Soup's On!

"The Soup" (1903) by Pablo Picasso

Dr. Murphy writes:  "Don't forget: Literati is sponsoring a soup lunch available in HM 345, The Salon, Wednesday, from 10:30 until all supplies are gone. 

"All ENG and Language folk are welcome to attend and bring a side dish if you'd like.  There will be a vegan chili, chicken noodle soup, veggie chili, a veggie soup with cheese tortellini and a broccoli and cheese soup. 

"Please stop by!"

Write Speeches?

Dr. Davis writes:  "The next time someone says 'What can you do with an English major?' you can point them toward this article in Salary.com:  "8 College Degrees That Will Earn Your Money Back: These Careers Are Worth the Price of College Admission" by Dawn Dugan.

"Speech of His Imperial Majesty on May 18, 1896" (1897) by Ilya Repin

Dugan writes:  "English:  What could be better? For four years you do lots of writing and reading, you talk about writing and reading, then follow up with more writing and reading. Then, the sky’s the limit. Common jobs held by English majors include:
"SPEECH WRITER
"Median Salary: $78,011
"30-Year Earnings: $4,601,086
"ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 122%
"ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 37%"

Open Mic at the Perfect Blend

"Coffee Drinking Women" (1907) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Courtney Folsom writes:  "The Perfect Blend Coffeehouse at 730 E. Main St. is hosting an open mic poetry night on Thursday, November 29th from 7pm-10pm. We are wanting to get the word out to students.

"Adults, faculty, and staff are also welcome to participate!"

Thanks for the heads up, Dr. Murphy

OLAF 17

Langston Hughes

The East Central University Department of English and Languages and the Center of Continuing Education and Community Services hosted the 17th Annual Oklahoma Literary Arts Festival on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012, at the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center as part of the Scissortail Arts Series. The keynote presentation of the day, "On the Road with Langston Hughes," was performed by acclaimed Chautauqua historical interpreter Charles Everett Pace.  Langston Hughes was the first African American writer to make his living exclusively from his writing. A true “people’s poet,” Hughes demonstrated how humor can be marshaled as an effective tool of education, entertainment, and social critique. 

The Oklahoma Literary Arts Festival offers for high school students and teachers a series of workshops provided by members of the ECU English faculty, students, and guest artists (from 9:30-11:40 a.m.) as well as the general session (from 12:00-1:15 p.m.).  Click here to find a list of the workshop sessions offered this year.

Charles Everett Pace

Pace, a performance scholar-artist, is one of the nation’s leading solo historical performers. His body of work explores how African American leaders have helped to advance democracy in America.   Through performance, Pace has portrayed Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), Booker T. Washington (1858-1915), W.E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963), Langston Hughes (1902-1967) and Malcolm X (1925-1965).

A 17-year veteran of the Great Plains Chautauqua Society, Inc. (1991-2006), Pace has worked as a program advisor/student development specialist for the Texas Union, University of Texas at Austin. He has also taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University and Centre College (Ky.).

Pace graduated from Texarkana College in Texas with an associate’s degree, University of Texas with a bachelor of science in biology, and Purdue University with a master’s in American studies – history and anthropology.

Pace and fellow Chautauqua scholar George Frien gave the keynote address at the final Presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama at Hofstra University, Long Island, New York in 2008. Pace also performed at the 2000 Vice-Presidential Debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

STD Outbreak: Friday, November 2nd at 2 pm

The photo above was taken at our October STD meeting.
"Razzle-dazzle during the grape harvest" (1906) by Niko Pirosmani

Sigma Tau Delta, ECU’s English Honor Society, will have its third outbreak of the fall semester at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 2nd in the Tower Room of the University Center. Dr. Kelly Clasen will be our featured guest, and we expect to be reading poetry by Langston Hughes (in anticipation of this year's featured speaker at the Oklahoma Literary Arts Festival) and "The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chestnutt

Whether you are an STD regular, a lapsed STD enthusiast, or someone who is simply STD-curious, you are welcome to join us.

Steve Benton
Joshua Grasso
Faculty Co-Sponsors of STD

Submit to Dr. Walling by October 29th

"Dr. Walling reads submission to Originals" OR
"Saint Jerome" by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)?
You decide!

