English Faculty Co-Host Conference on Learning Communities

Professor Deborah Mutnick (Director of Writing, English Department) and Professor Jose Sanchez (Political Science) are working together to host a conference called "Building Learning Communities at LIU Brooklyn."

Join us to learn how to link students, faculty, courses, and assignments around themes to improve learning and retention.

When & Where
Friday, May 6, 2011
9:30 - 3 PM
Library Learning Center, Room 122

Keynote speakers: Phyllis van Slyck & William J. Koolsbergen (both of LaGuardia Community College).

Breakfast and lunch will be served.

Registration is free. RSVP to Deborah Mutnick or Jose Sanchez 718-488-1057.

Click image to see larger version of flyer for this event:

Jonathan Haynes Receives Guggenheim

Professor Jonathan Haynes (English Department) has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the 2011-2012 academic year, which will allow him to take a full-year sabbatical to work on a book on the Nigerian film industry. His project is called “Nollywood: Themes and genres in Nigerian film culture.”


In other Haynes-related news, in March, Haynes was the keynote speaker at a conference on Nollywood at the University of Lagos. Two of his essays will be published in May: “African Cinema and Nollywood: Contradictions” in a special issue of Situations edited by Dennis Broe (of LIU Brooklyn’s Media Arts Department) and Terri Ginsberg; and “Nollywood in Lagos, Lagos in Nollywood Films” (originally published in Africa Today) in Neoliberalism and Global Cinema, edited by Jyotsna Kapur and Keith Wagner (Routledge).

Congratulations, Professor Haynes!

Book Party for Jamey Jones

A book party & reception for Blue Rain Morning, a new book of poems by Jamey Jones (alum, English Department's Creative-Writing MFA Program), published by Farfalla, McMillan & Parrish.

When & Where
Thursday, April 28, 6 PM
Long Island University (Brooklyn)
Humanities Building, 4th floor, Robert Spector Lounge

Jamey, who is now living in Pensacola, Florida, will also read from his book.

Copies of Blue Rain Morning will be on sale.

Poetry Reading by Stephanie Gray

Stephanie Gray (alum, English Department's Creative-Writing MFA Program) will read with John Coletti at 4 4 3 P A S.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 6-9 PM
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 604
http://443pas.blogspot.com/

Poet-filmmaker Stephanie Gray's first book, Heart Stoner Bingo, was published by Straw Gate Books in 2007. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Aufgabe, Sentence, The Brooklyn Rail, 2ndAvenuePoetry, EOAGH, The Boog City Reader, and The Recluse. Venues she has read at, often live with her films, include the Projections, Segue, and Poetry Project Friday series. Her films have shown internationally, including at the Ann Arbor, Oberhausen, Viennale, Videoex, and Antimatter fests, among others. Her most recent film, You know they want to disappear Hell’s Kitchen as Clinton, a super 8 film with a voiceover inspired by the writings of E.B. White’s Here is NY is currently screening in the Black Maria Film Festival Tour, where it was one of 10 Jury’s Choice First Prizes, and has or will screen at the E-Poetry Festival (Buffalo), Experiments in Cinema (Albuquerque), 8 Fest (Toronto), Director’s Lounge (Berlin), and Mono No Aware, an expanded cinema event in Brooklyn.

John Coletti is the author of Mum Halo (Rust Buckle Books 2010), Same Enemy Rainbow (fewer & further 2008), and Physical Kind (Yo-Yo-Labs 2005). He recently served as editor of The Poetry Project Newsletter and co-edits Open 24 Hours Press with Greg Fuchs.

Eric Alter Hosts Reading Stage at St. George Day in Staten Island

Eric Alter (a student in the English Department's Creative-Writing MFA Proram) invites one and all to come to Staten Island for St. George Day, a festival celebrating the national day of the book and human cooperation. For the second year in a row, Eric will facilitate the All Day Reading Stage.

