Tuesday, October 14, 2008

FESCUE hosts Richard Van Camp


FESCUE 2008:
Fall English Studies Conference Uniting Educators

presents
Storytelling, Place and Community
OCTOBER 24-25, 2008

Humboldt State University
Featuring Keynote Speaker
Richard Van Camp


"First Nation noir madness this book is.
I love it, and I'm sorta scared of it, too.
Van Camp writes like a dream (or a night terror)."
---Sherman Alexie on Van Camp's The Lesser Blessed

Richard Van Camp is a proud member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, Canada. Richard currently teaches Creative Writing with an Aboriginal Focus at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
Richard is the author of two children's books with the Cree artist, George Littlechild, A Man Called Raven and What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?; a novel, The Lesser Blessed; and a collection of his finest short stories, Angel Wing Splash Pattern and a baby book titled Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns, which will be given to every newborn baby in British Columbia in 2008. His new novel, Blessing Wendy, will be out with Orca Books in 2009.

FESCUE 2008 is a conference of creative writing, teaching workshops, research presentations and panel discussions designed to highlight the interdisciplinarity of English Studies.
It is co-sponsored by the Redwood Writing Project, the Redwood Chapter of CATE, and the HSU English Department.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Fall English Studies Conference Uniting Educators 2008

Call for Proposals

The Redwood Writing Project, The HSU English Department & The Redwood Chapter of CATE
invite local educators to submit presentation proposals for the

FESCUE: Fall English Studies Conference Uniting Educators
Friday & Saturday, October 24-25, 2008
Founders Hall, Humboldt State University
The Fall English Studies Conference aims to increase awareness of the interdisciplinarity of English Studies. This year’s theme, Storytelling, Place & Community , encompasses and questions:

* Teaching about place *
*Teaching about local communities and writing*
* Geographical, cultural, and ecological landscapes *
* Storytelling, poetry and narratives of how we live in our communities*

FESCUE brings together educators, researchers, students, and the community for the purposes of professional development, creative presentations, dialogue, and research dissemination. This two-day Conference is comprised of panel discussions, workshops, creative readings and performances, lectures, and symposia. Proposals are encouraged that engage two common readings: Richard Van Camp's The Lesser Blessed and Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower.

Primary Proposal Submission Deadline: Friday, August 15, 2008
Proposals received after this deadline will be considered on a space-available basis
Electronic submissions are preferred.
Proposals should be emailed as MS Word or RTF files to
FESCUE Committee, at fescue@humboldt.edu.

FESCUE 2008 Proposal Guidelines
Proposals will be judged on the following criteria:
• Level of appeal to a broad audience. FESCUE brings together a wide range of people: kindergarten through college teachers, students, researchers, community activists, and more.
• Quality of proposal. Proposals should be well-written and well-conceived.
• Relationship to theme. Proposals that address the Storytelling, Place & Community theme will be preferred over general ones.
There are two options for presenting at FESCUE.
Please clearly indicate which option you prefer.

Option 1 = 75 Minute Session: One or more presenters who have together constructed 75 minutes worth of activities, presentation, lecture, reading/performance, and/or discussion along a central theme, text, or issue.

Option 2 = 10-30 Minute Panel Presentation: An individual who has researched and/or has expertise with a specific topic that she/he would like to share as part of a panel to be organized by the conference team. Original creative nonfiction, short fiction and poetry are welcome. Please indicate a preferred length of time for your presentation.

ALL SESSION PROPOSALS should include the following:
a. Specify option 1 or 2.
b. A [catchy!] title for the session.
c. An abstract of no more than 100 words in length, to be included in the conference program.
d. Full description of 500–750 words, which details the nature and length of the presentation.
e. The full name and affiliation of each presenter, including email and telephone.
f. The body of the proposal should detail the composition of the session, describing, for example, the presentation topics, the workshop activities, etc. It should also include, if appropriate, a list of suggested readings for audience members and course participants.
g. Audio/Visual needs.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Beginning the New Year

"...people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment."---Elizabeth Gilbert, "Eat, Pray, Love" (p.260, 2006)

Tarquin, my Daemon the Raccoon

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