a feast of words - Department of English - Virginia Tech

College of Liberal Arts &Human Sciencesa feast of wordsdepartment of english magazine | spring 2012in this issue:english goes international

table of contentsa feast of twenty years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .message from the chair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .meet the associate & assistant chairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .english international conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .jane wemhoener’s african adventures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .c21s takes on the world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .katy powell’s journey to sri lanka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .internationalizing the writing center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fred d’aguiar: goldsmith’s fellowship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .london calling: study abroad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .english . . . . . . . . . undergraduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .exits: welch, ruggiero, brumberger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .alumni profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .student profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .alumni news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .faculty news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .student news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .meet the feast staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .honor roll: thank you to donors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .blacksburg photo gallery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cover imagebob sieglea feast of words323 shanks hallvirginia techblacksburg, va 24061e-mail: feastofwords@vt.eduhttp://www.english.vt.edujennifer mooneykatie mawyerbeth thompsonmike breitenbachkevin burkewriters & designerswhitney jonesallison hammondsean simonskaren spearssuzanne reisingerfaculty editorjen mooneyassociate editorskatie mawyerbeth thompson

a feast of twenty yearstext jen mooney | page design kevin burkeThis year, the department’s alumni newslettercelebrates its 20th anniversary! Since Fall 1992, whenit was called News from NowHere, it has brought youa variety of stories about our department. From astory about upgrades to the department’s computerlab in the very first issue to a feature on collaborativeresearch in the Center for the Study of Rhetoric inSociety in the latest, we have covered the stories thatdefine us as a department and as a community.Beginning with this issue wewill broaden that scope ofsubjects to include a morecomprehensive look at thedepartment as a whole – whatwe’re doing, what we haveplanned, what we’re celebrating– with sections devoted tocurrent students and to alumni.The new online formatpermits us to do things withthe newsletter – now thoughtof more as a magazine – than were ever possiblewith a printed version, which was both expensive toproduce and limited what we could do in terms ofusing photographs and color. Now we can provideyou with larger pictures, more eye-popping color, andmore news about the English Department community– which includes YOU. Our new horizontal layout isdesigned to work well on computers of any size, ontablet devices, and smartphones. Yes, it looks a bitdifferent than would a vertical layout, but you won’thave to scroll down the “page” to read all of the text.We have also added levels of interactivity to themagazine. What does that mean? It means that ifyou are reading the magazine and you run across areference to, say, a program on campus or a companyname, you should be able to click on that title andopen the web site for it. Beyond that, we have triedto make room for a lot of visuals by presenting someof them in thumbnail galleries. Roll over or click athumbnail, and you will open a larger version of it,in full color and detail. Finally, we hope to bring youlinks to videos and music files that will enhance yourknowledge about particularsubjects we cover in our stories.1992 2003Additionally, we move thisyear to an annual publicationschedule and will produce asingle, larger issue each April.What’s more, the magazine willnow be produced in part by asmall group of undergraduatestudents who will plan, research,write, and design each issue.This way, it will provide a handsonlearning experience for students who plan careersin writing, editing, and design.As the cover images on this page show, A Feast ofWords has over time changed greatly in appearanceand layout. This will, no doubt, be its most dramatictransformation. Please know, though, that withinits pages -- whether they are paper or virtual -- itwill remain true to its intention: to bring you newsabout the community that makes up the EnglishDepartment, past, present, and future. We hope thatyou will enjoy reading the final version as much as weenjoyed producing it.2001 2010A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

message from the chairjoseph eskaAs I come to the end of my first year as Chair of the Department of English, during which my principalfocus has been on first steps towards the internationalization of the experiences that we provide toour students, it is gratifying that the first issue of Feast of Words to appear during my tenure focusesupon international matters.At the end of March, in collaboration with the Virginia Council for International Education, Inc., thedepartment successfully co-hosted a conference called Internationalizing the Curriculum. Finding theWorld in English, which brought together international education professionals and English facultyinterested in international education from around the Commonwealth of Virginia (and as far away asSwitzerland). The goal of this conference was to bring together people to establish work groups toshare information and develop best practices for internationalizing the curriculum.We’re off to a great start and hope to establish Virginia Tech as the flagship for internationalizingthe experiences — ever more important to employers in an increasingly globalizing world — thatEnglish majors receive in their education. Steve Kark, our Coordinator of Internships, is activelygathering information on internships both in the Blacksburg area and in northern Virginia which canprovide international experiences for students, and Jim Dubinsky, our Director of the UndergraduateCurriculum, is leading a task force whose ultimate aim is to develop a plan whereby all Virginia TechEnglish majors will receive international experiences during their career here.But there’s even more going on internationally. Jane Wemhoener, our Director of InternationalInitiatives, continues to run our stellar summer abroad program called London Calling!, and is alsoinvolved, along with a team of other Virginia Tech English faculty, in an outreach project teachingwriting to medical students at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania. Katy Powell,who also serves as the Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, is actively involvedin building collaborations in Sri Lanka, and Bob Siegle is directing the new Center for 21st CenturyStudies which features a nomadic summer abroad experience that will bring students to Morocco,Turkey, and Sri Lanka this summer.Please give us feedback on this first electronic version of Feast of Words. We value our dialogue withyou as we try to keep you up to date with what is going on in the Department of English.page design & layout | beth thompsonA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

major waves of changetext & page design katie mawyer | photos compliments of virginia techFor 34 years, Tony Colaianne has witnessed the inner workings of The Big Tent. “Literature,” he says, “isan extensive field of study; it’s huge. The magnitude of English is a lot to take in. It’s a ‘big tent’ discipline,if you will.”As his 35 th year of teaching at Virginia Tech approaches, Colaianne took an appropriate pause to reflecton the changes the English Department has undergone during his era. From physical location to buildingdesign to altered emphasis and expanded curriculum, Colaianne has been a part of the department’s“greater growth toward becoming more professional.”Colaianne came to Tech in 1977 along with 12 other newly appointed doctorates. “We referred toourselves as ‘the class,’” said Colaianne. “We were all relatively young.” The group marked the first ofdoctoral stuff to come through Tech in some time and was the result of a major new hiring initiativeuntaken by the dean of arts and sciences.“I would think that of all the things I’ve seen over the years, in terms of major waves of change, what’shappened in the department is reflective of the shift in where we are located and the building design ofthat location,” said Colaianne. “They’ve altered the way to relate to each other,” he said.Colaianne believes the evolution of the English department and the university mirrors that of therevolution of the 1970s and 80s. According to Colaianne, what started as a movement in France spread tothe Western world, and eventually the influences worked their ways into the universities. “Academically,what happened was that there suddenly was a great attention to the otherness of people, of groups, ofthe estranged,” said Colaianne. “In the broad patterns of history, it’s all connected to the rise of socialjustice.”When Colaianne arrived to Tech, “we were adjusting to the particularly volatile times for the AmericanAcademy,” he said. During this time, Tech taught a traditional curriculum, including British and Americanliterature. “We were never too rigid, but we had a lot of coverage…in the historical evolution in which wesaw ourselves mirrored.”Colaianne also recalls the rise of women’s literature in the 1990s. “It had never been defined as a separatebody of literature,” he said. “Women’s literature was an intellectual response. We developed coursesfor and about women. We also went more toward teaching the other, as might be determined by race,gender, or other variables. So much so, that as the arc of these courses developed, we attracted professorsA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012to our faculty who were interested in working at the margins ofthe field—where English intersects with science.”A similar trend exists in the area of Appalachian studies.Colaianne says: “We have a lot of people interested inAppalachian studies, and many years ago that was just aglimmer really; it was a glimmer in someone’s eye. It wouldoccasional be offered, but not with a great deal of expertise.And we took off with that discipline.”As years passed, the English Department “got more worldcoverage” and shifted their emphasis toward internationalizingthe entirety of the curriculum. “Where English can make aunique contribution is in developing courses based on literaturein translation,” said Colaianne. “We can exchange culturethrough literature.”Table of Contents