When & Where
April 23, 2011
Tompkinsville Park (at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Bay Street, a 5-minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry)

From 12 - 1, the stage will be taken over by SHNG(ShootHoopsNotGuns), a spoken word/slam style reading group that has as its central theme gun violence.

From 1 - 2:30, UpHook Press will run the stage with feature readers from their latest anthology, Hell Strung and Crooked. Readers include Aimee Herman (another student in the English Department's Creative-Writing MFA Program), along with David Lawton, Puma Pearl and Jacob Victorine, all great talents on the NYC scene today.

From 3 - 4, the young writers will rule the stage with spoken word readings representing the local community, sponsored by StatenIslandOutLoud.

From 5:30 - 7:00 is the Open Mic sponsored by SHAMBOREE, Staten Island's very own grass roots creative magazine. Come sign up to read your original work or the work of someone elses. Do a monologue. Act a scene from a play. Read your poetry. Perform your words. Time limits will be decided upon at the event.

Lewis Warsh Featured in Two Upcoming Screenings at Anthology Film Archives

Lewis Warsh (Director of Creative-Writing MFA Program, English Department) appears in films to be shown in both parts of the following event.

MEAT IS MOVIE: THE POETRY PROJECT’S SPRING FUNDRAISER

PART 1: Best of Public Access Poetry
April 28, 2011
7:00 pm
Thursday
ca. 75 minutes, video. Edited by Ethan Mitchell and Stacy Szymaszek.

(Note: this event takes place at Anthology Film Archive, 32 2nd Ave.)

This enticing sampler features moments, glimpses, and words from the wild and woolly PUBLIC ACCESS POETRY a cable TV series produced and directed by Poetry Project stalwarts Gary Lenhart, Greg Masters, David Herz and Daniel Krakauer with others, that ran in the late 70s, before anyone downtown had cable. Guaranteed to surprise and certain to bring a smile, BEST OF PUBLIC ACCESS POETRY includes appearances and readings from the likes of Ted Berrigan, Jim Brodey, Steve Carey, Tim Dlugos, Brad Gooch, Ted Greenwald, Bob Holman, Joanne Kyger, Jackson Mac Low, Bernadette Mayer, Eileen Myles, Alice Notley, Joel Oppenheimer, Peter Orlovsky, Maureen Owen, Ron Padgett, Simon Pettet, Rene Ricard, Tom Savage, Susie Timmons, Tony Towle, Lewis Warsh, and others.

General Admission $9.

Funding to preserve PUBLIC ACCESS POETRY was made possible through a Consulting Fund re-grant from the New York State Literary Presenters Technical Assistance Program (LitTAP). LitTAP is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a State agency, and administered through Just Buffalo Literary Center. Additional funding was made possible through the generosity of two anonymous donors. All videos transferred by The Standby Program at MercerMedia with consulting support from Anthology Film Archives.

PART 2: Public Access Poetry: Three Episodes
April 29, 2011
7:00 pm
Friday
ca. 90 minutes, video.

(Note: this event takes place at Anthology Film Archive, 32 2nd Ave.)

Get your groove on and get a feel for the savvy DIY special effects techniques of PUBLIC ACCESS POETRY by watching three consecutive episodes from 1978. In the first, hosted by Bob Rosenthal, Ron Padgett gives a delightful reading from TOUJOURS L’AMORE (Sun, 1976). The following episode, again hosted by Rosenthal, features Bernadette Mayer shortly before she wrote her classic MIDWINTER DAY, and Lewis Warsh reading from BLUE HEAVEN (Kulchur, 1978). The final episode finds Peter Orlovsky reading from CLEAN ASSHOLE POEMS & SMILING VEGETABLE SONGS, shortly before it was to be published as Pocket Poets Series #37, by City Lights Books. He works in a talk about the benefit of urban fruit and nut trees, and then is joined for a set of music by Steven Hall on guitar (who also begins the show with a few poems) – and Arthur Russell fans take note, Russell appears on cello.
General Admission $9.