ECU students should submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or drama as electronic attachments to Dr. Mark Walling (mwalling@ecok.edu). The deadline is Monday, Oct. 29th.

Look Out, Grad School: Here I Come!

The ECU Writing Center presents

Graduate & Professional School Personal Statement Workshop

Thursday, 11 October 2012, 4:00-5:00 pm

Faust Hall 159

To reserve a seat, call (580-559-5312) or email us.

Literati: Poetry, Coffee, Grad School

"Still Life with Coffee Pot" (1888) by Vincent Van Gogh

The Literati Executive Board writes:
"As some of you may have heard, Literati has some interesting and fun things coming up in the next month or so. Thursday, October 25th at 3:30pm marks our poetry open-mic at Hot Shots coffee shop. Any of you who would like to read poetry (or another short, creative work) are more than welcome to join us. Or, you can just come to listen and enjoy some coffee.

"Next, many of us students are becoming more and more interested in continuing school to obtain a Master’s degree or even a PhD, but most of us don't know the first steps to take, what our main concentrations should be, and where the best places are for us to go. That is where YOU come in. We need professors who would be willing to speak with students about experiences and to give advice to some of us who want to continue our education after graduation. "The Grad Talk" is planned for Thursday, November 15 at 3:30pm in the Center for Academic Engagement (Faust 159). We would love for any/all of you to come and enlighten us with your expertise!

"Please let Dr. Murphy know if you’re interested in sharing your expertise. We hope to hear from you soon!

"Snacks provided."

Cover Your Letters

The ECU Writing Center presents

Cover Letter and Résumé Workshop

Thursday, 4 October 2012, 4:00-5:00 pm

Faust Hall 159

To reserve a seat, call (580-559-5312) or email us.

Celebrate the Linguists Among Us

Dr. Murphy writes:  "Two of our students, Noelle Hurt and Jaime Worden, had papers accepted for UCO’s Undergraduate and Graduate Language andLinguistics Conference this November.

"They are pretty excited.  Please congratulate them if you see them in the halls."

"Country Celebration" by David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690)

STD Outbreak: Friday, October 5th at 2 pm

Photo taken at the first STD meeting this semester on Sep. 7, 2012?
Or  Ilya Repin's Painting "Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901"?  You decide! 

Sigma Tau Delta, ECU’s English Honor Society, will have its second outbreak of the fall semester at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 5th in the Tower Room of the University Center. Dr. Sarah Peters will be our featured guest.

Whether you are an STD regular, a lapsed STD enthusiast, or someone who is simply STD-curious, you are welcome to join us.

Yours in STD,

Steve Benton
Joshua Grasso
Faculty Co-Sponsors of STD

The Glories of MLA

The ECU Writing Center presents

MLA Workshop

Struggling with research? Questions about citing sources? Unsure about MLA format?   

Join the Writing Center staff as we explore these and other MLA research questions.

Thursday, 27 September 2012, 4:00-5:00 pm

Faust Hall 159

To reserve a seat, call (580-559-5312) or email us.

The Mysteries of APA

The ECU Writing Center presents

APA Workshop

Struggling with research? Questions about citing sources? Unsure about APA format?   

Join the Writing Center staff as we explore these and other APA research questions.

Thursday, 20 September 2012, 4:00-5:00 pm

Faust Hall 159

To reserve a seat, call (580-559-5312) or email us.

Get Your Language and Linguistics Abstracts in by Monday!

"A Scholar" (1631) by Rembrandt van Rijn

Language & Linguistics Student Conference
Saturday, November 3, 2012
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma

Submission Deadline:
Monday, September 17, 2012
Acceptance Notification:
On or before Monday, October 1, 2012
Registration Deadline:
Monday, October 15, 2012

We invite submissions from individuals and organized panels of undergraduate and graduate students for 15-minute presentations including, but not limited to, relationships between and among language, linguistics, and their many applications: • natural and artificial languages • indigenous languages • extinct and endangered languages • American Sign Language • speech pathology and hearing sciences • language and cognition • theoretical and applied linguistics • structural, semantic, or phonological analyses • comparative grammars • discourse/text analyses • applications in pedagogy • applications in rhetoric, the arts, literature, and the humanities • applications in academic, cultural, and sociological constructs submissions should be sent as an email attachment to langconf@gmail.com by the deadline of Monday, September 17, 2012.

