This Week in English | February 18 – 24, 2019

Sarah Harlan-Haughey on Monty Python and Medievalism This Wednesday at 6pm

Sarah Harlan-Haughey will give a pre-performance talk this Wednesday, February 20, at the Collins Center in advance of their production of Monty Python’s Spamalot. Drawing on her knowledge of Medieval literature, Literature and the Environment, Folklore and Oral Traditional Studies, Harlan-Haughey will to provide insight into the historical context that the Python players turned into such enduring comedy. Refreshments will be served. The talk, which is free, is at 6pm in the Bodwell Lounge; the play starts at 7pm. Sponsored by the McGillicuddy Humanities Center.

Writing for TV: A Workshop Sponsored by the King Chair

Are you curious about how television gets made? Do you like to write or act? Have you ever watched television? If so, mark your calendars for Saturday, March 2, 1:00pm-4:00pm, in the Foster Innovation Center (free, but registration recommended).

Come join Emmy Award-winning television writer and Executive Producer of Will & Grace Adam Barr as he leads a hands-on workshop on the essentials of creating an original episode of TV. In a fun, three-hour session, you’ll get a taste of what it’s like to be in an actual Hollywood TV writers’ room. You’ll learn how to generate stories, create characters, wrestle with dramatic structure, and maybe even pitch jokes. Open to any members of the UMaine community interested in media, performance, writing, and entertainment — or anyone who simply wants to observe and quietly judge. Advanced registration is required for those wishing to sit around the table and participate. (Quiet observers/judgers need not register, but must maintain respect for the workshop and its participants.) Contact Stephen E. King Chair, Caroline Bicks, to express your interest in registering: caroline.bicks@maine.edu. Include a few lines explaining your connection to the University and why you want to participate. Space is limited.

Visiting Scholar Jahan Ramazani Chairs Panel on Poetry after World War I

On Friday, February 22, several UMaine faculty, including Carla Billitteri, will join Professor Jahan Ramazani for a panel on global poetries and the “cosmopolitan sympathies” excited in the wake of the First World War. The discussion in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union at 2 pm will be stimulating to anyone interested in poetry, globalization, and the history of art and ideas.  Professor Ramazani is a distinguished scholar of modernist and postcolonial poetry in English at the University of Virginia. His visit is sponsored by the McGillicuddy Humanities Center.

MLA Internships in Manhattan

The Modern Language Association is a prominent national organization that represents English and Modern Language departments, their faculty, and students. They recently announced several internships opportunities for the summer of 2019. Students who are interested in doing a summer internship with the MLA or an organization closer to home are encouraged to contact the department at english.chair@maine.edu for guidelines on how to get started.   

Looking Ahead

On Thursday, February 28, poet, essayist, and editor Lynn Melnick reads in a New Writing Series event hosted by Jennifer Moxley. The event will be held at 4:30pm in the Allen and Sally Fernald APPE Space, 104 Stewart Commons. The day before, February 27, Melnick lead a workshop on Rape Culture at 4pm in the Writing Center.

On March 1, the Stephen E. King Chair Spring Lecture Series opens with a talk by television producer and writer Adam Barr titled “Made for TV: Writing to Keep Hollywood Relevant.” The event will be held at 4:30 in the Wells Conference Center.

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Warm best wishes, everyone, as we embark on the fifth week of classes. We’re here in the office to help if you have any questions or concerns about the semester so far, and we’d love to include your updates in future bulletins, so don’t be shy!

Steve

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This Week in English 48 was sent to faculty, students, and friends of the department on Tuesday, February 19, 2019. If you would rather not receive these weekly bulletins, please reply with <unsubscribe> in your subject line. Earlier installments are archived on our website.

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