major waves of changeColaianne says that although the department would like all students to beable to have study abroad experience, it might not be economically viablefor everyone. He feels the department can accomplish a great deal, insideVirginia Tech doors, by orienting students toward global perspectives. “Studyabroad is great and we’re doing more and more of it,” he says, “but at thesame time, we’re augmenting the curriculum to enrich that aspect here.”“Let me make a prediction,” Colaianne proposes. “Or rather a wish. I’m hopingthat in the years ahead, people will consider working in cooperation with thedepartment of foreign languages and teach literature and culture as a way ofeducating everyone on global perspectives.”As associate chair of the department, Colaianne’s interest lay in making theadministration “distinctive in its own way,” and he aims to “improve what canbe improved.” With guidance from colleague and old friend, Nancy Metz,Colaianne was able to fulfill the requirements and serve as “the advocate forinstructors.”“Unlike working in the classroom where you’re patiently nurturing thingsalong…administration is much more about processing the day-to-day whileyou’re shaping plans for longer-termed things,” said Colaianne. “I’m fortunatein being able to work with many really good colleagues in various areas. Ithink that’s really the heart of what we do.”Colaianne spoke of other waves of change: “Others like the rise of professionalwriting, the development within the English Department of specializing theeducation of people so that they might go out into the world and becomeprofessional writers,” he said. “Along with that is the rise of creative writingand its spread. See, we’ve participated in all of that…at the end of the day,we have an already well-ranked Master of Fine Arts program that’s verycompetitive and attracts a lot of people.”Aside from a developed curriculum, according to Colaianne, an appetite forcontinuous remolding is key for keeping a department alive.“I tend to think that what makes for a healthy department and what kind ofputs us in that weird company is constant experimentation, a feeling whereyou don’t really reach a point that you’re self-satisfied with the curriculum…you’re trying new things, stretching out a little bit, keeping your mind openand seeing how things are working,” he said.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Colaianne believes the innovations of the English Departments, its modifications and itsimprovements are all synchronized with Virginia Tech as a whole.“We are more in harmony with the university in terms of its intent,” he says. “That sets usapart…and we will undoubtedly bare witness to additional waves of change as we continueprogressing. I wonder, I wonder what they shall be.”suzanne reisinger: new assistant chairtext ally hammondBeginning this upcoming summer,Suzanne Reisinger will becomethe Assistant Chair of the EnglishDepartment. Currently, Reisinger is asenior instructor of English, teachingclasses ranging from first yearcomposition, to American Literature,to Southern Literature.Reisinger states that, “Although Ido love teaching, I’m interested in adifferent aspect of the university…adifferent piece of the whole puzzle.”In the new position, she will continueto teach, but her main responsibilitywill be to work with the registrar toschedule all classes and classrooms for the English Department. In addition to scheduling,she will work with the director of first year composition to coordinate all composition classes,and make sure the program runs smoothly.When asked what she was most excited to do with her new position, she responded with a bigsmile, followed by, “I love the energy and the students—[with this job] I’ll see students in adifferent context, I’ve advised for several years, and this is a good way to work with students—and my colleagues—in a different way.” She laughed and added, “I like my colleagues a lot.”With her passion for students and enthusiasm for the English department, Reisinger willsurely succeed in her new position. Even with all of her enthusiasm she still states, “I amreally conscious of the fact that Cheryl Ruggiero has been great, and taking over after her is alittle intimidating, frankly. I can only hope everything will go well.”Table of Contents

exploring englishRepresentatives from nearly 20 colleges, universities,and organizations across Virginia gathered March29-31 at Virginia Tech for a conference titledInternationalizing the Curriculum: Finding the Worldin English. Billed as a “working conference buildingbridges across the campuses of Virginia,” the eventwas co-sponsored by the English Department and theVirginia Council for International Education (VaCIE),with support from several other agencies.Its goal, noted Jessica Bates (MA, ENGL, 12),conference graduate assistant, was “to get peopleto think internationally about what they teach in theclassroom, to question whether there is a cultural biasto what they teach, and [how] to expand students’opportunities for future study and careers.”It is the first time that such a conference has beenheld with a specific focus on how the curriculumcan be adapted to embrace global concerns. JoeEska, representing the English Department, and Janepage design ally hammond & beth thompson | photos beth thompsona key international conferenceWemhoener, Executive Director of VaCIE and Directorof International Programs for English, planned thethree-day event.Sessions focused on integrating interdisciplinarity withinternationalism, creating opportunities in facultyand student engagement, and perspectives in studyabroad. Although Study Abroad traditionally servesas the most visible means of international study ata university, conference sessions showed how othergroups within the higher education setting could workto integrate global topics into their individual areas.The first session, on integration of internationalsubjects into an interdisciplinary course, featuredtopics as diverse as viewing argument as a “doubleedgedsword” in international engagement, teachingof American literature with a transnational scope, andusing the epic tradition to teach about internationalissues. All presentations shared a common goal,however: how to integrate global subjects effectivelyinto the classroom.Sunithi Gnanadoss, of Germanna CommunityCollege, spoke in “The Rhetorical Argument MediatesTerrorism” about using the Israeli-Palestinian conflictto frame an argumentative assignment, while in“Cross-Cultural Literacy,” Hampton University’s MabelKhawaja introduced and discussed the wide varietyof methods by which she has brought internationalissues into her classroom. In their presentation, JoyHendrickson and Amee Carmines, both of HamptonUniversity, outlined their “interdisciplinary course onEnglish language revisions of Homer’s Odyssey andthe 13th century epic from Mali, Son-Jara, in dialoguewith models of leadership and the formation of civilsocieties.”Session 2, which focused on “Opportunities inFaculty and Student Engagement,” brought to theconference Erich Thaler and Philipp Schweighauser,of the University of Basel (Switzerland), who in“Internationalizing the Curriculum: a EuropeanPerspective,” spoke about the administrative andA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

exploring english: virginia tech’s international conferenceacademic implications of their university’s “successful,ongoing internationalization of the curriculum.”In addition to discussing the variety of modelsadministrators can use, Thaler and Schweighauseralso considered how internationalization affects thejob market and how an American Studies course attheir school reveals the “challenges and benefitsof scholarly exchanges across continents.” AndrewCreamer (PhD candidate, Teaching and Learning, VT)also spoke about a collaboration between VT and TuftsUniversity’s International Bridge Program to developa course curriculum “aimed at helping Chinese bridgeprogram students studying at Tufts adjust to theculture of the American university classroom.” NicoleSanderlin, Director of International Programs in VT’sCollege of Engineering, closed the session.Provost and Professor of History at George MasonUniversity, afternoon sessions opened with a paneldiscussion on “Key Elements of ComprehensiveInternationalization at the Institutional and NationalLevels.” This roundtable discussion was chairedby Guru Ghosh, VT Associate Vice President forInternational Affairs, and gave speakers from severalinstitutions an opportunity to share their experiences:Dudley Doane, UVa; Marcelo Siles, ODU; ArleneJackson, American Association of State Colleges andUniversities; and Anne Schiller, George MasonUniversity.For “The World is Your Classroom: EnglishCourses as Vehicles of the InternationalAcademic Experience,” the final session,Katherine Hawkins, Dean of College ofHumanities and Social Sciences at Radford,chaired a roundtable panel focusing on theimpact of international education on Englishmajors. CNU’s Jean Filetti closed the conferencewith “Interdisciplinary Study Abroad.”The conference was opened on Thursdayevening by Dr. Ralph Cohen, Gonder Professorof Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature atMary Baldwin College and Director of Missionand co-founder of the American ShakespeareCenter (Staunton). Breakout working group sessionsclosed the conference on Saturday morning,after a breakfast address by Dr. Joan Gore, SeniorAcademic Development Director for the Foundationfor International Education and Director of AdultEducation Travel Programs in the School of Continuingand Professional Studies at the University of Virginia.did you know?With its International Strategic Plan of 2004,VT pledged a “commitment to enhancedinternational and cross-cultural awarenessand understanding.”plenary address“Improving the global understanding of our studentsis one of the top two or three challenges facingthe American higher education system,” PeterStearns, Provost and Professor of History at GeorgeMason University, told those gathered for theInternationalizing the Curriculum: Finding the Worldin English Conference. “The curriculum is the first step-- and the single most important step -- toward globaleducation.”In his plenary address, Stearns – who created GMU’sGlobal Affairs Program – discussed three initial aspectsof integrating a global perspective successfully intothe curriculum. He advocated deep connectionswith departments of foreign languages; providingcoursework opportunities for students in global topics;and administering, offering, and requiring internationalcourses to build student interest in global subjects.Colleges and universities must make an “effort to thinkabout new ways to bring students up to speed onglobal issues,” he said, “particularly issues that crossdisciplinary lines.”Using GMU’s efforts at internationalizing thecurriculum as examples – both positive and negative– of how those attending could proceed at their ownschools, Stearns urged attendees to “learn from ourexperience.”He also characterized the global focus in education asa “constant invitation to innovation.”To expand the concept beyond the generalizedclassroom model, he argued for bringing currentlyenrolledinternational students into the effort, takingadvantage of technology to offer courses team-taughtwith international colleagues, and undertaking newprograms with international universities that wouldbenefit the students of both institutions.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