 Late submissions are not guaranteed consideration for presentation.
• individual submissions should consist of a titled abstract of no more than 150 words in MS Word format. Please include at the top of the abstract the title of your presentation but no personal identifying information (such as name or institution); however, please include identifying information in the body of the email message.

"The Discussion" (1899) by Edouard Vuillard

 • Panel submissions (3-4 presenters) should be sent as a single MS Word formatted document that contains the following: a 200-word description of the panel's focus (including the panel's title) and a 150-word abstract of each panelist's paper (including each abstract's title). Please note: The panel description and panelist's abstracts should be sent in one email in an attached MS Word formatted document.  No personal identifying information (such as name, institution, or presenters' email addresses) should appear on the submission document; however, please include this identifying information in the body of the email message. Presentations may be readings or visual presentations, such as PowerPoint or handouts.
Please note: All PowerPoint presentations must be PC compatible. No poster presentations will be accepted.

Authors must currently be undergraduate or graduate students who are enrolled in at least three credit hours at an accredited college or university or must have graduated with a degree no earlier than December 2011.

Presenters will receive with their paid registration a ticket to the conference luncheon, an event t-shirt and tote bag, and access to all conference events, including the keynote address. Questions regarding abstracts or presentations may be directed to langconf@gmail.com. For more information regarding conference events, please visit our conference website at http://www.uco.edu/la/english/llsc/callforpapers.asp

Learn to Do Well on an Essay Test

ECU Writing Center presents

Essay Test Workshop

  . test taking strategies

  . reading essay questions

  . spotting directive words

  . planning responses

  . writing introductions

Thursday 13 Sept. @ 4:00

Center for Academic Engagement

Faust 159  call 580-559-5312 to reserve a seat

September 18: Picnic and Spurrabration

Das Picknick  (1864) by Carl Spitzweg 

Dr. Robin Murphy writes:

Literati and Sigma Tau Delta are sponsoring a Welcome Back Picnic for the department on Tuesday, September 18th from 5-6pm (preceding Spurrabration).

Last year’s picnic was small [ed.:  see photo above], but it was nice to visit with each other outside the classroom. It’s also a good time to recruit students into clubs and to introduce new faculty and such.

The clubs will provide the meat (and some bean burgers for us ‘bean eaters’), buns, drinks, condiments, and utensil stuffs. We’ll also have door prizes.

We encourage faculty, staff and students to bring their families, invite alumni, and bring a side dish. We’d like to get a general number on attendees, so please sign up in HM 301 and encourage the majors in your classes to do the same.

Finally, we encourage people to eat, visit and then attend Spurr-erbration, which begins at 6:30 in the Regents room and ends with a reception following in the old President’s Home on-campus. (Ask Dr. Hada for more info.)

Let's Talk about Dinner

Let's Talk About It, Oklahoma!

The Oklahoma Humanities Council is sponsoring Let's Talk About It, Oklahoma!, a unique reading & discussion program that offers more than your average book club. These programs have the added bonus of a humanities scholar to broaden discussions, including several faculty and emeritus faculty from ECU's English and Languages Department.

Much Depends on Dinner
Whiteacre Room, McAlester Public Library, 6:00 pm
401 N. 2nd, McAlester
Info: 918/426-0930

October 4, The Last Chinese Chef
Presented by Dr. Trisha Yarbrough

October 25, The Tummy Trilogy
Presented by Dr. Kenneth Hada

November 1, In Defense of Food
Presented by Dr. Joshua Grasso

November 29, Secrets of the Tsil Cafe
Presented by Dr. Lewis Parkhill

These programs are free and open to the public! A special thank you to Inasmuch Foundation and Kirkpatrick Family Fund for providing funding for these programs!
McAlester is 61 miles east of Ada on OK-1.

