Discussion Feb. 10 about ‘Great Gatsby: Novel to Film’

Join members of the Department of English for a panel discussion on the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, “The Great Gatsby,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The event, sponsored by the Department of English and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, will be held in Salvi Lecture Hall. Everyone is welcome, and refreshments will be provided. For more in formation, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at cayers@smumn.edu.

Panel to discuss ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’

The Department of English and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, will host a panel discussion on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the President's Room. Refreshments will be served; all are welcome to come and participate in “unpacking” this famous and compelling but puzzling poem. Copies of the poem are available in the English office, Room 231, Saint Mary’s Hall.

Students to present at Museum of Russian Art

Five history and English majors will present at the first annual Interdisciplinary Student Research Symposium, hosted by The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) and a consortium of Minnesota colleges and universities. The symposium will take place at TMORA in Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb. 15, in connection with the museum’s exhibit: “The Romanovs: Legacy of an Empire Lost,” which runs until March 23. Presentations will address the art, literature and history of the Russian empire.

Students presenting are:

• Brianna Theis, “The Shackled Hands of Russia’s Poet: Nicholas I’s Censorship of Alexander Pushkin’s Personal and Professional Life”
• Anna Segner, “The Representation of Empire in Lermontov’s Paintings and Prose”
• Paul Schmitt, “The Otherworldly Bureaucracy in Gogol’s Petersburg Tales”
• John Soucheray, “In Search for Russia’s Soul: Aleksei Khomiakov and Sobornost Principles in Russian Orthodox theology, 1830-1860”
• Peter McColl, “Dangers of Assimilation: Old Believer Iconography under Nicholas II”
Accompanying the students are Dr. Erich Lippman, Department of History, and Dr. Carolyn Ayers, Department of English.

Panel to discuss ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’

The Department of English and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, will host a panel discussion on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the President's Room. Refreshments will be served; all are welcome to come and participate in “unpacking” this famous and compelling but puzzling poem. Copies of the poem are available in the English office, Room 231, Saint Mary’s Hall.

Students to present at Museum of Russian Art

Five history and English majors will present at the first annual Interdisciplinary Student Research Symposium, hosted by The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) and a consortium of Minnesota colleges and universities. The symposium will take place at TMORA in Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb. 15, in connection with the museum’s exhibit: “The Romanovs: Legacy of an Empire Lost,” which runs until March 23. Presentations will address the art, literature and history of the Russian empire.

Students presenting are:

• Brianna Theis, “The Shackled Hands of Russia’s Poet: Nicholas I’s Censorship of Alexander Pushkin’s Personal and Professional Life”
• Anna Segner, “The Representation of Empire in Lermontov’s Paintings and Prose”
• Paul Schmitt, “The Otherworldly Bureaucracy in Gogol’s Petersburg Tales”
• John Soucheray, “In Search for Russia’s Soul: Aleksei Khomiakov and Sobornost Principles in Russian Orthodox theology, 1830-1860”
• Peter McColl, “Dangers of Assimilation: Old Believer Iconography under Nicholas II”
Accompanying the students are Dr. Erich Lippman, Department of History, and Dr. Carolyn Ayers, Department of English.

Vondracek publishes story

Christopher Vondracek, English Department, had a story titled “My rural Minnesota childhood with cats named Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach” published on MPR Classical’s website: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/12/05/classical-cats.

Poet Sarah Certa to give reading

A reading by poet Sarah Certa, author of the chapbook, “Red Paper Heart,” will be held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the President’s Room.

Her poems focus on the many shades of love. In 2010, Sarah graduated from Winona State with a B.A. in English and in 2013 from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an M.F.A. in creative writing.

The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor dociety. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Carolyn Ayers, cayers@smumn.edu or Ext. 1523.

Ayers to present Monday

On Monday, March 25, Dr. Carolyn Ayers will present the next talk in the Sigma Tau Delta talk series: “Service and Charity in The Brothers Karamazov.”  The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the President’s Room. Refreshments will be provided, and all are welcome.

Speaker to discuss superstition, fear on Shakespeare’s stage

Guest speaker Verena Theile, North Dakota State University, will present, “Something Wicked This Way Comes: fear and superstitions on Shakespeare’s stage” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in the President’s Room.

The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society. For more information, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at cayers@smumn.edu. Refreshments will be provided.

