‘My Favorite Poem’ project celebrates National Poetry Month

http://news.unm.edu/2013/03/my-favorite-poem-project-celebrates-national-poetry-month/
By Carolyn Gonzales, UNM Today, March 25, 2013

Acclaimed poet and for­mer U.S. Poet Lau­re­ate Rita Dove wrote, “By mak­ing us stop for a moment, poetry gives us an oppor­tu­nity to think about our­selves as human beings on this planet and what we mean to each other.”

In this same spirit, com­mu­nity mem­bers of Santa Fe and Albu­querque will gather to share poems they love dur­ing National Poetry Month in April. The read­ings are hosted by the UNM Eng­lish Depart­ment and the Insti­tute of Amer­i­can Indian Arts and are directed by award-winning poet and UNM pro­fes­sor Luci Tapa­honso. The read­ings begin at 6 p.m. on Fri­day evenings: UNM Zim­mer­man Library (Willard Room) on April 5 and in the Waters Room, also at Zim­mer­man on April 19, and at IAIA (CLE Com­mons) on April 12 and April 26. The events are free, open to the pub­lic and a recep­tion will follow.

The “My Favorite Poem” Project is based on for­mer US Poet Lau­re­ate Robert Pinsky’s ini­tia­tive in 1998 that was held in major cities and fea­tured thou­sands of read­ers from all walks of life includ­ing school chil­dren, busi­ness own­ers, civic lead­ers, teach­ers, col­lege stu­dents, spir­i­tual lead­ers, ranch­ers and media personalities.

Read­ers on April 5 (Willard Room) include Monte Vista stu­dents Lily Rosano-Mueller and Arden Bur­kett, Eng­lish Chair Gail Hous­ton, Asso­ciate Dean Phillip Gan­der­ton, Escuela del Sol stu­dent Samiyah Dezbah James, National Dance Insti­tute Direc­tor Rus­sell Baker, Eng­lish Lec­turer Kyle Fiore, UNM Accoun­tant Misty Dawn Ortiz, Dr. Doris Fields, Librar­ian Maria Teresa Mar­quez, Poet Deme­tria Mar­tinez. Nov­el­ist and IAIA Pro­fes­sor Evalina Zuni Lucero.

Read­ers on April 19 (Waters Room) include SIPI Pres­i­dent Dr. Sherry Alli­son, Colum­nist David Stein­berg, UNM Pub­li­cist Car­olyn Gon­za­les, MFA stu­dents Adam Nunez and Natalie Scen­ters– Zapico, UNM Libraries Dean Martha Bedard, UNM Book­store Events Coor­di­na­tor Lani Tay­lor, West End Pub­lisher John Craw­ford, and Asso­ciate Dean Kevin Mal­loy and NM Cen­ten­nial Poet Levi Romero.

Tapa­honso, who pre­vi­ously orga­nized Favorite Poem projects in Lawrence, Kan. and Tuc­son, Ariz., said that the read­ings reveal the impor­tance of poetry in our per­sonal his­to­ries and how shar­ing poems can strengthen a community’s sense of cul­ture and place. “We often turn to poetry in moments of ela­tion, grat­i­tude, loss or fear, and this is a won­der­ful oppor­tu­nity to share with oth­ers the ways in which par­tic­u­lar poems speak to us,” Tapa­honso said.

UNM Today Media Con­tact: Car­olyn Gon­za­les (505) 277‑5920; email: cgonzal@unm.edu

Posted in Academics, Faculty, Events, English BLOG

--Luci Tapahonso

Poet Laureate, Navajo Nation

Professor, Department of English

Tapahons@unm.edu

Beth Davila receives Best New Scholar Award from Written Communication

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Beth Davila for receiving the Best New Scholar Award from Written Communication for her article "'Standard' Edited American English: Examining the Link Between Conceptions of Standardness and Perceived Authorial Identity." Written Communication April 2012 29: 180-20.

Dr. Davila was also a finalist for the John R. Hayes Award, given for the best article of the year by Written Communication.

Gail Houston's, Victorian Women Writers, Radical Grandmothers, and the Gendering of God being published by Ohio State University Press

Gail Turley Houston's fourth book, Victorian Women Writers, Radical Grandmothers, and the Gendering of God has been published by Ohio State University Press in their new Religion and Postsecular Society series. In this book, Houston considers Florence Nightingale, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and other writers vis-a-vis radical British women socialists and feminists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Please see the following URL:https://ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?books/book%20pages/Houston%20Victorian.html .

