UW-L English Studies Blog

Joseph Bathanti Reading (4/23)

Short story writer, novelist, poet, playwright, and creative nonfiction writer Joseph Bathanti will conduct a reading, discussion, and book signing, Wednesday, April 23,
5 p.m., Room 140, Cowley Hall, on the UW-L campus. 

Bathanti is the author of four books of poetry, two novels, a short story collection, a play, and numerous nonfiction pieces.  His most recent work, the short story collection, The High Heart, won the 2007 Spokane Prize.  His collection of poetry, This Metal, was nominated for The National Book Award.  He has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes in both short fiction and creative nonfiction.  His novel, Coventry, won the 2006 Novello Literary Award, and his novel, East Liberty, won the Carolina Novel Award in 2001.     He won the 1997 Oscar Arnold Young Award from The North Carolina Poetry Council.   His one-act play, Afomo, won The Wachovia Playwrights Prize.  He has received the Sherwood Anderson Award, the Linda Flowers Prize, and the 2007 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Prize. 

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Bathanti moved to North Carolina as a VISTA Volunteer in 1976 to work with prison inmates.  Presently, he is Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. 

In this beautifully written and deeply moving collection of linked short stories, Joseph Bathanti gives us all the sad trappings of working-class life--the Rolling Rock beer, the Pall-Mall  cigarettes, the plastic lawn chairs, the beat-up Bonnevilles and Impalas. Yet the world of The High Heart never feels depressing.  It's impossible not to cheer on young Fritzy as he struggles to make sense of his eccentric parents, the ever-bickering, memorable couple  known as Travis-and-Rita.
--Rita Ciresi, author of Pink Slip and Sometimes I Dream In Italian

Karen Stuart Colloquium (4/4)

As part of the UW-L English Department's 2007-2008 William J. and Yvonne Hyde Colloquium Series, Dr. Karen Stuart will present

"Robert Musil's Essayism: Ethics and the Politics of Writing."

The presentation takes place Friday April 4, Room 207 Wimberly Hall, 2:30pm-3:30pm.

All are welcome to attend.

Trane Internship

Melinda Paulson, a Rhetoric & Writing graduate who did an internship at Trane (here in  La  Crosse) and is now working for Trane full time in St. Paul. She is currently looking to hire an intern herself.  See below for more information about the position:

• Download Intern Description

I’m looking to hire an intern in  La  Crosse  to do some of the things I started on, and wanted to reach out to you about it. If you could share this information with any students you think would be interested, I’d appreciate it!

The process to apply is through eagle opportunities / career services. I can’t see that description and I don’t receive those applications directly. They go to our HR department, which pre-screens them before sending them to me. (They make sure they meet minimum qualifications). The reason I wanted to reach out about this is that I’m a little more flexible than I believe the process will look. For instance, although it probably says minimum of 20 hours per week in 3 hour increments – we can work around that. I understand the college schedule and am thinking 10 – 20 hours per week with flexibility for midterms, etc. It probably also says minimum of 1 year and I’m thinking of a start date at the beginning of June and going through April. (I don’t expect them to work through finals / graduation unless they want to).

I do want someone that’s good with deadlines as a large part of the internship is a weekly publication. They need to be a good writer and editor. The description gives some other qualifications. It’s a paid internship at $10 / hour. The bulk is publication work and some event communications, but I’m open to offering other experience as well if time allows and there’s something specific they’d like to learn. (I do a variety of things in my position, from developing communication plans for manufacturing locations to technical writing to PR initiatives – a visibility program for our leaders at universities and promotion for customer projects).

If you could share this, I’d appreciate it!  Also, feel free to give out my contact information if anyone would like to contact me directly with questions. They’ll still need to follow the formal process, but I’d be happy to hear from them. I’d like to do in-person interviews in April, which means the sooner they apply, the better.

Melinda Paulson
Communications Project Coordinator
Trane Commercial Systems
4833 White Bear Pkwy
St. Paul, MN 55110
Tel: 651-407-3974
Mobile: 651-332-1296
E-mail: mpaulson@trane.com
http://www.trane.com

Shauna Singh Baldwin Event (3/26)

Fiction Reading, Discussion & Book Signing with Shauna Singh Baldwin

On Wednesday, March 26th at 5 pm in Port O' Call, Shauna Singh Baldwin, award-winning novelist and short-story writer will read from her latest short story collection, We Are Not in Pakistan.  Born in Canada to Indian parents, Ms. Baldwin grew up in New Delhi, and has made Milwaukee her home for the past twenty years. Her fiction has topped best seller lists in Canada, India, and elsewhere, and has earned glowing reviews in the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as high praise abroad. Her first novel, What the Body Remembers, won the 2000 Commonweath Prize for Best Book in the Canadian-Caribbean region; it has since been translated into fourteen languages. Her collection, English Lessons and Other Stories, won the 1996 Friends of American Writers prize; and her second novel, The Tiger Claw, was short-listed for the 2004 Giller Prize and shared the short list for India's 2006 Hutch Crossword Award with works by V.S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie. The author's website: www.shaunasinghbaldwin.com

• Who: Shauna Singh Baldwin, award-winning novelist
• What: Book reading, discussion and signing
• When: 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 26
• Where: Port 'O Call, UW-La Crosse Cartwright Center
• Admission: Free

Sponsored by the UW-L English Department.
Contact: Matthew Cashion (cashion.matt@uwlax.edu).

SPEAK at the Cellar

Come to the Cellar between 8 and 10 this Wednesday to be seen (and heard) at SPEAK!
It's an open mic night and everyone is invited! Share your original (or borrowed) fiction, poetry, ramblings, musical talent, ninja skills and whatever other borderline-incriminating (however, NOT incriminating) abilities you would like the group of college kids in the intimate setting of the Cellar to witness! This week, special guest host Adam G. will hold "the paper" on which you will need to sign up to SPEAK!  Hope to see you there! SPEAK! is an event sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and the English Club.

Katie Kaspar