“mimi najali wewe je?”jane wemhoener’s african adventurestext & page design katie mawyer | photos jane wemhoener“How are you going to move this forward?” These are thewords that rest on Jane Wemhoener’s office wall. They lieon a frame that pictures Mount Kilimanjaro, a beautiful,tranquil mountain that symbolizes her days in Africa, whereshe assists medical students at the Kilimanjaro ChristianMedical Centre (KCMC) in professional writing.“It was interesting to be in a place that was dominated byidentifying with the mountain. I live in the mountains here,but this was different,” said Wemhoener, senior instructorof the English department and coordinator of internationalprograms.Wemhoener first traveled to Tanzania, Africa in 2005 andbecame involved with KCMC. At this time, she was theassistant director of the Professional Writing program andtraveled alongside fellow English faculty member MarkArmstrong. Together, the duo conducted a workshop forKCMC faculty, which assisted faculty in building the skillsnecessary for writing grants. The ultimate goal was to helpKCMC students and faculty become self-sufficient.“In order for KCMC to become self-sufficient, saidWemhoener, “its faculty needed to participate in thegrant writing themselves. If you want to change a nation’swelfare, if you want to get a well for your town, if you wantto get a grant for your school, you have to do it in English,”she said.Although the official language of Tanzania is English, thatlanguage is used only in textbooks and scripted lectures;in everyday encounters, Tanzanians speak Kiswahili.Wemhoener argues that knowing English isn’t necessaryto “get by,” but it’s vital to change the policy of a nation.Thus, Wemhoener and Armstrong collaborated withDuke and Harvard medical schools, as these schoolswere involved in writing the grant initiatives that helpedlaunch KCMC.Wemhoener returned to Africa in March 2011, at therequest of Duke University and KCMC faculty, to createa professional writing program for KCMC medicalstudents. Without hesitation, Wemhoener agreed toreturn to a country that had changed her life.“Going to Africa, for me, it felt like going home,” saidWemhoener. “It’s just difficult to explain, even forsomeone whose profession is with words, but it was likegoing home. I fell in love with Mount Kilimanjaro butalso with something more.”What prompted Wemhoener’s return was a MiddleEast Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant worth $10million that Duke and KCMC received.According to the U.S. Department of State, the MEPI is “aregional program that helps citizens in the Middle Eastand North Africa develop more pluralistic, participatory,and prosperous societies.” Ten institutions on thecontinent of Africa, included Tanzania, received thisMEPI grant, which is supported by President Obamaand funded by multiple donors.The MEPI grant has an overall goal of improving medicalA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

“mimi najali wewe je?”: jane wemhoener’s african adventureseducation in Africa. The grant also includes the resources necessary for medicaltraining for physicians, with a particular interest in teaching informationtechnology and language skills. Wemhoener became a part of the five-yeargrant project toward the end of its first year in action when she was asked tocreate a teaching cohort and design a distanced writing program that would becomplemented by on-site instructional visits to Tanzania. She gathered teachersprimarily from Virginia Tech’s English Department but from other universities,such as Harvard, as well. Wemhoener’s daughter, a student at WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis, is also on board with the teaching team.“We’re building from the ground up,” said Wemhoener. “No one has ever doneit. I don’t want to say it’s unique — because I’m afraid of that word — but noone that I’m aware of has ever done that,” she said.KCMC operates off of a European system, which means these medical studentsare 18 and 19 years old. Wemhoener also works with nuns, nurses, and peoplethat are as young as 17. According to Wemhoener, building these cohorts isessential for encouraging students to work together and collaborate, something thatdoesn’t happen in Tanzania.“You’ll find English programs for medical students are going to be about medical language,but these are students who need language fluency,” said Wemhoener. “They need to beable to craft a sentence with nuance. They need to be persuasive. You don’t learn thatthrough medical language; you learn that through understanding lively verbs and how tobuild sentences.”Wemhoener travels to Tanzania for a two-week stay every November. On her most recenttrip, fellow English instructor Ed Weathers accompanied Wemhoener, and together theymet each cohort of 16 students three times. Although the two weeks might be all thetime Wemhoener can afford to spend each year, KCMC staff is ready for her to move therepermanently.“I’m just not ready for that, just not yet. I’ve got dogs here. And students here who I happento love, too,” said Wemhoener. “I’ve got a husband and children, and, not to mention mydogs,” she said.Despite her inability to move to Tanzania just yet, her students are forever grateful ofher efforts. Goodwill, a graduating doctor, writes Wemhoener often. A recent email read:“Dear Madam, please be blessed. Can you help me with my resume?”“When I get these emails,” said Wemhoener, “it reminds us how gorgeous our Englishlanguage is. They use it in ways different than our quick, business ways. It’s wonderful,”she said.Innocent, another one of Wemhoener’s students, “doesn’t yet know how to build anEnglish sentence, but I can figure out what he’s trying to say to me,” she said. “The wordsjust go down and I figure out where we’re going.”Wemhoener has developed a level of understanding and appreciation for her students andtheir progression with the words and their relationships to one another.“It’s hard, almost without crying, to talk about the power of their writing, the beauty oftheir writing,” she said. “When they write about who they are and what they want, whenA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

“mimi najali wewe je?”: jane wemhoener’s african adventuresthey write about losing a brother, or a sister, or aparent to AIDS or to chronic diarrhea, their writingis true.”Wemhoener will continue her endeavors for thenext four years as she follows her cohort throughto graduation. Each year she will bring on additionalteachers to assist in the education of these aspiringmedical professionals.“It’s kind of like driving down a road in a car that we’rebuilding while we’re driving it,” said Wemhoener.“That’s exactly what we’re doing.”Nonetheless, they’re doing exactly what thememorable poster in Wemhoener’s office reads —they’re moving forward.“I’ll be really sad when it’s over,” she said. “Maybethat’s when I’ll move to Africa. There will come I timewhen I think I’ll stay there. Why not?”did you know?• Tanzania is located in East Africa borderingthe Indian Ocean, between Kenya andMozambique.• Tanzania lies just south of the equator.There are two rainy seasons, generallythe heaviest rains (called Masika) usuallyfall from mid-March to May and ashorter period of rain (called mvuli) fromNovember to mid-January. The dry season,with cooler temperatures, lasts from Mayto October.“It was interesting to be in a place that wasdominated by identifying with the mountain. I livein the mountains here, but this was different.”-- Jane WemhoenerA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