Writing Program Conversation: Blackboard

Please join us for a Writing Program "Conversation" on Using Blackboard to Engage Student Writing from 3-4 p.m., Thursday, April 21, in the Robert Spector Lounge (4th Floor, Humanities Building).

For those interested, a PowerPoint lesson is scheduled to follow from 4-5 p.m.

Laptop computers will be provided for use during this event.

Please rsvp to deborah.mutnick@liu.edu.

Click image to see flyer for this event.

Summer Writers Lab: New Details

Summer Writers Lab, June 2011: Fiction Immersion

Master Workshops in Fiction

Critically-acclaimed writers Gabriel Cohen, Jennifer Egan, and Marlon James will lead the first annual Summer Writers Lab at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University June 16-18, 2011. The Summer Writers Lab (SWL) is hosted by the M.F.A in Creative Writing Program and will include workshops, panels, readings and performances by prominent writers working in fiction and crime fiction. The program was designed to provide both beginning and advanced writers the opportunity to hone their skills in intimate settings.

In addition to workshop leaders Egan, James, and Cohen, Rick Moody and Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) will be on-hand for a musical performance and on-stage conversation.

Workshops will be held during three sessions: Thursday through Sunday, June 16-18, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m or 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Applicants need to submit a writing sample, along with a $20 application fee. Tuition is $300 for one workshop or $500 for two workshops. Admission to panels and events is included in the workshop fees.

Long Island University staff and students receive a 20% discount. LIU English graduate students wishing to take part and/or earn credit through the conference should contact Marilyn Boutwell at Marilyn.Boutwell@liu.edu.

For more information or to apply, contact (718) 488-1050 or email summerwriterslab@brooklyn.liu.edu or visit www.liu.edu/swl.

Summer Writers Lab 2011 Panels and Special Events

Thursday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Opening Night Reading: Gabriel Cohen, Jennifer Egan, and Marlon James. Hosted by Jessica Hagedorn. Followed by book signing and reception. Tickets: Free for Summer Writers Lab participants; $5 for the general public.

Friday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Conversation and Performance: Rick Moody and Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) followed by Q&A with audience, book signing and reception. Tickets: Free for SWL participants; $5 for the general public.

Saturday, June 18 at 1:00 p.m.
The Literary Marketplace in the 21st Century: A lunchtime panel with Rakesh Satyal, Editor at HarperCollins and author of the acclaimed novel, Blue Boy; Johnny Temple, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Akashic Books and Chair of the Brooklyn Book Festival; and other professionals in the publishing industry. Harold Augenbraum, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation and presenter of the National Book Awards, will moderate the panel. Tickets: Free for SWL participants; $5 for the general public.

Srividhya Swaminathan to Attend NEH Summer Institute

Professor Srividhya Swaminathan (English Department) has been accepted to participate in the NEH [National Endowment for the Humanities] Summer Institute to be held at the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University this summer.

The topic of the Institute is Slaves, Soldiers, and Rebels: Black Resistance in the Tropical Atlantic, 1760-1888. Click here for more info.

Congratulations, Vidhya!

Sigma Tau Delta Event: Induction Ceremony

The Omicron Zeta Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta will be inducting 14 new members this year. The induction ceremony and buffet dinner will take place on Friday, April 29, 2011, at 6:30 PM, in Pratt Building, Room 310 (Honors Program Lounge). All current and new members should plan to attend.

Sigma Tau Delta Members Present at National Conference

For the fifth year in a row, Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society, participated in the Annual Convention, held in Pittsburgh, PA in March. Four students presented papers reflecting their work in the diverse and interesting classes offered by the English Department. Robin Renahan and Jessica Roelant read papers on a panel they organized titled Women’s Gender Roles in Medieval and Early Renaissance Literature. Lisa Huang attended the conference for a second time and gave a paper titled “A Portrait of Dichotomy.” Ralph Tolbert presented his award-winning paper, “The Imperfect Union.”

