2009 Conference Featured Speaker to Speak in Texas on March 12

An event of note.

As a preview for the Fifteenth Annual ALSC Conference, to be held in October 2009 in Denver, Colorado, we are pleased to note that our featured speaker Azar Nafisi will be speaking at the Harry Ransom Lecture on March 12th of this year.  The Harry Ransom Lectures are held in Austin at the University of Texas and sponsored by the University Co-operative Society, in memory of former Chancellor Harry Huntt Ransom. Azar Nafisi has taught at the University of Tehran, the Free Islamic University, and Allameh Tabatabai, and is currently a Visiting Professor and the director of the Cultural Conversations at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.  Ms. Nafisi is the celebrated author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (2003); another work, Things I Have Been Silent About, appears this month in print.  While teaching in Tehran, she endured dismissal and a six-year teaching hiatus for refusing to wear a veil in the classroom, and her work concerns both criticism of the Islamic regime and self-criticism in the vein of Pride and Prejudice.  She has been greatly distinguished for her studies and promotion of culture and human rights, especially in the Middle East, most recently in 2006 by the Persian Golden Lioness Award for literature, presented by the World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media.  We celebrate her acclaim in Texas as we anticipate her weekend with us this fall.

– Erin McDonagh

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Marilyn Hacker and Edward Hirsch Elected to AAP Board of Chancellors

From a press release of some interest.

We are thrilled to announce two new elections in the Academy of American Poets: current ALSC member Marilyn Hacker and former member Edward Hirsch were elected to the Board of Chancellors earlier this month.  Marilyn Hacker is an accomplished poet and translator of poetry and the recent recipient of the Robert Fagles Translation Prize for her translation of Marie Etienne’s King of a Hundred Horsemen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008).  Edward Hirsch is currently president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the co-editor of The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology (2008), among other titles.  The American Academy of poets, founded in 1934 to foster appreciation and support for contemporary poets and poetry, sponsors various prizes, publications, and events, including National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; past chancellors of the Academy include W.H. Auden and Robert Lowell.  For more information, please visit www.poets.org.

– Erin McDonagh

Two Associate Editors Wanted

After 10 years, founding partner Robert Wynne is leaving Cider Press Review to pursue other projects. His contributions to the press will be difficult to replace, so in consequence, Cider Press Review is looking for two new Associate Editors, an Associate Poetry Editor who will be primarily responsible for the annual journal, and an Associate Book Editor who will focus on our annual Book Award. Cider Press publishes only poetry. See samples online at www.ciderpressreview.com.

CPR is looking for editors with discernment to complement the existing editorial slant of Cider Press Review. Candidates should have extensive knowledge of contemporary poetry, some experience with journal publication, and exceptional proofreading skills. The ideal candidate will also have contacts among contemporary writers and excellent people skills. Both positions are part-time volunteer/mast-head only, though there is a possibility of a small stipend in future.

Since its inception, Cider Press Review has functioned in a virtual workspace. Editors can live and work anywhere provided they have reliable internet access and sufficient computer skills to share manuscript files and communicate with the Managing Editor. No advanced technical skills, either with book production or computer programming, are required.

Anyone interested in being considered for these positions or more information, please email caron [at] ciderpressreview.com. If possible, I would like to set up phone meetings before AWP (Feb. 11-15, 2009).

ALSC Councillor Discusses Recent Book on C-SPAN2

In this 90-minute BookTV program, Mark Bauerlein, current member of the ALSC Council and former Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts, debates author Neil Howe on the effects that various technologies have on the intellectual interests and abilities of The Millennial Generation.

Watch the video here.

Adelaide M. Russo Wins Prize for French and Francophone Studies

We are honored to announce that Adelaide M. Russo, professor of comparative literature and French studies at Louisiana State University and contributing-level member of the ALSC, has received the sixteenth annual Aldo and Jeanna Scaglione Prize, which is awarded by the MLA for outstanding scholarly work in French and Francophone studies.

Russo received the award for her book Le Peintre Comme Modèle: Du Surréalisme à L’extrême Contemporain, which looks closely at the connections of visual art and poetry in the twentieth century as well the inspirations that artists, poets, and publishers provide for one another.

The award was presented on December 28, 2008 in San Francisco at the MLA’s annual convention.

– Nicole Baldner

Call for Papers on Great Expectations and Four Other Titles

A message from Ignatius Critical Editions series editor Joseph Pearce.