Professor Daniel Worden selected for NHC's 2013 Summer Institute in Literary Studies

Daniel Worden has been selected to participate in the National Humanities Center's 2013 Summer Institute in Literary Studies. In June, Professor Worden will be a part of the Summer Institute led by Walter Benn Michaels (Professor of American Literature and Literary Theory, University of Illinois at Chicago) on Tom McCarthy's Remainder. The National Humanities Center's Summer Institutes in Literary Studies are made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/sils/index.htm

Erika Sanchez wins "Discovery/Boston Review Poetry Contest" & Natalie Scenters-Zapico is runner up

Good news from former and current poetry MFA students! MFA grad Erika Sanchez won the "Discovery/Boston Review Poetry Contest" and Natalie Scenters-Zapico, who is defending this spring, won an honorable mention in the same contest!

The prize is a pretty prestigious one:

"Now in its sixth decade, the "Discovery" Poetry Contest is designed to attract large audiences to poets who have not yet published a book. For this sixth year, the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center is proud to partner with Boston Review.

Many winners of this contest have gone on to distinguished careers as poets, among them John Ashbery, Lucille Clifton, Nick Flynn, David St. John and Rosanna Warren."

Here's the link to the announcement and more information! http://www.92y.org/discovery

Chandan Reddy speaks on "Violence, Intimacy, and the Racial State: Mapping Queer of Color Critique"

Chandan Reddy (Associate Professor of English, University of Washington)
"Violence, Intimacy, and the Racial State: Mapping Queer of Color Critique"

Friday, March 22nd, 12:30

Mitchell Hall 102

Professor Reddy’s groundbreaking book, Freedom with Violence: Race, Sexuality and the U.S. State, was recently awarded the MLA 2013 Alan Brey Award and the Association of Asian American Studies 2013 Best Book in Cultural Studies.

Hildegard of Bingen Celebration (March 25, 6:30, SUB Ballroom B)

The Medieval Studies Student Association in partnership with the Feminist Research Institute invites you to attend a night of celebration for the medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179).

This remarkable woman produced numerous theological and visionary works, as well as medical treatises and musical compositions. Hildegard's life and works have seen an increase in both academic and popular attention as indicated by recent published biographies, recordings of her music, and the 2011 film Vision. All events during this program are free and open to the public. The program is as follows:

Monday, March 25th (SUB Ballroom B)

6:30 PM
Wardene Crowley, "The Theology of St. Hildegard of Bingen: Cosmic Tree, Cosmic Healing, and Cosmic Symphony"
Anita Obermeier, "Hildegard of Bingen's Gemstone Medicine"

7:30 PM
Reception

8:00 PM
Cantores Festivi, Music of Hildegard and Contemporaries



Tuesday, March 26th (Humanities 108)

7:00 PM
Movie Presentation - Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (2011)
Limited Seating, Please RSVP to mssa@unm.edu
Please join us for an evening of discussion, music, and reflection.

Andrea Penner reading When East Was North at UNM Bookstore April 10 at noon

Alumnus Andrea Penner writes to us from Flagstaff: I will be doing a UNM Bookstore Poetry Month reading on April 10th, at noon, in the UNM Bookstore. I will be reading from (and signing) my new book of poetry, When East Was North, as well as some new work. I hope you will be able to attend (and bring students!).

If you'd like to preview the book, you can find it on Amazon at this link: When East Was North,
http://www.amazon.com/When-North-Andrea-Millenson-Penner/dp/0988227967/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363619593&sr=1-1&keywords=north+andrea+penner
published by Mercury Heartlink in 2012. You can also visit my blog In My Own Ink:  http://pennerink.blogspot.com/ if you're interested in some of my other writings, of late.

Andi says that Erin Penner (remember her, another alumni!) and husband Josh have been in the Peace Corps in Thailand for the last 15 months and you can read their blog at Red or Green? (http://redorgreeninthailand.blogspot.com/) in Thailand.

Dr. Stacey Kikendall to be Asst. Professor at Park University

Congratulations to Dr. Stacey Kikendall. After having four campus visits and two job offers, she has decided to take a position as Assistant Professor at the Park University English Department, teaching composition, introduction to literature, world literature, British lit surveys and nineteenth-century British literature. Park University is an independent private university located in Kansas City, Missouri. Its main campus, where Stacey will be teaching, has about 4,000 undergraduate students. We know Dr. Kikendall will be a wonderful faculty member.     -- Gail Houston, Chair