Outstanding English papers awarded

The English Department recently presented the award for outstanding paper of the 2011-2012 academic year. Two students tied for the award: Kate Larson for “That Which We Are: Modernist Undertones in Tennyson’s  ‘Ulysses’ ” and Mike Wolter for “Kafka’s ‘A Starvation Artist.’ ” Each student received a gift card to the book store.

Speaker to discuss Holocaust in literature Sept. 13

A public presentation titled, “The Holocaust and the ‘Subject’ of Fiction,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13.

The guest speaker is Dr. Emily Budick. Dr. Budick is the Ann and Joseph Edelman Chair in American Literature and Chair of the Program of American Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, and Phyllis Greenberg Heideman and Richard D. Heideman Fellow with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Budick is researching the role of Holocaust fictions in grappling with the events of World War II. The lecture will deal with the ways in which Holocaust fictions frame the problem of subject position, forcing the reader to confront the ways in which even horrific historical events can become subjects of fantasy and projection.

The event will be held in the President’s Room, located in the Toner Student Center.

Dr. Budick will also speak to Saint Mary’s “Seminar in Holocaust Literature” students Thursday afternoon.

The presentation is made possible by the Campus Outreach Lecture Program of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, supported by the generosity of the Jerome A. Yavitz Charitable Foundation, Inc. and Arlyn S. and Stephen H. Cypen.

Clark to discuss the circuit of racism

Dr. Erin Mae Clark, assistant professor of English, will present “The Wire: African American Literature and the Circuit of Racism” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the President’s Room. The presentation is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

The event is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Society. For more information, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at cayers@smumn.edu.

‘Pebble of Truth’ to be discussed Jan. 14

The public is invited to a presentation titled “Paul Muldoon’s Pebble of Truth — by Dr. Christian Michener of the Department of English — on Thursday, Jan. 14. The event, which will begin at 7 p.m. in the President’s room, will include a discussion about Muldoon’s poetic response to Irish terrorism.

Muldoon is a contemporary poet from Northern Ireland who has won numerous awards for his poetry. Muldoon won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his collection of poems titled “Moy, Sand and Gravel.”

Refreshments will be provided. This event is sponsored by the International English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta.

For more information, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at Ext. 1523 or cayers@smumn.edu.

Author Ron Hansen to speak Jan. 27

Ron Hansen, author of “Mariette in Ecstasy” and a book of essays called “A Stay Against Confusion: Essays on Faith and Fiction” will read from his books at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

Hansen also has authored “Isn’t it Romantic,” “Desperadoes,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Nebraska,” “Atticus,” and a children’s book, “The Shadowmaker.” He is Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University. His novel “Atticus” was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1996.

His presentation, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, call Dr. David Sokolowski at Ext. 1538.

Author Ron Hansen to speak Jan. 27

Ron Hansen, author of “Mariette in Ecstasy” and a book of essays called “A Stay Against Confusion: Essays on Faith and Fiction” will read from his books at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

Hansen also has authored “Isn’t it Romantic,” “Desperadoes,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Nebraska,” “Atticus,” and a children’s book, “The Shadowmaker.” He is Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University. His novel “Atticus” was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1996.

His presentation, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, call Dr. David Sokolowski at Ext. 1538.

Author Ron Hansen to speak Jan. 27

Ron Hansen, author of “Mariette in Ecstasy” and a book of essays called “A Stay Against Confusion: Essays on Faith and Fiction” will read from his books at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

Hansen also has authored “Isn’t it Romantic,” “Desperadoes, “ “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Nebraska,” “Atticus,” and a children’s book, “The Shadowmaker.” He is Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University. His novel “Atticus” was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1996.

His presentation, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, call Dr. David Sokolowski at Ext. 1538.

English faculty present at convention in Minneapolis

Dr. Carolyn Ayers, English Department, and Dr. Brooke Lenz, English Department, recently moderated a session titled “Situated Narratives” at the annual convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association in Minneapolis. During this session, they also presented a paper titled “Contesting Narratives in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions and The Book of Not,” which focused on the authenticity, ethical imperatives, and narrative form of the narrator’s story.

Lenz presents paper*

Dr. Brooke Lenz, Department of English, gave a paper titled “Fact and Fiction: The Metafictional Standpoint Methodology of Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” at the 13th annual conference of the Marquette University Women’s Studies Program, Women and Creativity IX, March 22-24. The conference featured presentations involving a multitude of disciplinary perspectives, focusing on women artists and women in literature, film, religious texts, and other artistic spaces.