Posts Tagged ‘faculty’

Prof. Haley Wins Kelton Prize

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0 Commentsby   |  11.13.10  |  Faculty Publications

Writer in residence and creative writing professor Al Haley has been named the winner of the fourth annual writing competition sponsored by Angelo State University and the Concho River Review in honor of famed western writer Elmer Kelton.

Three passions come together--hours spent reading, writing, and listening to music.

 

The competition this year was open to entries in the genre of creative nonfiction. Al’s winning piece, “Hemingway Summer Jazz,” is his prose reflection upon his favorite activity, reading.

“I tried to express as best I could the frustration I have with so many books I have stacked up, ready to read and yet there’s so little time to sit down and turn the pages,” Al says.

In the 4500-word piece Al reveals that once he’s into summer he side-steps his long list of “need to reads” and always re-reads a book by a favorite author. For a long time that author has been Ernest Hemingway.

“I know Hemingway is not academically fashionable,” Al says, “but there’s something about the slow pace of his writing that coincides with my summer mood.”

He adds, “The main thing I was trying to do wasn’t to single out one writer for praise, but to remind myself, and others, about how there’s nothing like eyes meeting text inked onto the page. In this age of screens large and small competing for our attention, I think somebody has to stand up and say, you know, you’re missing out on an entire body, mind, and soul experience  if you’re not doing some old school reading.”

As a result of his win, Al will receive a small cash prize, his piece will be published in the next issue of Concho River River, and he has been invited to read at the Angelo State Writer’s Conference which will be held Feb. 17-18, 2011.

This installment of  the Writer’s Conference will feature Art Spiegelman who is widely regarded as the father of the literary graphic novel with his books Maus  I and II (1986, 1992). Since San Angelo is only a 50-minute drive from Abilene, Al encourages English majors to make the trek.

“You don’t get to meet a world famous writer every day,” he says. “You ought to hear him and then have him autograph a book for you.”

For those that don’t know, Al is currently involved in a personal challenge he calls The Van Winkle Proejct and is abstaining from all news, weather, sports and entertainment, except for what can be experienced first-hand. Al says it’s all right for him know about the writing festival and enter contests.

“I’m a writer, not a hermit,” he says. “There’s a difference. Not much, but some.”

Al’s adventures in not-knowing are being documented on a blog.

English Chapel on Jan. 26

0 Commentsby   |  01.11.10  |  Announcements, Department Chapel

Laura Carroll_3Dr. Laura Carroll will speak on “Ears to Hear” at English Chapel on Tuesday, January 26, in BSB 130.

Communities in Schools, Tutors in AISD

0 Commentsby   |  11.20.09  |  Job & Volunteer Opportunities

Joe Cunningham Jr., Program Coordinator for Communities In Schools of the Big Country, would like to welcome ACU students to volunteer as tutors at Fannin, Ortiz, Madison, Mann, Abilene High, or Cooper High. Communities In Schools is a best-practice dropout prevention program that helps at-risk students to successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life by providing personalized case management services and coordinating community resources in Texas schools. Student volunteers would assist with academic tutoring or college awareness programs. Keep this program in mind as you consider volunteer hours for next year.

Senior Presentations for fall

0 Commentsby   |  11.11.09  |  Announcements

Please plan to attend one of the senior presentations on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6:30-9:30 in the Core Classroom (the old Mabee Library Auditorium).

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, we’ll hear presentations by Eryn Halstead, Kris Heiderich, Joel Dallas, Courtney Kunkel, and Erin Brachen.

On Thursday, Nov. 19, we’ll have presentations by Megan Faver, Cameron Enlow, Brooks Norman, Grant Vickery, George Soul, Amanda Sampson, and Nicole Songstad.

We’ll have light refreshments available and a short break midway through the evening. Hope you can attend one or both evenings to hear fine student work.

Nancy

George W. Ewing Folklore Lecture

0 Commentsby   |  11.05.09  |  Announcements

The Abilene Christian University Department of English presents

THE GEORGE W. EWING FOLKLORE LECTURE

In honor of Dr. George Wilmeth Ewing, author, educator, leader

Speaker: Dr. Kenneth L. Untiedt

Topic: “Discovering the Folklore That Defines Us–Even in the 21st Century”

Abilene Christian University
Mabee Library Auditorium
7:00 PM, November 12, 2009

Kenneth L. Untiedt is an Associate Professor of English at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he teaches courses in folklore, American literature, the literature of Texas and the Southwest, and Technical Writing. He has given numerous presentations at various conferences, including the Texas State Historical Association, the South Central Modern Languages Association, and the National Cowboy Symposium. He is currently working on a comprehensive study of the Western, to be published by Texas Tech University Press.

Dr. Untiedt became the Secretary-Editor of the Texas Folklore Society in 2004, and he is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the organization, as well as editing its annual publications. He grew up in the Midwest, but moved to West Texas after joining the U.S. Air Force. After his enlistment, he became a police officer on the Lubbock Police Department, where he worked for nearly thirteen years while he earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., from Texas Tech University. He and his wife, Tierney, live with their four children in Nacogdoches, where he is active in the First Christian Church, the Lamp-Lite Theatre, and other community organizations and events.

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY
English majors are invited to attend Dr. Untiedt’s Professional Editing Workshop, to be held Thursday, November 12, at 3:00 PM in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Untiedt will recount his own encounter with the rather steep learning curve of professional editing and will provide invaluable advice on academic preparation for a career in the field.