesting and energetic posts to come this week.

Recent Acquisitions

Apologies for missing out on Cocktail Tidbit Friday again, but I could not bring myself to spend one more minute sitting at a computer. Instead I drank wine and shopped with my mom - perfect study break! Well I did spend the whole morning sending feedback to my students on their outlines, so I thought a little fun was in order.

Anyway, I have been in love with checking the mail everyday this week because I finally got around to ordering some much needed books and films. So far my recent acquisitions include three movies: ABCD, Chutney Popcorn, and Mississippi Masala; and two books: Arranged Marriage: Stories by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez.

The films and the book by Divakaruni are for my dissertation project since my main adviser is recommending that I include more films in my repertoire. But the book...well I am a little ashamed that I have not gotten around to reading it before now. Many people have recommended it to me and it is very important even from a scholarly perspective since it is one of the "classic" magical realist texts. I have only just begun reading it, but I am already to page 130. I remember my cousin had to read this for a class, and she recommended it to me as something I would really enjoy - she was right! I am going to save up most of my observations and praise for when I finish the book, but let me just say that I am enjoying the heck out of this book. It is right up my alley. Anyone who is looking to dip a toe into the realm of magical realist novels should consider this one. Stay tuned for a full book review when I get around to finishing it.

In the meantime I am rereading Frankenstein in preparation for my classes this week. This will be my fourth time reading it, but my second time teaching it. Even so, I will never get tired of enjoying this book. Also, since I have read it so often and just taught it last spring, I have more time to look around at additional sources, critical articles, and biographies of Mary Shelley - what fun!

I will be signing off now, but know that I have some fun posts planned for this week including my experiment with teaching a graphic short from Persepolis (as well as parts of the film) by Marjane Satrapi, my experience with hearing Toni Morrison speak for the first time, and, of course, my review of One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Literary Gift Idea

I would love to write a longer post today, but since I have been in front of this computer for seven straight hours (making excellent prospectus progress, I assure you), this little one must suffice.
Ever wonder what gifts to get the literature-lovers in your life? Check out this amazing site called Out of Print Clothing. Not only do they offer a wide variety of awesome book cover T-shirts, they will donate a book when you buy one to a child in need through Books for Africa! How awesome is that? Their selections seem maybe a little heavy on the Americanist side, but I would never turn down a book cover by Morrison or Angelou (and to be fair, they do have Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice). So bookmark the site for your next gift-giving holiday and consider purchasing one of these t-shirts. If you do, please leave a comment! Also, if you know of other great sites for literature-lover gift ideas, please pass them on!

Literary Monday

I am finally on a roll and, of course, I come to a semi-grinding halt because I am sick. As far as I can tell, it is a normal head-cold, but it makes me nervous. I tend to get strep and the last thing I want is more antibiotics, but I am fairly familiar with the symptoms, and these seem mild. Despite the exhaustion and low fever, I have been lesson planning all day and am happy to say that I have some great stuff planned for this week...if I start getting better and not worse. I cannot get worse! I have an important meeting tomorrow with my advisers, so cross your fingers for me, please.

I have also had time, since I am keeping a low profile today, to go through my student's blackboard posts for their creative writing assignment. This is the first time that I have used a creative writing exercise in a literature class, but I am very pleasantly surprised with the results. Some of the students finished the story completely, and some left another cliff-hanger. All of them picked up on some very interesting Gothic details and most of them came up with some clever plot twists. One student even wrote her ending in rhyming verse! (I offered extra credit for extra effort at authenticity). Not every student participated, taking a 20 point hit, but from what I can tell - they gave it a good go. I am planning on mentioning each ending in class, highlighting what I like best about each one. I would like to encourage a dialogue since it helps them picture themselves as part of a community of scholars and continues the conversation in after-class hours. Only a few students have commented on their peers' posts since I encouraged them to do this. I expect I will see more by tomorrow morning. Some of these replies are detailed and very observant. They comment on the use of Gothic details and the ways in which the endings reminded them of specific texts in class. One even offers a bit of respectful criticism to help the ending have more of an impact. I am loving this! This is definitely something I am considering using again next term. 

I am feeling a little worn out, but I want to add that Friday was a very good day for me. I made some excellent progress on my proposal - I only hope it is what my advisers are looking for. It is not in shape to turn in, but I should have a viable draft by the end of this week - even if this head cold turns nasty. I am signing off now, but stay tuned for developments (I have some more experiments for class) and a post on what to get the literature-lovers in your life. 

