From UPBEAT
Poet and editor Wayne Miller will read from his work on Monday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163 as part of the English department’s Readings and Lectures Series. Miller is the author of three poetry collections, including his most recent The City, Our City.
The reading is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and the public. For more information contact Molly Hiro, English, at ext. 8031 or hiro@up.edu.
By: Hannah Murray, Guest Commentator
From THE BEACON
Have you ever wondered who is behind those words on the page? Literature is meant to be an intimate conversation between the author and reader, but what if you actually got to ask those questions up close and personal? Questions like: Why did you use such interesting line breaks on page 45? What was your inspiration behind this book? How did you get into writing poetry? For many, these thoughts are simply a tool to dive into the literature but for some lucky ones, Monday was an opportunity to ask these burning questions. Wayne Miller, the author of several esteemed works including The City, Our City, The Book of Props, and Only the Senses Sleep,was on campus this past weekend and on Monday gave an inspired reading of his past works as well as a sneak peek into his current project.
In preparation for Miller’s arrival, Dr. Asarnow’s Contemporary American Poetry class read The City, Our City and spent a week discussing the intricate, often abstract topics Miller presents. The first stop on his journey at UP was for a question and answer session in our class. As a sophomore, this was my first experience having a direct conversation with such a successful, distinguished author. Later that afternoon, the English Department hosted a small dinner which included 8 students from Contemporary American Poetry, Dr. Asarnow, and Wayne Miller at St. John’s greatest pub: McMenamin’s. Over Cajun tater tots, Miller told us about his views on Poetic translation and how they can be the greatest tool to examining language. He told us everything from the journal that’s always present in his back pocket to his literate fluency in Albanian all the way to his aversion to tomatoes.
One of the greatest insights Wayne shared with us was that when writing, it is important to listen to what the words are trying to show you. By listening, you may end up with something much greater than what you set out to do. Lastly, and what I think to be most important, he spoke of one of his favorite poets, W.H. Auden, and told us about his favorite ideal: “A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” I hope that Wayne inspired many during his reading, but if nothing else, it was an evening full of laughs.
Hannah Murray is a sophomore biology major. She can be reached at murray15@up.edu.
From UPBEAT
University of Portland has been named the top producer of Fulbright scholars in the nation among “master’s universities” for the third consecutive year, according to a study released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The University had six alumni win the prestigious grants to work and study abroad for 2012-13.
Three of the Fulbrights won by UP alumni for 2012-13 are for English teaching positions in Germany, while the others are for graduate studies in the United Kingdom, research in India, and English teaching in Spain.
The University has been a leader among its peer institutions in producing Fulbright scholars for several years, also ranking first nationally in 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2007-08 and second nationally in 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2009-10. Since 2001, students from University of Portland have earned 40 Fulbright grants.
The English Department has launched a new blog site, to better serve English students and alumni, and to “build a sense of community, of current, past, and future students; faculty; and others who value the mission of the University of Portland English department and the study and enjoyment of literature.”
Click on the image to go to the site!
At the age of eighteen, I did not know that I had an accent. Emerson, in his essay “Circles,” says that “the life of a man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles.” If this is true, the circle of my existence at 18 was extremely small and circumscribed by ideologies that derived from my heritage as a third generation Texan whose father hailed from North Carolina. My childhood on a working farm was in many ways idyllic, though fraught with hardships such as the lack of potable water in the house I grew up in. At age 12, instead of a bar mitzvah, I received a .22 rifle, and between throwing a baseball endlessly against the side of the barn and shooting at any number of creatures and objects, I managed to pass lazy summers playing by myself. [Read more…] about John Orr on the Value of a Liberal Arts Education
We invite you to take a good, close look at the rich and varied program of the University of Portland’s English Department. Our talented faculty of literary scholars and writers offers a major in English, with courses in British, American, and trans-national literatures in English, and in academic and creative writing. We also present our students with an unusual and vivid range of extra-curricular programs.
English majors, and other interested students from across the University, see, hear, and meet noted poets, writers, and scholars through our Readings and Lectures series and the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers series. The Department’s own Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL) allows our students, along with those from many other universities in the region, to present their scholarly and creative work, serve as respondents to panel chairs, and/or work as interns behind the scenes. The Writers journal is an in-house publication edited by English majors and featuring students’ creative writing, art, and photography. Finally, many of our students join the thriving English Society to discuss their own writing, attend plays together, and swap books. The English Department is a dynamo, always aglow with something bright and interesting.
The Department also houses the University’s Integrated Writing Program, which trains student Writing Assistants and runs the Writing Resource Center (in Franz Hall 120) used by students in all fields of study for help with their writing. A good number of English majors serve as Writing Assistants.
Active writers, scholars, and critics, the English faculty provides a challenging and exciting academic experience for our students. We are dedicated literary scholars who are passionate about teaching, developing personal relationships with students, and assisting students academically and personally throughout their college career and after. Careful advising rests at the center of our work with our students, which culminates in each English major’s Senior Capstone Project, a paper that includes a semester of one-on-one consultation between each student and his or her Capstone advisor.
And after a successful four years as an English major at UP? Our students develop finely honed skills in analytical reading, varied forms of writing, and web and library-based research. Their study of literary texts past and present equips them with a broad-based awareness of history, human character, and social and religious traditions. Some majors, moreover, find internships in the Portland community helping them to gain hands-on experience in writing, editing, or publishing. This combination of skills and understanding enables them to recognize and handle the new century’s opportunities and problems. Being an English major prepares students for careers in many areas of business and not-for-profit enterprise, as well as the pursuit of graduate study in English and the humanities, creative writing, education and the law. And some English majors also become teachers, or, in the years just after graduation, participate in such challenging and rewarding volunteer programs as Jesuit Volunteers, Teach for America, and the Peace Corps.
So please explore our detailed English Department website: watch a video of a former student discussing her experience at UP or of a renowned poet reading on campus; click on a link to a copy of Writers magazine; examine our curriculum and its array of courses; take a look at the English Majors’ Handbook and the Senior Capstone Project Handbook. See the many ways English majors at the University of Portland expand their horizons, enhance their skills, and enrich their spirits—and so prepare themselves for interesting and productive lives.
Very truly yours,
Molly Hiro
Chair, Department of English
Associate Professor of English
hiro@up.edu