Road Trip: Festival of International Literature and Culture

The 2012 Neustadt Festival of International Literature and Culture is a four-day festival celebrating the work of 2012 Neustadt Prize laureate Rohinton Mistry. Mistry, the renowned Indian-Canadian author, will be on the University of Oklahoma campus to receive the $50,000 Neustadt Prize and participate in a host of activities.

Opening night performances and readings on September 25th will feature dancers from the OU India Student Association, and a cast of some of Oklahoma's most notable poets, including: Dorothy Alexander, Joey Brown, Nathan Brown, Carol Hamilton, Benjamin Myers, and ECU's own Ken Hada.

Festival Date: September 25-28, 2012
Location:  Events located on the OU campus and surrounding venues in Norman, OK.
Tickets: The Neustadt Festival is free and open to the public
7:30 –9 p.m. | Norman Depot Map | !

Like Father, Like Son

Announcing the latest release of Ken Hada’s poetry:  Like Father, Like Son: A Narrative in Poetry and Guitar. This audio-chapbook in CD format (hearkens to the days  of concept albums) features award-winning poet Ken Hada reading 17 new, dusty poems celebrating human endurance and nature’s glory brilliantly interpreted by Kenny Hada whose 12 original guitar (classical, dreadnought, dobro and electric) compositions accent the collection. CD’s may now be purchased for $10 (plus $2 shipping/cd), and may be ordered directly from the authors. Contact: khada@ecok.edu or khadakhada@gmail.com

2012: New Kids on the Block

If you see these folks around campus, please introduce yourself and make them feel welcome. They are the newest full-time faculty members in the English and Languages department at ECU:

Dr. Kelly Clasen (above, on the left) and Dr. Sarah Peters (above, on the right);

Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir (on the right).

The English and Languages Department also welcomes:
Dr. Yelena Bagumyan (on the left) of International Christian University; Kiev, Ukraine, who will be with us all semester.

Welcome aboard!

All Roads Will Lead You Home

Dr. Hada writes:

Friends,

You may click on this link,“all roads will lead you home,” to find a new poetry blog featuring Alan Berecka, Steven Schroeder and me (it’s getting close to being finished). We appreciate your reading, and we welcome your interaction with us on a regular basis (look for new postings once/week). Hope it spurs your own reading and/or writing (from time to time we plan to invite guests, like many of you, to post a poem as well.) Please help us spread the word. Please forward to anyone who likes poetry.

Peace,

Ken

www.kenhadapoet.com

Spurr-ebration!

Please join us at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, September 18th for a Spurr-ebration in the Regents Room on the campus of East Central University, 1100 E. 14th Street in Ada, Oklahoma.

Honest, irreverent, hilarious, timeless, unique, Oklahoma's most beloved poet, Jim Spurr, turns 77 years young, and you're invited to help up celebrate (oh to be 76 again ...).

Jim Spurr is a distinguished 82nd Airborne veteran; poet laureate of Shawnee; moderator of the very popular monthly Open Mic; happily married to Aline; and the award-winning author of Open Mike/Thursday Night and Hail Mary, On Two.

In the spirit of Spurr's mantra "Live Out Loud" (Zola), we cordially invite you to join us for a reading by Spurr, followed by a book signing, reception, tributes, and the "Not-Spurr Award" (you are invited to prepare tributes and mock-Spurr poems).

A special thanks to our sponsors The ECU Foundation and to Village Books Press!

With gracious support from the ECU Department of English and Languages, Sigma Tau Delta (the English Honor Society), and the ECU Honors Program.

For additional information, contact Dr. Ken Hada, khada@ecok.edu or 580-559-5557.

Reviewing The River White

Click here to read a glowing review in World Literature Today for Dr. Hada's most recent poetry book, The River White.

Poetry: Sunday in Oklahoma City

Brooks Plugs Dostoyevsky and the Book of Job

"Job II" by Oldřich Kulhánek

New York Times columnist David Brooks plugs Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky and the Book of Job in a recent column encouraging collegians to think not just about the career path that awaits them, but also about the sort of person they want to be. Click here to read the article.

Spring Commencement 2012

David Porter

This spring's commencement address was delivered by Microsoft Corporation vice president David Porter, who received a bachelor's degree in finance from ECU in 1987 and went on to work for Walmart and DreamWorks Animation before accepting his current position.