Fall Workshops and Rainy Days

This rain just won't stop! I admit it is dampening my spirits a little, but I know it is almost over. So Wednesday I had the opportunity to meet with my graduate student board which was great fun. I can feel so disconnected sometimes from that community and my friends since I live far away and do not have course work anymore, so I enjoyed getting to hang out with them for an hour (I would have stayed longer, but I did not have enough change for the meter). Anyway, it got me very excited for the coming semester, and a little anxious about getting it all done. This is okay - a little anxiety can be good for me. I am looking forward to planning the workshops, but especially the teaching workshop series which will be a three-part thing involving technology, pedagogy, and composition teaching skills (a necessity for most eng-grads looking for teaching posts). The other exciting development is that I will be in charge of keeping up a blog for our board - posting my fellow members' upcoming events or advice, and updating the graduate students on news in the field or tips on how to survive graduate school. It sounds like so much fun!
As I told you before, I am also on the adjunct committee at my other campus, but have not been able to make a meeting yet (scheduling conflicts); however, I proposed an idea for a workshop that I really hope they will like and let me run (cross your fingers). It will be about utilizing technology in the classroom and in teaching - you would be amazed about how many questions I get from adjuncts in the lounge regarding my electronic teaching files - and I am nowhere near the most tech-savvy teacher out there!
So yes, I may be biting off more than I can chew this semester, but I am finally feeling excited about it all again - a feeling, you may remember, that left me last spring, so all in all it is a good development.
So what am I reading on these rainy days? Mostly student papers and class texts, but I have ambitions to finally pick up a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude to keep by my bed for fun reading - I am tired of reading/writing about it without having read all of it! The other item on my reading list this weekend is for a class, but I could read it for fun over and over. It is Jhumpa Lahiri's The Third and Final Continent. It is a short story, but powerful, and I think will offer you all an interesting glimpse into my reading world. If you have the time check it out here.
 I sadly do not have a cocktail tidbit for today, but I encourage you to leave a comment about your rainy day reads (or blackout reads as is the case for the south-west) - in other words, what do you curl up with in dark or the rain to read?
Stay tuned for the results of my creative writing experiment in the classroom and my first fall adviser meeting since the spring.

I Love Teaching English

To start with, let me announce that some of my graduate student exploits are being featured on Musings on Life After College by PostCollegiate (a fantastic, funny, and interesting blog about life after college - or in my case, life eternally in academia), so check it out!
I had a dream last night that I woke up to another earthquake. At least the teacher anxiety dreams are gone for the time being. I am dragging a little this morning, so I thought I would give you a teaching update since we are half way through the second and third weeks. For the most part, my lessons have gone off without a hitch. My students are engaged, they haven't objected to doing anything that I ask. I have been, in most cases, over-prepared for each class, so each session has felt productive and fun. I am slowly getting to know the students and have almost all their names memorized. Yesterday I received my first odd question in the introductory course. A male student who seems smart, but not overly motivated, asked me if all of the texts we will read this semester are about women. Now I did purposely plan a women-issue-themed plan of action for that class because otherwise it is too difficult for the students to see the connections between the texts and the semester as a whole. I tried a bunch of random fun reads over the summer, but they seemed to struggle with that. I could have picked any theme, but I thought this one was interesting and important, and it lets me cover a wide variety of texts from different periods (from Chaucer to Jhumpa Lahiri). He admitted that he struggled getting through the text for that day ("I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen) because he couldn't relate to it. I thought it was interesting that he did not feel the same way about "The Yellow Wallpaper" or "The Story of an Hour" - but I was not overly surprised that he had trouble with the Olsen text. Many of these students (male or female) find it hard to relate because the lives of these women are so far removed from their experiences (motherhood, the great depression) and often they do not have the cultural vocabulary to root out the important issues. That is why I spend a significant amount of time devising questions to make them come around to the realization that these texts are in fact related to their everyday lives. I had to cut it short with Olsen because I had writing lessons too, so maybe it was not as effective as the other discussions. The student did say that he got a lot more out of it after we discussed it in class, but still wondered about the texts ahead. I told him to look at the syllabus and that, yes, many of them deal with women's issues, but that is not our sole focus for each of these texts. He seemed marginally reassured after this conversation, and I am banking on the fact that he will like the modern texts better regardless of their theme.

Then, in my Gothic-themed literature survey class, I goofed up and thought I had assigned both "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Christabel" on the same day. I reached the end of class with a discussion of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and was bummed that we did not have time to talk about "Christabel," when one of my students alerted me to the fact that none of them had read it for that day. Oops, I must have misread my master lesson schedule. The good news was that we did not have to rush through "Christabel"; the bad news is that I do not know if I want to only talk about "Christabel" for an entire class period. So I was thinking of what else we could do to shake it up. And then it hit me as I was whining to my roommate about my dilemma - "Christabel" is an unfinished Gothic poem...so why not let them finish it? In the last couple classes we have discussed, at length, what constitutes a Gothic text and even read a sarcastic essay which included a "recipe" for a Gothic story. We've read Coleridge's complaints about The Monk and I lectured them on his intentions for texts like the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Several of my students are Creative Writing - English combo majors (something I feel like I see more and more often these days), so why not make this an assignment that is both instructional and creative? They can demonstrate their understanding of the concepts we went over as well as an understanding of Coleridge's personal style - all while imagining the end of the story. I suppose I have been hesitant to include creative writing assignments in my literature classes because I feel like I always have my hands full with just trying to get them to master academic writing, but this semester I am testing new waters. I remember having to do only one or two creative writing assignments in my undergraduate English classes, and I loved them both (but sadly I cannot remember why we did them in the first place).
What with rereading material for my classes and wading through a mountain of texts for my new dissertation proposal, I have not been reading anything new lately. Today will be the first time I get to talk about my professional development ideas, and I still owe my adviser an email - stay tuned for more exciting developments in the life of a BritLit grad student.

