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Header: The English Channel English Department News
October 29, 2003
Volume 6.11		  

Spotlighting English Department Poets - Chris Forhan and Peter Huggins
Poet Chris Forhan earned a BA in Communications with an English minor, an MA in Creative Writing from the University of New Hampshire, and an MFA from the University of Virginia. He published Forgive Us Our Happiness in 1999, which was chosen for the Bakeless Prize, and his work has appeared in chapbook form, as well as in a number of anthologies. Forhan’s latest book, The Actual Moon, The Actual Stars, is being published this month by Northeastern University Press. Winner of the Morse Prize, The Actual Moon, The Actual Stars can be found online. View an excerpt from the book. Read more about Chris Forhan.

After earning a BA in History and then a law degree, Peter Huggins went on to earn an MFA in Poetry from the University of Alabama. He has published two volumes of poetry, Hard Facts (1998) and Blue Angels (2001), and his third volume, Necessary Acts, is forthcoming in fall 2004. Huggins has just finished writing South, a work that like his others is thematically rich. South focuses on the geographical area as well as specific locales, for - as Huggins quotes Barbara Kingsolver - our "greatest and smallest explanations for ourselves grow from place as surely as carrots grow in the dirt." Read more about Peter Huggins.

English Symposium Featuring Carl Dennis Brings Nearly 100 Guests
Carl Dennis, who was awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Practical Gods and has authored nine poetry collections, read from his poems last week for the English Symposium Series. The reading, which took place on Thursday, October 23 at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, attracted nearly 100 guests.

Two other speakers for the English Symposium Series are scheduled to speak during the spring semester. Anthony Hecht, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for The Hard Hours in 1968 will read from his recent works on March 4. On April 15, the Symposium Series will welcome Robyn Wiegman, director of women's studies at Duke University.

Recapping The Third Annual Haley Center Poetry Project
The Haley Center Poetry Project took place on October 22 and 23 in the Haley Center East Courtyard to showcase the poetry of students, faculty, staff, and other distinguished writers. A number of people shared in the event, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Carl Dennis. View photos taken at the Haley Center Poetry Project.

Spring '04 Course Descriptions Available
Course descriptions for Spring 2004 are available. Links to the course descriptions - including Great Books course topics - are found on the English Department homepage.

Faculty Meeting Today - 3:00 pm - 3195 Haley Center
At today's meeting, faculty will be asked to approve a Department textbook selection policy in response to President Walker's mandate. The Great Books Committee will also seek approval of revisions to the assessment collection procedures for Great Books (World Literature).

David Damrosch Presents "World Literature Today: From the Old World to the Whole World" - Tonight - AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center
David Damrosch, PhD, of Columbia University will present "World Literature Today: From the Old World to the Whole World" tonight at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center. Damrosch is general editor of The Longman Anthology of World Literature and The Longman Anthology of British Literature, and he is the editor of the forthcoming Approaches to Teaching World Literature (MLA, 2004).

Please join for cocktails at 5:00 pm. Damrosch's presentation will begin at 6:00 pm.

Southern Gothic Dinner - Thursday, October 30 - 6:00 pm - Pebble Hill
Come join Auburn University students and faculty for a traditional potluck dinner! The event, which is sponsored by the AU English Club and Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, will take place on Thursday, October 30 at 6:00 pm, at Pebble Hill.

Feel free to come dressed up in your best southern gothic costume, with a chilling ghost story to share. For more information, please email Professor Jim Ryan or call him at 844-9031.

Attention Undergraduate and Graduate Students Applying to Graduate Programs
The English Center and EGO will be sponsoring a "Writing the Statement of Purpose" presentation on Monday, November 3 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in 3183 Haley Center (the English Center). It will be hosted by Dr. Backscheider and Dr. Bertolet, both of whom have experience on graduate admissions committees. There will also be a graduate student on hand who will share what she included in her most recent statement of purpose essay.

If you're having trouble getting started on your statement of purpose essay, aren't sure what to include in it, or have any other questions regarding this important part of your graduate school application, please consider joining us.

Light refreshments will be served.

Email Amy Qualls if you have questions or would like more information.

EGO Meeting - Wednesday, November 5 - 3:00 pm - Eagle's Nest North
EGO will hold a meeting concerning the summer tuition waivers on Wednesday, November 5, at 3:00 pm. The meeting will take place in Eagle's Nest North.

Great Flicks - Wednesday, November 5 - 7:30 pm - 1203 Haley Center
Citizen Kane (Welles 1941)
Often called the best American film ever made. A classic about an attempt to understand why "Rosebud" was the last word spoken by Charles Foster Kane on his deathbed.

See the fall schedule for the Great Flicks series.

Free Performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream - Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - Bibb-Graves Amphitheater
Kimberly Thomason, Director of Fine Arts for the University Program Council, announces the bringing of the Olney National Players to Auburn's Bibb-Graves Amphitheater on Wednesday, April 7, 2004, for a free performance of Shakespeare's classic, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

More information will be provided at a later date. Please email Kimberly Thomason if you have any questions.

Notice From Interim Dean Rebekah Pindzola Regarding International Travel
The RAT (Request for Authority to Travel) must be approved by central administration and returned to you with signatures before any commitments to travel can be made.

This means that full approval is required before agreeing to commit University account dollars for international function registrations, before purchasing plane tickets, before committing to hotels, and the like. As soon as you know international travel is in your future, you (or your faculty) should file a RAT to be sure that account dollars may be so used.

There is now a new step in this approval process. Last week you were provided with a copy of the new procedures from AU's International Office. Basically, the International Office must now sign off on all international travel and you (the traveler) must be signed up with the new campus insurance policy for international travel (at no cost to you*). The international office will also get your name and travel information registered with the appropriate embassy.

* Some interesting tidbits:

If you are taking students abroad with you, they too must be registered with the AU International Office, have the insurance, and be registered with the embassy.

This process should in no way inhibit your travels. For example, you may go to one country for a four-day conference but stay longer and personally travel to other countries. For your safety, the International Office will register you with each embassy.

The insurance can be extended beyond the official business time to allow for personal travel.

For a small fee you can and should register non-University family members traveling with you abroad.

Submit international RATs very early to George Crandell.

 

To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 11:40 am for publication Wednesday. Submit items by email to Kelly Messerschmidt or Betsy Smith or put the information in their mailbox. Please check your submission for accuracy and completion--all calendar items and meeting announcements must include the date, time, and location of the event.



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Last updated October 29, 2003


Department of English
9030 Haley Center
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Phone (334) 844-4620
FAX (334) 844-9027
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