We are looking for critical essays for the next batch of Ignatius Critical Editions. The first six titles have now been published. The third and fourth batches are already being edited and we are now ready to accept essays for the fifth
batch. The five titles for which we are making this call for papers are as follows:

• Romeo and Juliet
• Great Expectations
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Mansfield Park
• Moby Dick

Essays should be written in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition) from a tradition-oriented critical perspective and should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length. Contributors will be paid 10 cents per word for accepted essays if the work is previously unpublished and a payment of $100 will be made for previously published essays. Deadline for receipt of all essays will be July 1st, 2009.

Please reply by e-mail if you are interested in submitting an essay, giving details of your proposed title or thesis.

The First Innovations in Reading Prize, Application Now Available

A reprint of a press release of interest.

Each year, the National Book Foundation will award a number of prizes of up to $2,500 each to individuals and institutions–or partnerships between the two–that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading.

In addition to promoting the best of American literature through the National Book Awards, the Foundation also seeks to expand the audience for literature in America. Through the Innovations in Reading Prizes, those individuals and organizations that use particularly innovative methods to generate excitement and a passionate engagement with books and literature will be rewarded for their creativity and leadership.

Postmark deadline for all materials is February 15, 2009.

Click here to access an application for the First Annual Innovations in Reading Prize.

Vermont Studio Center and Zoland Poetry Offer Fellowships for Two New Studio Residencies

We call your attention to a fellowship opportunity specifically for translators—a month-long residency award at the Vermont Studio Center sponsored by VSC and Zoland Poetry.

Learn more here.

The Big Read Announces Grant Opportunities

A reprint of a press release of interest.

The NEA has a new grant opportunity to celebrate poetry in your community! We are proud to announce the expansion of The Big Read to include three poets featured in our American Literary Landmarks program—Emily Dickinson, Robinson Jeffers, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 2007, the National Endowment for the Arts—in partnership with the Poetry Foundation—created a new component of The Big Read called American Literary Landmarks that celebrated three of the nation’s historic poetry sites: the Emily Dickinson Museum, Robinson Jeffers’s Tor House, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. The Big Read programming in 2009-2010 expands reading choices beyond books to include these three poets and their works. The deadline for applications is February 3, 2009. Please see below and at www.NEABigRead.org for the full guidelines.

The Big Read is accepting applications from non-profit organizations to conduct month-long, community-wide reads between September 2009 and June 2010. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant ranging from $2,500 to $20,000, financial support to attend the orientation meeting, educational and promotional materials for broad distribution, Organizers Guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of your organization and activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national initiative. Approximately 400 organizations of varying sizes across the country will be selected for this cycle.

To download the Guidelines & Application Instructions go to www.NEABigRead.org

Questions? Call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or email TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

NEH Encourages Educators to Apply for 2009 Summer Programs in the Humanities

A reprint of a press release of interest.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 3, 2008)—American educators across the country are encouraged to apply now for 2009 summer study opportunities in the humanities. Each summer, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports rigorous national, residential seminars, institutes, and workshops located in the United States and abroad. Program participants receive stipends to help defray travel and living expenses.

For the 2009 Summer Seminars and Institutes, interested teachers must apply for the respective seminars and institutes, 19 for college and university teachers and 31 for school teachers, by March 2, 2009. School teachers can apply to no more than one program, and college and university teachers can apply to no more than two programs. Seminars and Institutes are 2-6 week programs that take place in the United States and abroad. Summer Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers provide K-12 educators with a means to deepen their understanding of important subjects in the humanities. Summer Seminars and Institutes for College and University Teachers allow faculty members to gain a deeper knowledge of current scholarship in key fields of the humanities and advance their own teaching and research.

For the 2009 Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops, interested teachers must apply for the respective workshops, 6 for community college faculty and 20 for school teachers, by March 16, 2009. Educators may apply to and participate in no more than two workshops. The Landmarks workshops are 1-week workshops that take place at sites of historical or cultural significance across the nation and provide educators with the opportunity to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics in American history and culture.

For more information about the 2009 summer programs in the humanities for teachers, including eligibility and application information and details about each of the seminars, institutes, and workshops offered, please visit http://www.neh.gov/projects/summer09.html.

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Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, exhibitions, and programs in libraries, museums, and other community places. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.

Media Contact: Lindsey Mikal at (202) 606-8317 or Elizabeth Fisher at (202) 208-7098