Minnesota Book Award finalists were announced Saturday by the Friends of the St. Paul Library, and finalists include books by alums Eric Dregni and Kevin Fenton (MFAs), Ed Bok Lee and Jim Moore (BAs), and Mary Rockcastle (MA). Congratulations!
January 2012 Archives
Imagine Fund grant programs support projects in the arts, humanities, and design at the University of Minnesota. Every year, faculty awards support innovative research in these areas; this year 150 awards were given, for up to $5,000 each. Congratulations to English faculty recipients: Timothy Brennan, Lois Cucullu, Maria Damon, Genevieve Escure, Maria Fitzgerald, Nabil Matar, Paula Rabinowitz, Jani Scandura, and Katherine Scheil. In addition, Professor Maria Damon received a 2012 Imagine Fund Special Events Award to enable a visit from sound poet Jaap Blonk.
dislocate literary journal, run by Creative Writing Program graduate students at the University of Minnesota, is holding a contest for a graphic design intern. The winner receives $250 and the chance to layout issue 8 of dislocate. Any undergraduate or graduate student attending the U is welcome to apply, as long as s/he is proficient with InDesign software. Interested students should send examples of design work, including links to online portfolios, to dislocate.magazine@gmail.com with the subject line "Graphic Design Internship." Show us what you've got!
In a UMNews profile this week, Edelstein-Keller Professor in Creative Writing Charles Baxter talks about the pleasure of discovering fictional characters and the importance of fear and failure in fiction. "I'd say you need to be able to imagine, and want to imagine, what people do when things begin to go wrong," he notes. Baxter is the author most recently of the story collection Gryphon, which was named to the New York Times' "100 Notable Books of 2011" list. He is currently working on a collection of short stories based on virtues.
Distinguished McKnight University Professor John Watkins was interviewed regarding former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Meryl Streep's new biopic in the Star Tribune and on Fox 9's The Buzz show January 12 with Jason Matheson; he was also quoted in Minn Post. Professor Watkins' research explores sovereignty and queenship, as well as medieval and early modern diplomacy and political culture; he lived in England during the years Thatcher was Prime Minister.
Professor of English Michael Hancher will be the speaker at a Friends of the Libraries dinner 5 pm, Thursday, January 26, at the Campus Club. Professor Hancher, past president of the Dictionary Society of North America, will riff on questions that have long puzzled dictionary makers and dictionary users--the relationship of things, names of things, and pictures of things--and explore ways in which these puzzles just may become solvable with the migration of dictionaries from print to cyberspace. Tickets are $12.99 for students, $25.99 for adults. Reservations at 612-626-7788.
On Friday, January 20, the Friends of the Libraries will present "An Upson Song Cycle": the premiere performance of songs by composer Linda Kachelmeier based on poems by Arthur Upson, performed by local tenor Roy Heilman and accompanied by Mary Jo Gothmann. Assistant professor of creative writing Peter Campion will introduce and narrate the program. Poet Arthur Upson was a University of Minnesota student and English lecturer at the turn of the 19th century. Upon then-president Cyrus Northrop's request, Upson reworked the song "Hail! Minnesota," adding the second verse to what became the University hymn and later the official state song. His death in 1908 at age 31 cut short a literary career filled with promise. The free event starts at 7:30 pm in the Upson Room of Walter Library. Make a reservation online or call 612-624-9339.