Porter talked to graduates about the relationships he had developed with country musician Garth Brooks, and Hollywood actors Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, and he recommended that graduates embrace the core values of patience and perseverance and "dream big."  Emphasizing the importance of focusing on the role you are currently in, Porter added that "great things will come to you if you let them come to you."  Porter referred to his recent experience heliskiing to illustrate his claim that "fear is a a sign of growth, and it's proof that you are evolving."  He concluded his remarks with the hope that if graduates remember anything from his address it should be this:  "You control you."

I counted eight English majors listed in the program who are candidates for Bachelor's degrees: Kristen Lorraine Auten, Sarah Manette Berger, Kaylie Janae Blackwell, Megan Michelle Cooper, Ryan Michael Madison, Lacey Elliott McFadden, Kaci Leigh Plunkett, and Katie Elizabeth Rowe.  (Please let me know if I overlooked anyone!)

Congratulations to all! 

Not a waste of time

Click here to read an article recommended to us by Dr. Murphy on the subject of majoring in English.

We Have Picnicked

 

Get Your Picnic On

 Dr. Jason Murray:  "Just a reminder that our end of the year picnic and graduation celebration is scheduled for Tuesday, May 1^st at 6 pm at Wintersmith."

ECU's STD Numbers are Growing

From left to right:  Lindsey Dugan, Robert Darling, Noelle Hurt, Jaime Worden, Macy McDonald, Sarah Berger.

Seven members of ECU's English and Languages department were inducted into the Upsilon Pi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English honor society at our last meeting of the year on Friday, including:   Sarah Berger,  Robert Darling, Lindsey Dugan, Noelle Hurt, Macy McDonald, and Mary Newport.  We also celebrated the service of lecturer Jim Hunter, who has actively supported ECU's STD events these past two years (and will be moving to greener pastures next fall), and Dr. Trisha Yarbrough, a long-time member of Sigma Tau Delta, who is retiring after 25 years at ECU.  We gave Jim a commissioned word-art portrait (thanks, Jim Benton!) with a French-theme, in recognition of Jim's work on ECU's French Film Festival; it features words and phrases we hope he will remember us by and others we will will remember him by (many of them curse words).

"A life should leave / deep tracks..."

We gave Dr. Yarbrough a framed print of a poem, "Things Shouldn't Be So Hard," by Kay Ryan, in recognition of Dr. Yarbrough's infectious love of literature, and the countless poems she has shared with the ECU community during her tenure here (click here to read the full poem).  Dr. Yarbrough honored us with a reading of Ryan's poem and later regaled us with tales of departmental mischief from days of yore.  (My favorite quotation of the afternoon has Dr. Yarbrough insisting, "I am not going to let you handcuff me!")

Thanks to all who turned out, brought food, broke bread with us, contributed to the art projects, and otherwise supported STD activities over the past year.  Our next meeting is Friday, September 7th (with subsequent meetings to be held on the first Fridays in October, November, and December).  Hope to see you then!

And if you can help with our  service project,the Better World Books Drive, by donating books or helping us box and ship them, please let us know!  Our collection bin is outside the ECU bookstore.

We Haiku

Dr. Hada's Non-Western Literature class is haiku-ing . . .

waiting for the bell,
nervous, losing much control
freedom comes at last

a blanket of snow
covering the land below
spring is only near
                        -Hannah Cochran

Sleeping child awakes
Like capricious wind blowing
Life whirls by and leaves

Happy world, good friends
Bullfrog drinks fruit of the vine
Sharing, drinking, joy

Thunder rips the sky
Dr. Hada makes us write
Poems cleave the mind

Water flows downhill
Autumn days turn to winter
Snow piles up in mounds
                        -Teresa Buretta

2011-12 Scholarship and Award Winners

Congratulations!