on the ground, in the fieldc21s takes on the worldtext jen mooney | photos bob siegleBob Siegle’s home and his university offices – one in Shanks; the other in the new Residential College inAmbler-Johnston – provide ample and colorful evidence of his long-standing interest in South Asian andNorth African cultures. Batik prints and devil-dance masks from Sri Lanka. Gold-threaded tapestries fromIndia and stupas from Nepal. Clay figurines from Turkey and Buddhas from China.Those who know Siegle or who have experienced his Studies in Contemporary Culture or ContemporaryFiction courses likely are not surprised by the idea that he prefers the road less traveled. From his “twopageinterventionist blog posts” that replace traditional literary analyses to his assignments requiringstudents to “make art and then write their own catalog essay for the film, painting, or writing they’vedone,” Siegle has always preferred a more “out of the box” approach to teaching that asks students tobecome immersed in their own development of awareness.This summer, Siegle will merge his love of different cultures and his break-with-tradition teachingmethods when he takes a group of 17 students to Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Turkey for the first-ever run ofthe Nomadic Study Abroad Program, the centerpiece of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences’(CLAHS) new Center for 21 st Studies – and his brainchild.The germ of what was to become the Center for 21 st Century Studies was planted in September 2009.CLAHS Associate Dean for Academic Policy and Procedures Debra Stoudt asked members of the Dean’sAdvisory Committee on International Initiatives for – wonder of wonders – “out of the box” ideas aboutwhat the college could do in terms of international programs.Members were tasked to show up for the next meeting armed with proposals, which for Siegle was acake assignment on a couple of levels: (a) he pretty much thinks out of the box on a daily basis and (b)he already had an idea. To the next meeting, he brought a three-page proposal that worked throughthe mechanics of what he called the “Center for Twenty-First Century Studies.” In those three pages,Siegle outlined the plan for a center that would “involve faculty committed to fresh approaches to thechallenges of life in this century.”Plans included an 18-hour minor that would cross disciplines in new and challenging ways and a studyabroad “immersive international experience” that would put students on the ground and in the field inYou have to get out there andsee for yourselves what it’s liketo live in the grain and textureof daily life in cultures that workby logics different from whatyou’ve always assumed wasjust “human nature.”--C21S web siteA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

on the ground, in the fieldthe countries and communities they would study back in the classroom at VT.That “Nomadic Educational Machine,” as Siegle called it then, has become thecore of the new center and its mission.Members of the advisory committee and CLAHS Dean Sue Ott Rowlands – who hascalled the concept “bold and experimental” – greeted the idea with enthusiasm,and in spring 2010, a steering committee was formed to shepherd the proposalthrough a year-long development process that identified “specific courses, travelobjectives, international partners, and a fund for donations to make it affordableto all Virginia Tech students.” Rachel Holloway, Brian Britt, Karl Precoda, DianaRidgwell, Yannis Stivachtis, Debbie Stoudt, and Janell Watson – all members ofthat committee – put in the hours of creativity, Siegle says, necessary to make thecenter happen.If you visit the C21S web site, you will find the center described as a“transdisciplinary program,” which Siegle explains is a nod to the idea of a subjectmoving or transiting between disciplines – which is most certainly the case here.In his original proposal, Siegle mentions that the program will draw upon severaldiverse fields, among them cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, mediastudies, and digital studies. In addition – and perhaps this is the benchmarkfor how truly transdisciplinary the program is – among the 17 students (fromfreshmen to seniors) enrolled in the preparatory first course in the minor, C21S2104, 13 separate majors are represented. They range from French to BiologicalSciences, Sociology to Public and Urban Affairs, English to Engineering.This first course in the minor introduces students to “thinking in 21st century waysabout 21st century issues,” Siegle notes, which requires looking at various culturalissues in transdisciplinary ways. He adds, “If you are going to deal with 21 st centuryissues in a 21 st century way, you can’t be inside disciplinary silos. You need to thinkeverything at once if you are going to think meaningfully.”The course also prepares students for the summer study abroad program byintroducing them to a variety of readings about the various locations they willvisit. Students read about how digital technology “flattens the playing field bydemocratizing access to information, technology, and markets.”Then they move to such nonfiction works as John Richardson’s ParadiseA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012photo galleryall photos in this gallery were taken by Bob Siegleas he toured Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Morocco duringsummer and fall 2011.Table of Contents

on the ground, in the fieldPoisoned, a study of Sri Lanka’s civil wars, and to the fiction and poetry of JeanArasanayagam, whose work deals with the religious and ethnic turmoil in SriLanka. Similar readings orient students to the cultural and historical contexts forthe other locations they will visit during the upcoming summer.So what exactly do students who pursue the C21S minor study? Their work focuseson the factors that bear on each nation’s reflection of the 21 st century – a focusthat, hopefully, will prompt them to consider how their own country reflects,inflects, and even subverts the same.Each country, Siegle notes, “is positioned in a different set of intersections. Theirproblems and our problems aren’t the same, and obviously the details matterhugely.”By the end of this first course, students will have developed a grounding in allthree countries they will visit, created a theoretical basis on which to think in a“trans-disciplinary way,” and framed a research project that ties the C21S minorto a key interest that springs from within their majors and/or their future careerplans.“They’re no longer International Studies majors or English majors,” Siegle says.“They’re something else.”In May, the group leaves for a roughly five-week-long period of research,service learning, and intensive, hands-on cultural experiences. In each location,meticulously scouted in 2011 by committee members, they will work with partnerinstitutions – primarily universities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)– to develop an understanding of how each country or population deals with theunique cultural issues it confronts.Make no mistake: students pursuing the C21S minor will not be simply tourists.As the program’s web site indicates, “life is not a photo album: Nomadic Studiestakes you into the middle of others’ lives so you can experience alongside themjust how they’re reinventing their societies.”photo by jim stroup“they’ll be listeningand learning ratherthan bringing andimposing. When theycome back, they’llsee this country inthe same analyticalway they’ve seenother countries.”The students will travel first through Morocco, where they will spend time inthe coastal city of Rabat, the country’s modern capital. Here, in the governmentcenter, they will learn about how their host-partner, EGE University -- L’Ecole deGouvernance et d’Economie de Rabat – trains the next generation of leaders.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

on the ground, in the fieldAfter that, their work takes a more “hands on” approach: they journey to thesmall city of Azrou, in the Atlas Mountains, where under the guidance of aninternational friendship group, they will interact with the Berber population,undertake home stays, and teach language building skills at the local school. Themedieval Fes (Fez) comes next, where they will spend time “reading the city.”Their experience there will be “as close to tourism as we’ll get,” Siegle says. Theywill study the old city, he adds, to see how it brings together the modern andhistorical components of the first two Moroccan locales.In the ancient city of Istanbul, the group will participate in seminars with VT’spartner institutions, Kadir Has and Koç universities, in an effort to understandTurkey’s unique placement at the intersection of Islamic and European cultures.They will end their travels in Sri Lanka, where they will work with Sarvodaya, theworld’s largest NGO, an organization based on Buddhist principles that teachesvillages self-sufficiency and self-development. Village home stays will be followedby retreat time in Sarvodaya’s international institute before the group boards aplane for its return trip to the US. Several students will stay longer in Sri Lanka toextend their service work with Sarvodaya.Siegle is confident that while the students undoubtedly will face a certain amountof culture shock, they also will be literate as to what they will experience ineach country and open to the lessons their travels promise. The journey will be“momentous, transformative,” Siegle believes. “They’ll be listening and learningrather than bringing and imposing. When they come back, they’ll see this countryin the same analytical way they’ve seen other countries.”But their experience does not end there. In the fall semester after their nomadicstudy abroad, students begin work on their capstone project, which could runthe gamut from a traditional research paper to a film to an art installation andbeyond.As Siegle speaks about the center and the nomadic studies experience, it becomesclear that he sees himself as equally invested in the learning process, a continuingstudent. His enthusiasm derives in part from what he describes as “a reimaginingof the university-level education, one that moves out of the disciplines, thatmoves out of the classic contact-hour-in-the-classroom model of education.”student focus:shelby wardtext kevin burkeShelby Ward has always wantedto study abroad since coming toVirginia Tech. So when she heardabout a new minor with a potentialstudy abroad program from Dr.Robert Siegle, she jumped on.This summer, Ward, who plans to graduate in December2012, will spend a month visiting Morocco, Turkey, and SriLanka as part of the the Century for 21 st Studies minor.While there, she plans to use her English major to researchfolklore and stories and their roles in the specific cultures.“My methodology is going to be doing a lot of interviewsand asking people to tell me the stories,” Ward said. “Howdo different people in different demographics tell thestory? Will a male college student tell the story differentlythan (someone) when we go on a home stay?”Ward, who admits this will be her first time out of thecountry, saw this option as a “nontraditional way” ofstudying abroad.“I’m seeing places that I probably won’t get anotherchance, for at least a long time, to see myself,” she said.“I’m super excited.”Ward is one of just two English majors to be taking thetrip. Prior to leaving, she’ll have to complete a full researchproposal and research all of the stories she wants to knowmore about. She also plans to spend an additional monthafter the trip for an internship in Sri Lanka with 6-8 of theother participants.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

