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Header: The English Channel English Department News
September 29, 2004
Volume 7.7		  

 

Penelope Ingram Continues Ned Kelly Research
Penelope IngramPenelope Ingram, assistant professor of English, is currently working on a project that examines the various representations of the Irish/Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. Her project, entitled "Ned Kelly and the Postcolonial Imaginary: Irish convicts, Republican outlaws, and Australian identity from 1820 to the present," examines changing conceptions of Australian national identity from the 19th century to the present as articulated through cultural representations of Kelly. She is also interested in examining the Kelly myth in a broader colonial context, particularly the bearing that Anglo/Irish relations and convict transportation had, and continues to have, on the identity of the postcolonial nation state.

Since his execution in 1880, Ned Kelly has been the subject of 12 stage plays, numerous ballads and poems, 30 books, and 10 films, including what is thought to be the first feature film ever made, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Although a bushranger, outlaw, and murderer, Kelly is a hero to many Australians.

In the last decade or so, Kelly has experienced another resurgence. In 1991, the author Robert Drewe revisited the Kelly myth in his novel Our Sunshine, a psychological portrait of Kelly as a man driven to a desperate fate. In 2000, larger than life representations of armored Kellys graced the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. In 2001, Peter Carey won the Booker Prize for his depiction of Kelly in his novel True History of the Kelly Gang. A film, Ned Kelly, based on Drewe's book starring Heath Ledger was released in the US in 2004, and a 1970 film, Ned Kelly, starring Mick Jagger was re-released earlier this year.

In the summer of 2004, Ingram received an NEH stipend to travel to Australia to visit the numerous Kelly archives, which are scattered in libraries, museums, public record offices, and government agencies in Victoria and around Australia. During this time, her main focus was to write a chapter on the paintings of Kelly done by artist Sidney Nolan in the 1940s, which are held in various museums and art galleries around Australia . These brightly colored, naif representations of Kelly have helped to shape our view of the outlaw. Apart from one portrait of Kelly, the rest of the series depict him on horseback in the outback in his armor.

What Ingram finds curious about this image and its enduring legacy is that Kelly and the other three members of his gang only wore their armor once, for their last battle with police. However, it is the image of the armor that has become interchangeable with Ned himself. Her chapter on Nolan examines Nolan's legacy and the way his paintings have contributed to a prevailing view of Kelly as persecuted hero, rather than blood-thirsty criminal.

Faculty Meeting - Today - 3 pm in 3104 Haley Center
A faculty meeting will be held today, September 29, at 3 pm in 3104 Haley Center. This meeting will be held to discuss assessment within the department.

Fall English Hours - Kathryn Pratt - October 4 - 3:30 pm in 3104 Haley Center
Kathryn Pratt will give a lecture at the first English Hour of the semester on October 4 in 3104 Haley Center. Her lecture is entitled "The Vitality of Dowdiness: Byron, Fashion, and U.S. Political Life." Refreshments will begin at 3:30 pm, with Pratt's lecture beginning at 4 pm.

Chris Keirstead will give the November 8 English Hour presentation. His lecture is entitled "Great Expectorations: Negotiating Public Spaces in Dickens's American Notes."

Literature After Dark - October 6 - 7:45 pm in 3195 Haley Center
As part of this semester's "Literature After Dark" season, Fritz Lang's classic silent science fiction critique of industrialization - Metropolis (1927) - will be shown on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:45 pm in 3195 Haley Center.

Creative/Research Forum - Derrick Spradlin - October 13
A creative/research forum will be held on October 13 with Derrick Spradlin presenting. The brown-bag lunch session will be held at 12 pm, location to be determined.

Fifth Annual Haley Center Poetry Project - October 20 and 21 - 10 am to 2 pm Haley Center Poetry Project

All students, faculty, staff, and other friends of poetry are cordially invited to participate in the Haley Center Poetry Project for Fall 2004, scheduled for 10 am to 2 pm on October 20 and 21. The Poetry Project is sponsored by the Department of English, Sigma Tau Delta, and the AU Bookstore.

Now in its fifth year at Auburn , over 200 students, faculty, and other friends have participated in past readings with the Poetry Project, from Pulitzer Prize-winning poets like Carl Dennis to emerging poets from the undergraduate ranks here at Auburn.

As many as fifty readers will have the opportunity to take part in this public outdoor event, which will be held in the Haley Center courtyard (outside the AU Bookstore). Refreshments will be served!

Each reader will be allotted about 10 minutes to read the poetry of their choice. As always, readers are welcome to read poetry from any time period: famous or obscure, old or new, soothing or provocative. Readers may read from their own poetry or from poetry written by others, whether previously published or not. Poetry in languages other than English is also welcome.

Faculty are invited to bring their classes to attend the Poetry Project on either day, or to spend part of the lunch hour listening to some of our readers.

If you'd like to be a part of the Haley Center Poetry Project, please sign up as soon as possible by e-mail to Jim Ryan or by adding your name to the list posted on the door at HC 8070.

Donald Cunningham Gives STC Luncheon Talk
On Wednesday, September 20, Donald Cunningham gave the luncheon talk at the September meeting of the Birmingham chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. His topic was "Creating an Organized Document is not Enough." Among those in attendance were two graduates from the English department:

Kelly Messerschmidt, who is a technical communicator in Birmingham for Robinson & Associates, an organization that specializes in applied physics, and a part-time instructor in communication at Samford University.

Karrie Brock, who is a senior technical writer for CSC (Computer Services Corporation) in Birmingham.

Alumni News
Diane Boyd is now Director of the Teaching, Leadership, and Technology Center at LSU, Shreveport. She retains her faculty position as well.

Hope Cotton Dixon has accepted a faculty position at Wallace Community College in Dothan.

Szidi Haragos has begun studying for her PhD at the CUNY, Graduate Center.

For more updates about alumni and where they are now, visit the English Department's Alumni News website.

We are updating our Alumni News and know that many faculty keep in touch with former students. We would like to send these alum the Alumni News. To help us update our contact list, please send the email addresses of any alum you may be in contact with to Betsy Smith or Jessica Lueders.

Welcome - Evie Catherine Childs
The department congratulates second-year MTPC student, Elizabeth Childs, and her husband, Kevin, on the birth of their daughter. Evie Catherine arrived on Friday, September 24, weighing 8 lbs, 6 oz. Evie is also welcomed at home by her three-year-old brother, Cater.

The Childs family is doing well and feels blessed for the happy arrival of Evie.

United Way
The annual United Way Campaign is underway. If you would like to make a pledge, please complete the pledge card and return it to Betsy Smith's mailbox as soon as possible. (Please return the card whether you contribute or not.)

Online Resource, The Literature Compass, Available through September
The Literature Compass, a Blackwell Publishers resource for British and American literature of all periods, will be available online for free through September.

James Goldstein is a member of the editorial board and welcomes comments about this online resource.

Big Toe Press Call for Submissions
Big Toe Press, a new online literary community and founded by journalists, fiction writers, and writing teachers, has issued a call for submissions. This community offers writers opportunities to experiment with literary forms and receive feedback from the audience.

Prizes are awarded of up to $2,500 for the best original short fiction, poetry, novel chapters, and non-fiction published on their site each year. To be eligible for 2004 prizes, writers should submit entries at www.bigtoepress.com, and accepted submissions must be published by February 1, 2005. Prize winners will be announced in April 2005 and the entries will be published in the first print edition of "Best of the Big Toe," to be released next summer.

Big Toe Press welcomes student submissions and asks that you encourage your students to participate in their community.

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 Jessica Lueders 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 September 29, 2004


Department of English
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