Daisy Moore Duvall Scholarship:  Jaime Worden

Margaret Peggy Nims Scholarship:  Noelle Hurt

Young Family Scholarship:  Macy McDonald

Reed Loving-Watt Scholarship:  Lindsey Dugan

Geraldine Burns Award:  Megan Cooper

Outstanding Student Teacher:  Megan Cooper

Senior Portfolio Award:  Sarah Berger

LeMoine Blake Crabtree Russian Award:  Rayel Schinnerer

Gary and Linda Ainsworth Award:  Jacob Stevens, Alexis Brendle, and Catherine Phipps

Paul Hughes Awards
1^st: Allan Adams

2^nd: Caitlyn Stephens

3^rd: Mary Newport

Eleanor Waner Dedmon Award: Joseph Lawrence Hagan-Zertuche

Ozella Elizabeth Waner English Award: Ashley Bean and Kaitlin Forest

N.A.S.A Scholarship: Noelle Hurt

Best Essay Awards

Upper-level literature course:  Lindsi Bonar, “Class is as Class Does”

Lower-level literature course:  Jaime Worden, “That Ol’ Kate Sure is an Eccentric Broad.”

Language course:  Noelle Hurt, Review of Andrea Lunsford’s Easy Rider.

Writing course: Daphine Peck, “The Language Fallacies of ‘Homophobia’”

English Department Writing Awards

The Categories
Best Essay in an upper-level literature course
Best Essay in a lower-level literature course
Best Essay in a language course
Best Essay in a writing course

The Rules
Essays must have been produced in a literature, language, or writing class at East Central University during the 2011-12 academic year. A student may submit in multiple categories. Please, submit photocopies as submissions will not be returned.

The Process
Submit one copy of your essay to Dr. Jason Murray – Horace Mann 335B. Please, make sure to write on the essay your full name, the semester of composition, and the class for which the essay was composed. Winners will be announced at the annual departmental awards on Monday, April 23rd.

The Due Date
Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. on Friday, April 13th .

Alpha Chi Inducts Two ECU English Majors

Macy McDonald

Lindsi Bonar

Congratulations to Lindsi Bonar (right) and Macy McDonald (left), the newest English majors inducted into Alpha Chi (National Honors Society).

The organization's motto is:  "Ye shall know the truth and truth shall make you free."

Geraldine Burns: Megan Cooper

Teresa Rothrock writes;

"The Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English sponsors the Geraldine Burns Award for Excellence in English Studies, which honors one undergraduate student per Oklahoma university who has chosen to enter the field of secondary English language arts education. 

"Selection criteria at East Central University includes

·         g. p. a.,

·         departmental faculty  feedback on scholastic ability and professional attitude in and out of class, and

·         teaching demonstrations/experiences (e. g., Oklahoma Literary Arts Festival, student teaching, etc.).

"This year’s recipient of the 2012 Geraldine Burns Award for Excellence in English Studies is

                Megan Cooper.

"Congratulations, Megan! 

"[Or should I say, Ms. Cooper]"

March 1: Grad School Personal Statements Workshop

Wanna be an Upward Bound mentor?

Dr. Teresa Rothrock writes:  "For those interested in becoming public school English teachers, this is a particularly good opportunity to get to know the people behind the adolescent façade and test out some of those theories we’ve been talking about. It helps distinguish a resume’, too."

*****************************************************************************
Upward Bound is now taking applications for the summer Upward Bound program.
We are looking for responsible juniors and seniors who would be willing to spend June 1 – July 13 mentoring area high school students.
Upward Bound will pay room/board, field trips, etc..
The duties would include but not limited to: supervising students in the dorm, cafeteria, classrooms, on campus and field trips.
The salary range is $1500- $1750.
For more information call Tonya Harrell at ext. 856. Applications are located in the Upward Bound office located in Fentem Hall, Rm. 333. Deadline for all applications is March 8th.
*****************************************************************************

March 13 Book Signing: Robin Murphy

Dr. Robin Murphy, Assistant Professor in the English and Languages Department, will discuss her book How Social Trauma Affects How We Write: Post 9/11 Rhetorical Theory and Composition Pedagogy and her coauthored chapter in The Philosophy of Joss Whedon from 3:00-4:00 p.m. on March 13th at the Linscheid Library. The event is sponsoredby the Linscheid Library Academic Friends (LLAF). Refreshments will be provided.

February 16: APA Citations Workshop