on the ground, in the fieldYou know, that thinking outside the box thing.Yet there is more to it. Yes, he will be showing students a part of the world thathe himself clearly loves. And, yes, the journey brings the goals and promise of thecenter – his own idea, after all – to fruition. But, even more, you get the feelingthat Siegle can’t wait to see how his students will respond to walking the dustystreets of the medina in old town Rabat, Morocco; visiting the Haghia Sophia andclimbing the 14 th Century Galata Tower in Istanbul; eating koola’ya and roti in SriLanka. He has already gauged their excitement, and he sees in it an enthusiasmfor learning that reinforces his belief that they will do just fine.“Anybody who sits and makes tired, cynical comments about today’s students,”Siegle says, “ought to have sat in on discussions with students interested in theprogram, because these are amazing young people.”did you know?While Virginia Tech has centers in India and Egypt, they are fixedlocations, with permanent residences. The nomadic studiesabroad program is the first truly mobile “center” in Asia andAfrica.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

katrina powell’s journey to sri lankatext & page design karen spears | photographs katrina powellDuring summer 2011, Katrina Powell, Associate Professor of Englishand Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies, ventured to SriLanka to build foundations for a study abroad program, discussdisplacement narratives with Sri Lankan authors and professors, andstrengthen ties between Virginia Tech and the Sri Lankan community.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

katrina powell’s journey to sri lankaWhile in Sri Lanka with her colleagues Ann Kilkelly, Sue Ott Rowlands, and BobSiegle, Powell met with a number of individuals and groups who could strengthenthe ties between that country and VT.One of them was Tania Brassey, a freelance journalist and travel writer whoestablished Ceylon Hospitality Consultants and devised the first Insight Guideto Sri Lanka. With Powell, Brassey discussed her research and experiences withan orphanage in Sri Lanka for white children. Brassey’s vivid narratives addressbiracial children who were hidden from society. These narratives directly relate toPowell’s displacement narrative research of Virginian families who forced fromtheir homes in the 1930s to form Shenandoah National Park.In her discussions with Sri Lankan scholars and authors on displacement narratives,Powell searches for “how that story is told, and [whether] there are similaritiesacross those stories.” Powell incorporated some of Brassey’s influential work inher Feminist Autobiography Spring 2012 course.“Because my research area is in displacement, identity, andnarrative, I was excited to be in Sri Lanka where many ofthe scholars . . . are studying those kinds of issues on lots ofdifferent levels. Some of the research coming out of Sri Lankaand those issues are really important to scholars across theglobe.”During visits to the University of Colombo, Sri Palee campus, the Sri LankaInternational Buddhist Academy, and with author Jean Arasanayagam (bottomleft), Powell met with many interesting students and faculty who were enthusiasticabout intellectual conversations on writing, theatre, society, and politics.VT students who accompanied Powell also found the experiences at theInternational Buddhist Academy enlightening. “Our four students who attendedclasses…had a fantastic opportunity while they were there,” Powell notes. “towork with faculty and to teach conversational English to students.”Powell remembers how Molly Cooke (above), an International Relations Major, feltthat “one of her greatest experiences was teaching English as a second languageexperience -- and that’s part of what really excited her about the program, havingthat kind of opportunity.”During the trip, Powell also met Neloufer de Mel, Professor Department ofEnglish, Director of International Relations, author of Militarizing Sri Lanka:A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

katrina powell’s journey to sri lankaPopular Culture, Memory and Narrative in the Armed Conflict and After theWaves: Tsunami and the War. Powell and De Mel hope to create a US studentexchange involving teaching English to Sri Lankan students at the University ofColumbo.Powell says that one of the most unforgettable experiences in Sri Lanka was herinteractive participation in Kilkelly’s Theatre Workshop at the Sri Palee Campus ofthe University of Colombo. Kilkelly asked the students to “sculpt” an image of asocial condition using just their bodies.but also listening to them tell what kinds of issues were important to thembecause most of those students… had lived in a country in civil war.”The students and faculty were engaged by Kilkelly’s approach, responding to herprompts with enthusiasm and deeply reflective and personal responses. Afterthe experience, Powell and Kilkelly discussed ways that writing might also be acomponent of this workshop.Powell will be going back to Sri Lanka this summer with Kilkelly and Rowlands“I was in the line of people to be sculpted,” Powell notes, “so one of the Sri Lankanstudents was moving my body to sculpt into a particular way, which representedan issue that was important to her. And just that interaction with students andworking that closely and intimately with students was a really great experience…“They had really interesting stories to tell, and interesting waysto tell the stories. So I could imagine being there, conductinginterviews with them, and doing research with them, orconducting writing workshops with them.”to do “a Virginia more intensive workshop” with “a writing component” to “givethe students an opportunity to examine those issues more deeply, perhaps writeabout them, as well as do theater and an active workshop.”Powell and Kilkelly will be “developing the program further so that when Techstudents go, all those [components] will be in place.”“I think English students would love this experience because you get a chanceto teach English and study at the Academy,’ Powell says, “whether you are anEnglish major, whether you are a Theater major or a religion and culture major.You can go to Sri Lanka and be able to look at a number of issues from multipleperspectives, whether it is from a cultural perspective or a professional writingperspective or theater perspective.”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

the writing center globalizing englishtext, page design, & photos beth thompsonOn any given day, the Virginia Tech Writing Centeris bustling with students. Since its relocation to thesecond floor of the Newman Library, the center hasbeen busier than ever.The Writing Center is an on-campus resource opento all Virginia Tech faculty and students. Its purposeas an organization is to utilize tutors to build betterwriters, not to offer editing services. Along with thisgoal comes a unique position—it supplements Englisheducation and bridges a language gap that may existwith international students.Roughly one-third of the students who come to theWriting Center are international students who donot speak English as their first language. Tutors arespecially trained through a class to work with manytypes of students, papers, and writing. So, workingwith international students is nothing new. JoshThompson, a tutor who has worked at the WritingCenter for two years, says in the course, classmatesdiscussed specific issues that would arise with Englishas a Second Language (ESL) students, and they learnedhow to approach and strategize those sessions.During the class, potential tutors are also involved inan internship component where they coach sessionswith students, something tutor Andrew Sporrerlaughingly called “trial by fire.” This gives tutorsthe opportunity to experience all different kinds oftutoring sessions.In addition to the training tutors are given in the class,the Director of the Writing Center, Diana George,and Assistant Director, Jennifer Lawrence, also hopeto expand the international horizons. Lawrencehas been taking graduate level courses to obtain aTeaching English to the Speakers of Other Languages(TESOL) Professional Certificate. She is currentlyenrolled in Linguistics for TESOL. The course exploresthe English language from the viewpoint of linguistics,the discipline which examines the nature and useof human language. She has also been recruitingmultilingual tutors for the Writing Center class.George is in the process of creating a study groupfor undergraduate and graduate tutors on transgloballanguage issues. She is collaborating with twoprofessors from University of Louisville, Min-zhanLu, an internationally respected language specialistand professor of English, and Bruce Horner, theendowed chair of Rhetoric and Composition, bothwho have written some award winning pieces onglobalizing English. She hopes that if this programcan gain funding it will broaden tutors’ ability to workwith international students by reading theory andconversing about global language issues.The Writing Center does not deliberately marketto international students, but word of mouth is apowerful tool. The website is a universal locationfor students to discover information about thecenter (and it gets more visits than any other EnglishA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

