Emeritus Faculty Charles Crow Publishes New Book

Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Charles Crow on the publication of his new book, American Gothic, which is forthcoming in September from the University of Wales Press. We are delighted to hear of his continuing success.

Katie Hoskinson Recieves the Inaugural Thomas L. Wymer Undergraduate Thesis Award

In 2007, Dr. Tom Wymer retired after serving the Department for forty years, four of them as Chair. To honor Tom, and to recognize the outstanding scholarship produced by the Literature program’s graduating seniors, current Chair Dr. Kris Blair tasked the Department with creating the Thomas L. Wymer Undergraduate Thesis Award.

We are very pleased to announce that Katie E. Hoskinson (Literature, ‘09) is the inaugural recipient of this award for her undergraduate senior thesis, “Not Another Teen Vampire: Edward Cullen’s Appeal to Female Audiences.” Katie’s thesis demonstrated considerable originality of conception, critical sophistication and thorough research. Her reading of the male vampire Edward Cullen in the popular “Twilight” series of novels as a female paranoiac investigated the Gothic novel as a cultural context for the series and also drew on the theories of Janice Radway, Tania Modleski and Gilles Deleuze to provide a clever, insightful analysis of the series as a cultural phenomenon and its appeal for female readers.

Katie will be attending the University of Dayton in the fall to begin graduate study in English. The Department hopes to invite Katie back sometime during fall semester so that Tom can personally present her with a plaque in recognition of her achievement. Congratulations Katie!

Poet Larissa Szporluk named Guggenheim Fellow

Larissa Szporluk, associate professor of Creative Writing, has been named a Guggenhein Fellow.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation recently announced 180 recipients of the prestigious award from over 3,000 applicants. Larissa plans to use the award to complete her fifth book of poetry. Her previous titles include 1998’s Dark Sky Question, winner of the Barnard Poetry Prize; Isolato, winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize  (2000); The Wind, Master Cherry, The Wind (2003), and Embryos and Idiots (2007). Her poetry has been anthologized in Best American Poetry 2001, New American Voices, 20th-Century American Poetry, Contemporary Poetry in the U.S. among others. Larissa has also received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, an Ohio Arts Council grant, and participated in the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

This is a great honor for Larissa, not to mention Creative Writing, the Department of English, and BGSU!

Congratulations, Larissa!

MFA Poets Read for National Poetry Month

From Wendell Mayo, Director of the Creative Writing program:

We’ve just discovered that a second of our MFA poetry graduates has had work selected for the National Council of Teachers of English’s web site for last month’s National Poetry Month. Julie Platt reads her poem, “The Finwife is Dismissed,” from her chapbook In the Kingdom of my Familiar. Julie received her MFA in 2007 and went on to the Ph.D. program in Rhetoric and Writing at Michigan State University. Each day during the month of April, NCTE publishes an audio or video recording of a poem performed by the author. The audio recording of Julie’s poem is available here. Her poem was selected April 19. You can also listen to Qiana Towns (MFA 2008), whose poem, “Occult,” was selected for April 14.

Graduate Student Earns Honors for Video Project

Bethany Snyder-Morse, Ph.D. candidate in the Rhetoric and Writing program, was awarded an Honorable Mention and $100 for her video: “Respect: Worth Holding Onto.” The BGSU Human Relations Commission presented this award to Bethany as part of the second annual B!G on Respect Video Contest held on May 1. Special congratulations to Bethany for being selected from a very competitive pool of submissions!

Congratulations Kris Blair!

Department Chair Kris Blair has been recognized for her leadership and accomplishments in two venues recently. Last Friday evening at the annual Graduate College/Graduate Student Senate awards ceremony, Kris received the Outstanding Contributor to Graduate Education award. This is a particular honor in that candidates must be nominated by one’s own graduate students. Kris also received this award in 2004.

Additionally, Kris has been elected to the position of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect for Faculty Senate. Given her leadership in Senate and other areas on creating a career ladder for Lecturers and Instructors, her election to this position of leadership is a great recognition both for Kris and the Department. Congratulations from everyone in East Hall Kris!

Prairie Margins Celebrates 2009!

Prairie Margins, the undergraduate literary magazine, extends an open invitation to attend their biggest party of the year. Come celebrate the 2009 issue with Prairie Margins staff, contributors, and the wider writing comunity this Friday, May 1, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the atrium of East Hall. Events include “Magnetic” poetry, readings by 2009 contributors, and the return of “Writing Idol,” Paririe Margins‘ spontaneous writing competition. More fun than you could throw a book at!

Congratulations to our Graduate Students!

Throughout the 2008-2009 academic year, our talented graduate students/alumni either have been nominated for or have received top honors for a variety of departmental and campus awards, as indicated below:

Devine Summer Fellowship Awards in Creative Writing (Fiction)
Brandon Jennings
Aimee Pogson

Devine Summer Fellowship Awards in Creative Writing (Poetry)
Angela Gentry
Stokely Klasovsky

Non-Service Ph.D. Fellowships in Rhetoric and Writing
Erin Dietel-McLaughlin
Meredith Graupner
Jeremy Schnieder

Distinguished Thesis Award
Recipient: Kate Lane, Creative Writing
Nominee: Jessica Alexander, Literature

Shanklin Award for Research Excellence
Erin Dietel-McLaughlin, Rhetoric and Writing (first prize)

Katzner Bookstore Award
Ruijie Zhao, Rhetoric and Writing
Jeremy Schnieder, Rhetoric and Writing

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award Nominees
Megan Ayers, Creative Writing
Emily J. Beard, Rhetoric and Writing
Callista Buchen, Creative Writing
Joe Erickson, Rhetoric and Writing
Christine Garbett, Rhetoric and Writing
Eden Leone, Rhetoric and Writing

Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate
Tony Doerr, MFA 1999

Please join us in congratulating our outstanding students across programs.

Happy Earth Day!

Department to Host Kayla Williams, combat veteran and author of “Love My Rifle More Than You”

BGSU Alumna Kayla Williams, former U.S. Army soldier who served in the Middle East as an Arabic interpreter, and author of the memoir, Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army, will be hosted by the Department of English tomorrow. She earned her BA in English Literature from BGSU in 1997 and has been interviewed in venues that include the BBC, NPR and CNN. She currently blogs for The Huffington Post.

Ms. Williams will be featured speaker at a 2:00-3:30 p.m. event tomorrow, Tuesday April 14. A reception will follow (3:30-4:30 p.m.) in 207 Bowen Thompson Student Union.  An evening forum with Kayla is also scheduled at Grounds for Thought Bookstore and Coffeeshop in downtown Bowling Green, at 7 p.m.