Year-at-a-Glance Department Calendar University Calendar Graduate School Calendar

Rod Smith Reading at Pebble Hill
The Center for the Arts and Humanities and the Southern Humanities Review are sponsoring a reading by Rod Smith, poet, short story writer, and editor of Shenandoah on October 24 , 4:00 pm, at Pebble Hill. Until 1995, Rod was a member of the Auburn English Department, where he was Alumni Writer in Residence and co-editor of the SHR.

Haley Center Poetry Project
The Haley Center Poetry Project--sponsored by the English Department, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, the English Club, and the Auburn University Bookstore--combined good weather and good literature for a memorable time.  Twenty-eight undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty read at the event, with dozens more there to listen.  Look for another successful Poetry Project in the Spring.

Cultural Awareness Activities
This week, a number of activities have been prepared to increase cultural awareness.  All events are free to the public.  Click here for more details.

English Hour: Teaching Early Modern Drama in GB
The English Hour kicks off its fall season with consecutive sessions on teaching Early Modern Drama in Great Books. Refreshments will be served!  The first session will be on October 14 at 4:00 pm in HC 3104 with the topic "Theatre and Culture in Early Modern England."  Dan Szechi, History, and Scott Phillips, Theatre, will discuss late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century English history and theatre.

On October 21 at 4:00 p.m. in HC 3104, Alex Dunlop, Craig Bertolet, and James Truman will discuss Teaching Early Modern Drama in specific plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.


Southern Gothic Dinner
The annual Southern Gothic Dinner will be Wed, October 30th at 7:00 at Pebble Hill. Faculty are invited to join the English majors for Southern food and ghost stories. To that end, please volunteer your culinary talents. Side dishes are needed, with Southern dishes especially welcome.  

Last year some faculty children came to this event and wore their Halloween costumes. Everyone seemed to enjoy this; children are welcome at the dinner from 7:00-9:00. (Ghost stories begin at 9:00 and are genuinely creepy.)  Alicia Carroll will work on getting a sitter if there is demand and parents would like to contribute. Please let Alicia Carroll know as soon as you can if you are coming, and what you will bring in light of food or children.

EGO Meeting
EGO will meet next Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.  Details will be posted around the department and in your boxes.  

Cary Woods "Marathon" Smash Success 
Who says attention spans in children are declining?  Last Friday, first through fifth graders at Cary Woods Elementary School in Auburn listened in rapt attention as students from Tim Dykstal's ENGL 3190 Studies in Children's Literature class read a variety of stories--from Encyclopedia Brown to Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"--to them during an all-day "reading marathon."  

And who says reading comprehension is declining? When asked one of the three standard survey questions administered by the college students after the survey, "Did you learn anything from that story?," one of the fourth graders piped up, of Twain's story, "Yea, how to cheat!"

The college students learned something about how to foster a love of literature in the course's target audience, and the elementary students had fun keeping the college students alert. The following are some pictures from the event.  To view additional pictures from the Cary Woods Reading Marathon, click here.

Hook a Major Day
Yesterday the Department of English teamed up with the College of Liberal Arts to recruit future English majors at the annual Hook a Major Day.  Eight undergraduate English majors and five faculty manned the table, encouraging students to take the Cultural Challenge and to sign up to be English majors or minors.  As the photos tell, a great time was had by all.  

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