Congratulations, everyone!

Srividhya Swaminathan to Moderate Session at Spring Honors Conference

This year, the LIU/Brooklyn Spring Honors Conference is on the theme "Impacts of War" and will feature presentations by Jonathan Pieslak and Chris Hedges.

Professor Swaminathan (English Department) will moderate a session entitled "Music to Hate (by)", featuring Pieslak (CUNY Grad Center), author of Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War.

When & Where
April 22, 2011
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
Library Learning Center, Room 122

Click image to see complete program for the conference.

Free Movie Night! Free Pizza! African Studies Program Presents "School Daze"

The Africana Studies Program invites you to view scenes from Spike Lee's School Daze.

When & Where
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
6:30 PM sharp
Library Learning Center, Room 122

Please join us for enlightening discussion and pizza!

Click the image to see larger version of flyer for this event.



Presented by Dr. Carol Allen, Dr. Kimberly Jones and Professor Orlando Warren. For information, please contact the Humanities Division at 718-488-1053.

Voices of the Rainbow Event: Harryette Mullen

When & Where
Friday, April 29, 2011
12:00 noon
Humanities Building, Room 206

Harryette Mullen’s poetry is filled with wordplay and allusion as well as being centered in the wider tradition of African American literature. Recyclopedia, which collects three of her earlier volumes, received a PEN Beyond Margins Award in 2006. She is also a recent winner of the Jackson Prize from Poets & Writers and has been nominated for a National Book Award.

This reading is being given in conjunction with two other readings in New York the same week, one at Poets House and one at Cave Canem. The Poets-House reading is part of a celebration of the publication of Looking Up Harryette Mullen: Interviews on Sleeping With the Dictionary and Other Works by Barbara Henning (Professor Emerita in the LIU Brooklyn English Department). For more information about the other two readings, click here and scroll down to April 29 and 30.

Africana-Studies Mentorship Program Event

Looking for a Mentor?

Interested in Administration in the Educational Field? Want to Capitalize on Your Love of Community Service?

Come to the next Africana-Studies Mentorship Program Event.

Michael Rodriguez, Coordinator of the Men’s Resource Center at Kingsborough Community College, will be speaking about

Mentorships, Leadership Development, and Student Retention.

When & Where
Monday, April 25, 2011
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Health Sciences Building, Room 121

Sponsored by the Africana Studies Mentorship Program.

New Undergraduate Course Added to Fall 2011 Offerings: Queer Theories

Update: course was cancelled.

A new course has been added to the list of upper-division (100+) courses being offered in Fall 2011.

English 236 Queer Theories (Course ID# 6582)
Professor Harriet Malinowitz
Mondays 6:00 - 8:30 PM

This course is an introduction to contemporary critical theory in LGBTQ studies. We will be reading and discussing a number of texts which raise questions about the social construction of sexual identity and the organization of sexual categories and hierarchies; the politics of representation of multiple sexualities in contemporary culture; the existence of dichotomies such as homo/herero, in/out, same/different; the ways race, class, and gender intersect with sexuality to construct identity; the ways AIDS reshaped consciousness and the social fabric; the relationship between sexual and gender identities; and the nature of the LGBTQ community.

We will also explore the roots of contemporary queer theory in the history of the U.S. LGBTQ social/political movement that gradually emerged after World War II; in Michel Foucault's analysis of the ways sexuality has been "put into discourse" via our social institutions (e.g., religious, medical, juridical, educational, psychiatric) in the last three centuries; in the lesbian/feminist movement of the 1970s; and in the debates about social constructionism vs. essentialism in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, we will look at how these earlier discussions inform current issues and debates in LGBTQ lives--e.g., marriage equality, gays in the military, transgender realities, etc.

For more information, e-mail Professor Malinowitz at harriet.malinowitz@liu.edu.