Literary Donations - Hurricane Irene Damage

This post is overdue, but I guess it is better late than never. Those of us located on the East Coast have experienced some pretty unusual disasters lately, and even though they are relatively minor compared to what the rest of the country goes through on a more regular basis, it behoves me to consider the impact these events have had on sites near and dear to my heart. When the earthquake rocked the mid-atlantic, jokes abounded in the "damage" sustained (a box of popcorn falling, pictures hanging crooked), but one of the most impressive stories for me had to do with libraries. Thousands of books flew off the shelves in libraries all over the region. Not surprising if you have ever seen library shelves or stacks - rickety, narrow, and easily joslted. Still, this is mostly inconvient - not to say that having to reshelve thousands of books in a specific order is a small job. However, in comparison to the damage caused by the recent hurricane - Irene - it is minor. Whole libraries up the East Coast have sustained damage to their buildings, not to mention incredible losses in their collections. Flooding is the enemy of books, and much of the northeast experinced massive flooding. For many, this is hardly a travesty - can't they just replace the books? Who goes to libraries anymore anyway? The short answer is no, they can't just replace every book - what with library funding suffering due to attitudes like this and the questionable future of libraries in this country. One library suffered the loss of its entire children's collection - the last thing new generations need is limited access to reading material. I do not know about you, but my love of reading was born in libraries - in the idea that (for free) I had an unlimited supply of entertainment, instruction, and pleasure. I am still a big supporter of libraries despite my objections to some of their current strategies. In the spirit of service, I am asking that, for at least this week, you support them as well. Visit this link to read about libraries in need of replacement books or your monetary donations because of Hurricane Irene. If you would like information on helping to resupply the lost children's collection, click here. The start of Fall is a perfect time to comb through your books to see if you have any that you can spare for this act of service. Titles on my donation list: Anne of Green Gables (an illustrated edition), Haroun and the Sea of Stories, and two copies of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (I am always getting additional copies from publishers around the country). Please feel free to share your own donated titles in the comments section.

Friday Cocktail Tidbit: Fall Literary Events

Well the week finally caught up with me yesterday, and I found myself dragging by 5:00. Nevertheless, I rallied for my last class of the week and, upon returning home for the night, watched two hours of project runway. Not exactly the most productive activity, but it felt right for my overburdened mind. That is not all I did - I spent at least an hour and a half free-writing for my prospectus, so there.

Anyway, I have some handy information for this week's cocktail tidbit. Maybe you are looking to expand your cultural horizons or take a break from working on literature to enjoy literature, or maybe you just want to get some books signed by your favorite authors. Whatever the case may be, I have some opportunities coming up in September that might just blow your socks off:

First, Toni Morrison, celebrated Nobel Prize and Pulitzer-prize winning American author, editor, and professor, is coming to the nation's capital on Wednesday September 21 to do a reading and speak about her life. And by the way, if you have not read at least one novel by this woman, you need to get it together. For details on the event and to rsvp (for a free ticket) click here.

Second, George Mason University located in NOVA is hosting a "Fall for the Book" Festival from September 18th-23rd. Check out the schedule here to see the large variety of authors at this event as well as unique panels on a wide range of topics. Unsurprisingly, there are quite a few panels and readings devoted to civil war literature (you know this year marks the beginning of the 150th anniversary of the US Civil War, right?)

Finally the National Book Festival, hosted this year by the Obamas and the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C. takes place on September 24-25. Check out the schedule here. This Festival will provide you another opportunity to see Toni Morrison as well as a number of other famous authors including Sarah Vowell (one of my favorite authors of history books) and Amy Chua (author of that controversial book about Tiger Moms). The theme for this year is celebrating Reading Out Loud and they have several special events planned to encourage children, parents, and educators to consider the pleasures and advantages of reading out loud.

If you have any questions about these events or you have the scoop on additional literary events, please do not hesitate to shoot me an email or leave a comment. Also, if you end up attending any of these events, let me know! I am eager to hear of your literary experiences.

Happy Labor Day Weekend All!