the writing center globalizing englishdepartment webpage). Though its advertisingstrategies have stayed the same, the percentageof international students visiting the WritingCenter has been steadily rising from 25% in2007 to 33% in 2010, when it was last recorded.The majority of graduate students that visit arealso international.When asked why the Writing Center is soimportant to international students, Georgesaid, “When people talk about internationalprograms and internationalizing the school,they leave out things the Writing Center does,like working with different languages andlearning about different cultures.” Essentially,working at and coming to the Writing Center isan experience in learning how different peoplework together.George works as a tutor, and she shared someof her memorable experiences. Laughing, shesaid international students always surprise her.She says they may come in focused on one smallissue, like word-usage or articles. However,these language issues are not nearly as much ofan impediment as they think. Really, the kindsof issues they come to work on are just as variedas US students. No matter what, there will bedifferent levels of students and different placesthey are in their writing.George also says, “When many people readinternational writing and it doesn’t look perfector familiar, they categorize the students as notas bright, though they speak several languagesthat are dependent on highly sophisticatedskills.” Reducing students and their abilities totheir writing or misuse of articles does not fairlydisplay their intelligence.Sporrer says like all sessions, it’s about helpingstudents through a project, “helping someonepurge themselves of their notion.” He enjoyslearning about new things, especially gettingto experience a different personal world thathe otherwise couldn’t. Thompson enjoysinternational sessions because the studentsreally do want to be there and learn. He alsosays tutoring sessions teach tutors about othersand themselves, something Thompson says hasmade tutoring “one of the best experiences atVirginia Tech.”According to Akiko Nakamura, a PhD candidatemajoring in Chemistry who fequentlyschedules sessions at the center, “TheWriting Center is important for all studentsat VT—domestic and international students,as well as undergraduate and graduatestudents—because we have a number ofwriting assignments every semester, andbuilding good writing skills is essential foreffective communication and successfuleducational experiences. The Writing Centerhas contributed to developing my writingskills, and I have witnessed the same for alltypes of other students.”For directors and tutors alike, internationalstudents are just a part of the Writing Centerscene. Like everyone coming to the center, theyneed help with their writing. George says thatEnglish needs to be globalized in internationalterms, and the Writing Center is the first placefor international acceptance. “We don’t like toseparate people based on their languages. It’ssimply part of the richness that adds to theWriting Center and helps make us who we are.”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

d’aguiar earns goldsmiths fellowshiptext & page design kevin burkeSometimes it’s the unexpected things in life that turnout to make your day. For professor Fred D’Aguiar,that unexpected occurrence was a letter in the mailfrom Goldsmiths University of London.“At first, I thought ‘What is this, a bill?’” D’Aguiar said.“I opened it and it wasn’t a bill, it was a summons…offering me an honorary fellowship.”D’Aguiar immediately accepted the fellowship viae-mail and was one of seven honored this pastJanuary from the institution. The honorary fellowshipdistinction is reserved for those that Goldsmiths feelsbest recognize what the university is all about. Theinstitution looks for people that embody what thefaculty, students, and research interests are meant tobe like. As for the perks of the fellowship? D’Aguiar willnow be able to usethe university’slibrary free ofcharge and beput up the bythe college at aconcession rate.The fellowshipis just anotherachievement ina storied careerfor D’Aguiar,which didn’tstart out theway one mightthink. Growingup in London, heA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012originally went to school at the University of Kentand trained to be a psychiatric nurse. But once hecompleted the requisite three-and-a-half years oftraining, D’Aguiar decided it wasn’t for him.“I realized I (couldn’t) do it because it’s hard work,badly paid, and it’s just very demanding,” he said. “Iwanted to read more and be on a different schedule,not shift work.”From then on, his career flourished, as D’Aguiar hasauthored “about a dozen books.” He’s also receivedan honorary doctorate from his alma mater, theUniversity of Kent. Nothing, though, compares topublishing a book.“The book is a thing,” D’Augiar said. “It’s always athing and everything that spins off as a result, you’requite pleased.”That’s not to say D’Augiar isn’t pleased with thehonorary fellowship to Goldsmiths. It’s actually quitethe opposite.“It’s a validation of your critical work as well as thecreative side,” D’Augiar said. “It shows that peopleare watching, reading, and that what you’re doingcoincides with movements in the academy.”As a result of the honor, D’Augiar has witnessed aslight increase in publicity in the United Kingdom,mainly with newspaper articles with some interviewsmixed in here and there.Of course, in addition to his writing career, D’Augiarcontinues to teach in the English graduate programat Virginia Tech. His current balance between writingand teaching is an “ideal engagement,” he says. Butthen again, who knows when another unexpectedoccurrence could come about that could changeeverything for the better!did you know?D’Aguiar joined six other honorands this January inreceiving fellowships from Goldsmiths. The otherhonorands include:- Brian Ferneyhough, Stanford music professor- Chris Jenks, sociologist- Gary Hume, artist- Geoffrey Crossick, former Goldsmiths Warden- James Lingwood, Artangel Co-Director- Michael Morris, Artangel Co-DirectorFor more information, click here.Table of Contents

london calling: an international affairStudying in London last summer was ahighlight of my college career – unmatchedby any of my experiences on campus inBlacksburg. Any opportunity to studyabroad is a chance for students to applytheir interests and knowledge whileabsorbing everything they’re exposed to.For English majors, this is where the LondonCalling Program comes into play.After she joined the department, JaneWemhoener worked on redeveloping theLondon program that had previously beenrun by Professor Charles Modlin. Travelingto London while on an InternationalFaculty Development grant in Switzerland,Wemhoener built the foundation of theprogram that exists today. Her work wasnot just for the benefit of the Englishdepartment, but also for that of the entireuniversity.Now, the program continues to serve asan opportunity for students to be engagedin the world of learning outside of acollege community. The London CallingProgram has expanded to include anexciting internship program, which offersselect students an opportunity to workinternationally in a field of their choice. Thepossibilities are endless, and contributegreatly to a student’s work experience.Though this is an optional component, itallows for more than just a great studyabroad experience – it opens the doorsto thinking about working abroad, livingabroad, and adopting internationalpractices. Wemhoener initiated theinternship program after realizing that“internships are playing an increasinglyprominent role in job placements androunding out one’s education,” and howan international internship would furthercontribute to a student’s education.While in London last summer, I was fortunateenough to intern with a local publication.The experience was not only eye openingfor my career path, but also educationalbeyond my wildest expectations.Conducting interviews, writing articles,and planning events on a professionallevel quickly revealed to me what I wouldbe facing in the publishing world postgraduation.Combined this internship withthe study abroad program, I was exposedto more rewarding experiences than I couldhave anticipated.Working with professors in variousdepartments across campus, the LondonCalling Program has grown to encompassfields such as architecture and theatre.It’s an obvious decision, to open a studyreflective essay & page design sean simonsA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

