This Week in English | Dec 4 – 10, 2017

First-Year Writing Program Earns National Certificate of Excellence

We’re pleased to announce that the University of Maine’s College Composition program has won a 2017-2018 CCCC Writing Program Certificate of Excellence. The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) is a constituent organization within the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Our program is one of nine recipients of the award this year. The full press release for the award is attached. Congratulations and thanks, on behalf of the whole department and of the many students who have taken English 101 over the years, are due to the efforts of long-time program director Pat Burnes, current program director Ryan Dippre, and assessment director Dylan Dryer.

Shakespeare, not Stirred on Tuesday

On Tuesday, December 5, Stephen E. King Chair in Literature Caroline Bicks will discuss “drinks and Shakespeare” over a four-course meal, with Bard-inspired beverages, at Novio’s bistro in downtown Bangor. Reservations can be made by calling 207-945-5600 or visiting the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Emily Dickinson Birthday Reading on Wednesday

On Wednesday, December 6, at 4 p.m. in the University Bookstore, Kathleen Ellis will host the 11th Annual Emily Dickinson Birthday Reading, co-sponsored by English and the Honors College. All faculty and students are welcome to read a poem or letter of Dickinson’s.

NPF Publishes Book of Poems by Burton Hatlen

Earlier this fall, the National Poetry Foundation partnered with the University of Maine Press to publish Elegies and Valedictions, a posthumous volume of poems by former NPF director Burton Hatlen collected, edited, and introduced by Virginia Nees-Hatlen. As Nees-Hatlen notes in her introduction:

Burt Hatlen (1936–2008) was often better known to generations of scholars and students as a skilled, generous, and indefatigable editor and teacher than as a poet… Those close to him knew how much it meant to him when he would identify himself as a poet, then as a literary scholar.

Copies of Elegies and Valedictions can be purchased at the NPF office (Neville 400) and ordered on-line or by phone, fax, or email.

Department Meeting on Thursday

The final department meeting of the semester will be held on Thursday, December 7, at 2pm in the Hatlen Room (Neville 406). We will adjourn at 3pm to attend the CLAS faculty meeting in Wells Commons 2.

End of Semester Celebration

We’re planning an end-of-semester party for Thursday, December 14, starting at 1pm. Drop by Ellen Manzo’s desk if you have ideas about how we can add a dash of merriment to finals week!

 

Have a great last week of classes, everyone!

Steve Evans
English Department Chair

This Week in English 13 circulated to faculty, students, and friends of the department on Monday, December 4, 2017. If you would rather not receive these weekly bulletins, please reply with <unsubscribe> in your subject line.