This Week in English | April 22 – 28, 2019
I would like to preface this installment of the weekly bulletin with an appreciation of the admirable work our Master’s candidates did last week in the MA Thesis Reading (on Thursday) and the EGSA Symposium (on Friday). It was a real pleasure to witness the wide range of artistic and scholarly achievement showcased in these two events. Thanks to everyone, but especially to the EGSA representatives, for their diligent labors on behalf of the cultural life of the department!
MA Alum Paige Melin Receives Fulbright
Recent alum Paige Melin has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Senegal for the 2019-2020 academic year. Melin received her Master’s Degree in English with dual concentrations in Poetry and Poetics and Gender and Literature from the University of Maine in 2016. While abroad, she plans to incorporate poetry into her teaching curriculum and to use her background in translation—her M.A. thesis was a translation project advised by Jennifer Moxley—to connect with her students. Ultimately, her goal is to develop a transnational anthology featuring the work of youth writers from Buffalo, NY and her home institution in Senegal. Currently, Melin works as the Education Coordinator for the nonprofit organization Explore Buffalo, and as a Teaching Artist for the Queen City Home School Collective and Young Audiences of WNY.
McGillicuddy Humanities Center Events on Wednesday & Friday
MHC Director Margo Lukens, recipient of the April 2019 Faculty Excellence Award from the UMAine Alumni Association, invites us all to attend the final two events of the academic year sponsored by the Center.
Wednesday, April 24: 4:30pm lecture on “Messiah in America,” by Francis Vogt, UMaine Director of Choral Activities.
Friday, April 26: 1:00pm panel on “Franco-American, Acadians, and the Great War” first event of Franco-American Center Rassemblement.
Poets/Speak! on Thursday
On Thursday, April 25, the Bangor Public Library will host the annual Poets/Speak! event organized by poet and faculty member Kathleen Ellis. The program begins at 4pm and wraps up a little before 8pm and features readings by a number of English students, faculty, and alums, including Joanna Crouse, Rich Hoch, Bruce Pratt, Kim Crowley, Danielle Pafunda, Lisa Panepinto, Mark Melnicove, Kat Dubois, Kristyn Gerow, Nick Rotter-Weller, and others.
Hold the dates: Grady Awards and Departmental Recognition Ceremony
Winners of this year’s Grady Awards in poetry and fiction will be celebrated in a special New Writing Series event on Thursday, May 2, at 4:30 in the Allen & Sally Fernald APPE Space (Stewart Commons 104). This year’s Grady Awards were judged by Kate Colby (poetry) and Martin Riker (fiction), both recent visitors to the New Writing Series. In the undergraduate division, Riker selected Katherine Skvorak’s manuscript for first place. Micah Valliere was runner-up. At the graduate level, Tori Hood was the winner and Morghen Tidd runner-up. For undergraduate poetry, Colby awarded Noah Loveless first place and Brieanna Welch runner-up. The winner at the graduate level was Martin Conte. Elizabeth Northcote, no longer in the program, received honorable mention.
Our departmental recognition ceremony is planned for Friday, May 3, with refreshments at 3:30 and the ceremony itself at 4:30pm. Look for more information in future bulletins.
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This Week in English 56 was sent to faculty, students, and friends of the department on Wednesday, April 22, 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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