London calling: an international affairabroad program that offers such historical and artistic wealth to more than justone department. The program’s initial intent has always been to serve as a “crosscollegestudy abroad venture,” according to Wemhoener. The program continuesto be “refined every year and marked by the special interests and talents of thefaculty who direct it,” making each year a unique and new experienceWhat this means for students, though, is that the experience in London is notjust enriching because of its location – but also because of the students who areattending. The diverse mix of studies and interests that create the program summerafter summer give way to an unparalleled learning experience. Witnessing thepassion of my peers last summer, I can attest to the intrigue that follows exposure.As much as I learned from the city, I learned from my fellow students.Of course, the city element is not to be dismissed. This is London, after all, andit possesses a history much older than our own. Wemhoener recognizes thatstudents “have the opportunity to claim London in a way in which a tourist or atouring program can never do.” Again, the program is built around the studentsand faculty involved – and most importantly, it allows for a personal experiencefor each and every student.What was a culinary and cultural adventure for me was a theatrical and literatureinvested experience for another. I was able to build my own identity with thecity of London, something no other program or travel opportunity would allow –short of moving there.Though Wemhoener has been to London multiple times, she still finds her own cityevery summer. What Wemhoener loves most about returning to London, is “thesurprise. I never know what we’ll see, or hear, or do. People are extraordinary.What I cherish most about London Calling, when I go, has always been and willalways be the men and women with whom I travel. I see everything for the firsttime with them, and I see it more clearly.” This passion is something I can attestto witnessing when I travelled last summer with the program. Jane Wemhoener’spassion for her students and their experiences in education and abroad isinvigorating and contagious, making for an incredible journey.student spotlight:james atkinsonphoto beth thompsonReturning to London again this summer foran opportunity to work as an intern in the“diverse and thriving” city, James Atkinsonhopes to reconnect with the city he firststudied in last summer. James “couldn’tpass up the chance to gain knowledge” in hisintended field, law — a sharp contrast fromhis studies in creative writing.Atkinson says the London Calling program offered freedoms hehad not experienced abroad before, recalling a trip in high schoolwhere students “didn’t stay very long in any one place and didn’treally get to see what each of the places had to offer.” Findingthat his last journey with the London Calling program gave way todeveloping a more personal connection with the city, James hopesto immerse himself again in the history and culture of the bustlingmetropolis.Most importantly, James says he learned how to explore the citylast summer. “If you want to explore a city just pick a random streetand walk down it. Turn when you feel like it. You’ll be amazedat the kinds of things you can find,” Atkinson’s past travels havetaught him that, “It’s important to get off the beaten path to reallysee what London is about.”This belief is something James has applied to his future work life,as well, commenting that his internship in London will show hima different way to work in the business world. “My real hope isthat the experience will contribute by not only showing me whatit is like to work in an environment as stressful as London, but alsohow I can take the positive work habits of that culture and adaptthem to my own.” Atkinson’s interest in applying his experiencesfrom London to his future here at Virginia Tech, or elsewhere, isexactly what the London Calling program aspires to do.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

students take control*text jen mooneyphotos hannah boutwell (right) & beth thompson (next page)photo gallery page design & layout beth thompsonChange is not always an easy thing to accept, particularly when the current model of whatever it is we have createdworks so well and has garnered so much praise. Such change is scary. Not only that – it’s risky.But this year’s 7th English Undergraduate Research Conference – with the theme “Writing Worlds” – proved thatchange can not only succeed but also be envisioned as a cooperative, team-based learning experience for thoseinvolved. For the first time, two groups of students in concurrent independent study and undergraduate researchcourses, along with several student volunteers, took responsibility for the event’s planning, publicity, scheduling,and operation.Not that students have been uninvolved in years past. In fact, they have always proven their eagerness to plan thedetails, sweat their way through setup, greet visitors, and clean up afterward. This time, however, the studentshave spent the semester in courses designed to provide them with both conference-related experiential learningopportunities and a philosophical grounding for their work: ENGL 4994: Undergraduate Research, co-taught by JimDubinsky and Vanessa Ruccolo, and ENGL 4974: Independent Study: Leadership and Advocacy, taught by Dubinsky.Five students participated in Dubinsky’s independent study: Sarah Schaefer (program), Kathyn Econom (assortedlogistics), Kelsey Frey (registration, PR), Courtney Ricks (food), and Victoria James (PR).A long-time advocate of service learning, Dubinsky saw the course as a chance to teach students about hands-onleadership. “My primary reason for involving students as planners and leaders is that I wanted to further developthe conference along its evolutionary path – an additional opportunity to showcase our students and their manytalents,” he notes. “We did not set out to change anything, as the conferences in the past had been very successful.Instead, we were examining whether there were other options or opportunities to enhance student learning.”WRITINGWORLDSDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHUNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCESHANKS HALL | 6 APRIL 2012The conference poster was designed byProfessional Writing/Creative Writing major SeanSimons. The design was also used on a t-shirt.That they succeeded is apparent. “I think the students did a wonderful job working on the conference this year,”Ruccolo states. “We were so fortunate to work with such a talented bunch of students! I hope we get to work withthem once again next year.”*(of the undergraduate research conference, that is)A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

winning conference papersPoster/Creative Media: James Donahue presenting a silent ShakespearefilmCreative Writing: Chelsea Gillenwater with “What We Make”Composition: Alexis J. Livingston with “From the Kitchen into the Limelight:The Role of Women in Advertising”Professional Writing: Vaccination Research: A Panel Discussion (Moderator:Heidi Lawrence) with Rachel Dinkins, Olivia Kasik, Dasha Nesterova, & KarenSpearsLiterature, Language, and Culture: Lara Mangum with “Evelina and theFrench Connection: The Madame Duval Subplot”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

dennis welch retiresafter 30 years at vtAfter 41 years as a professor – 30 of them spent atVT – Dennis Welch retired from the Departmentof English at the end of Fall 2011. He came to theuniversity in 1981 while on sabbatical from ClarksonUniversity in upstate New York, accompanying hiswife, Kathy (shown here with Dennis at Mesa VerdeNational Park, CO), who had begun graduate work inPsychology. As a faculty member in the now-defunctCenter for Programs in the Humanities, he was putin charge of creating a new course, “Humanities,Science, and Technology,” and over the course ofhis tenure here, he often divided his time betweenEnglish and Interdisciplinary Studies.Blessed with a seemingly endless reservoir of energy,Dennis -- who has just been granted emeritus statusby the university -- has long devoted a goodlymeasure of that vitality to supporting student writing.In the late 1990s, he was instrumental in pushingfor the creation of an online departmental journalthat featured critical writing by undergraduates inEnglish courses. That journal, Ex Libris, ran for severalyears, with an editorial staff comprised entirelyof undergraduate students. Moreover, one couldalways count on seeing many of his students listed inthe program each year for the English UndergraduateResearch Conference.Dennis’s influence on students has been lasting.They tend to remember his exuberance for thematerial, his encouragement of their talents, and hiswillingness to help them improve their writing.“Dennis greatly influenced me by making me wantto pursue a career in higher education,” says DouglasRoot (BA, English, 02), now a Post-Doctoral Fellowat the University of Georgia. “[He] was able to cutthrough the typical B.S. and tell me that, while theroad would be long and hard (and he was right), I wascapable of getting the job done. . . . In the classroom, Iwill never forget (and have often tried to emulate) hisexuberance and dedication to his students’ needs.”Mark Dewyea, who graduates this spring with a BAin English, is equally enthusiastic. He notes that hewill remember about working with Dennis “both hispassion for the course material as well as his care forhis students and willingness to do anything possibleto insure that they grew intellectually and thoroughlyunderstood the principles of their studies.”“His class was actually my first English class in college,”Mark adds, “and he definitely made the transitionmuch easier by honing my skills of organization,clarity, and concision. His dedicated instruction laidthe intellectual framework necessary for me to havea highly successful undergraduate experience.”Dennis and his wife are moving to Cary, NorthCarolina, where they have already bought a house,to be near their daughter and her family. Although hewill definitely have plenty to do in his new hometown-- like catching up on his reading, attending events atthe local universities, and visiting Baseball USA, hewill miss, he says, “the interaction with students . . .I’ve tried mightily to really make literature a part oftheir lives and to help them see that there is great,great pleasure in just thinking. . . . The wish I havefor all is that they find a line of work that’s also apassion. If they do, they will always enjoy that workand love life.”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

cheryl ruggiero retires: family time follows!When Cheryl Ruggiero retires in June, having been at Virginia Tech since January 1974, she will take with her yearsof experience, teaching excellence, and institutional memory that can’t be matched by that of anyone else in theEnglish Department.text suzanne reisingerphotos courtesy cheryl ruggieroAs Assistant Chair of the English Department for the past ten years, she has worked with three Chairs and twoAssociate Chairs. Over the years she also has served as Assistant Director and Director of the Writing Center, GTAMentor and Coordinator of GTA Advising, Co-editor of the department’s custom text—and the list goes on.She will leave a legacy of attention to detail and an incredible ability to work through the complicated tangle ofscheduling classes. Most importantly, she will leave a huge hole. One of her colleagues has remarked, “it’s hardto imagine the department without Cheryl; she has contributed to the department in multiple ways that are soautomatic to us that we don’t always recognize them.”A second hat Cheryl wears is that of Assistant Director of Composition, working with the Director to administerthe first-year writing program. It’s a big job: in a typical year the English Department offersmore than 120 sections of first-year writing each semester; that works out to around fortyeighthundred student seats.But it’s the third hat, that of department scheduler, that faculty and graduate students aremost aware of. Working almost a year in advance, Cheryl creates the schedule that willintroduce thousands of students to not just first year-writing, but to classes such as Writingfor the Web, Southern Literature, Introduction to Creative Writing, and Chaucer. Cheryl is awizard and a master puzzle-solver, as she works to schedule classes with student needs andinstructor preferences in mind.And she is a master teacher, as well. She has taught classes in composition, science fiction,short fiction, advanced grammar, and technical writing (both in-class and on line); shedeveloped and taught Grammar for Writers and Grammar for Teachers.Nancy Metz, Associate Chair of the department from 2002-11, notes Cheryl’s ability to“reinvent herself constantly,” as a classroom teacher and as a researcher and writer. She’sbeen at the forefront of the “technology curve” for a long time, as grants to support technologyefforts such as a Plagiarism Module and Grammar Gym (an on-line tutorial for students andinstructors), and other on-line applications attest. In a department where outside funding issomewhat rare, she has obtained over $155,000 in grants (all in collaboration with colleagues,she is quick to add). In the past few years, Cheryl joined Sue Hagedorn’s innovative workA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

cheryl ruggiero retires: family time follows!in creating an online coursein science fiction, which,with Karen Swenson’s wikiexpertise and Randy Patton’schat talent, has become apopular course and onlinecommunity. Cheryl, Karen(middle, in the photo atright) and Sue (left) haveeven presented on thecourse.Cheryl’s success in theclassroom can perhaps bepartly explained by herown writing: “teaching andwriting take the same kindof energy; they draw thesame kind of juice,” she remarks. She’s been writing since she was ten, and as a creativewriting major in college produced a lot of poetry and short fiction, all of which she hastrashed (a “good decision,” she says). She took up writing again about twenty years ago, andagain discarded her work. Ten years later, she had gone back to poetry and fiction; her firstpublished work came in 2003.Since 2005, the publications have not stopped: a chapbook of poems, eighteen shortstories—only four of which are not science fiction/fantasy—and one story published inCrime Wave, a British quarterly anthology of crime fiction. Her chapbook, Old Woman at theWarm Spring, is filled with poems about life, love, and family.There’s a brand-new grandson in her life, as well, born just as this article was written. Hejoins two other grandsons, who, with husband Jim and two sons, will play a prominent rolein her after-English-Department life.While we will miss Cheryl, we’re happy that she can spend more time with her rediscoveredlove of writing and her expanded family. After all, isn’t that what a great retirement is allabout?Spring EquinoxAn ordered cupboard in my soul,emptied of sweet preservesthrough winter›s war and wear,finds itself replenished by romping chaosin my kitchen--whiskery husband in percussive collusionwith two grandsons, one chrome colander,two spoons, and a kazoo,sons scrambling eggsand warming maple syrup under hammering hot water,sons’ wives, one calm madonna of the toaster waffles,one sifting laughter in like cinnamon,bellows, beagles, elbows.Love is friable as frost-heaved soil,trusty as returning sunlight.--Cheryl Ruggiero,from Old Woman at the Warm SpringA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

eva brumberger off to asuEva Brumberger is much more generous than am I. Back in Fall 2008, I shadowed her in ENGL 3824:Designing Documentsfor Print. I attended her class, read the textbook, stole her PowerPoints, and worked on the side to prepare a reportto show that I was absorbing the material and would be prepared to teach it in the future. Yes – that’s right: teach it.Here she was, a seasoned professor, willing to share with me not just her knowledge but also a course she had shapedand made her own. Once Eva joined the faculty in 2001, she had been the only person to teach Designing Documentsfor Print. She was the go-to design expert. She knew her fonts and her schools of design and how not to use ComicSans. Not only was she prepping me to teach what I had come to think of as HER course, but sometimes I would beteaching it when she wasn’t. It was, at the time, an odd thing to consider.But she was so very . . . cool about it. And, although we had worked together for several years before that as membersof the Professional Writing team, the more time we spent together, the more I realized that she was fast becomingboth a mentor and a friend.It hardly seems possible that nearly four years have passed since then. What seems even lesspossible is that when school starts again in the fall, Eva won’t be just down the hall or teaching inShanks 360 before me. No, she’ll be more than a thousand miles away on the campus of ArizonaState University, where she has accepted a position as an Associate Professor.The new position is a dream job: at ASU, Eva will be directing the technical communication program.For a dedicated Professional Writing person, that’s an opportunity too good to let pass. And she’llbe moving back to the Southwest, which is an area I know she loves. It’s rare to be able to go backto a place that felt so much like home the first time one lived there. So that’s good, too. In fact, forEva and her family, it’s totally a win-win situation.But it still feels painful and crushy to think that she’s leaving. Without her kindness and generosity, Iwould never have learned what I have about design or about how to teach it. So I thank her for that.More than that, however, I thank her for being my friend, and I hereby promise -- in a thoroughlypublic venue -- that I will come to visit you, Eva. And your pool.--Jen MooneyA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

Back in Chatham, where she was raised, Sarah Finkner’smiddle school teacher called her “Animal Girl.” It wasa moniker that had nothing to do with her generaldemeanor, but everything to do with her affinity forpretty much any creature she ran across. She says shecan’t remember a time when she didn’t have a dogor a cat – or a sampling of both – hanging out in herbedroom. And now they hang out in her office – whenthey aren’t sitting on her desk or in her lap.Sarah, who graduated in 2006 with a dual focus oncreative and professional writing, is founder and soleowner of NRV Varmints Pet Sitting Agency, a businessthat in 2011 celebrated a 10-year anniversary of sorts.It was in 2001, when she was pursuing her degree andworking part-time at the old Zooquatics pet store inBlacksburg, that Sarah and a coworker decided to startpet sitting. She took Blacksburg as her territory, thecoworker took Christiansburg, and by word-of-mouthadvertising alone, the seeds of NRV Varmints wereplanted.With her love of animals, it is no surprise that Sarahactually started in a major like Wildlife Science. Shenotes, somewhat sheepishly that it was back in 1999when she actually started work on her undergraduatedegree, but she worked part-time to pay her way andthe semesters were mostly part-time.it’s a dog’s lifefor alumna sarah finknerA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012text jen mooney | photos beth thompsonEventually, when she realized that a degree in WS wouldrequire additional education and that she had actually“lost interest in the specific idea of what [she] would bedoing” after graduation, she made the switch to English,where she found her niche and developed what shedescribes as strong communication skills.She points out that those skills came in handy whenthe time came for NRV Varmints to become “official.” Inroughly 2004, she began advertising her business; by thenext year, she had a person working with her. By 2007,to pet sitting – visiting people’s houses to feed and takeTable of Contents

care of their pets while they were away – Sarah eventually added unofficialdaycare services in the house she had bought in McCoy. A growing list ofclients had asked for it.“People were loving the services,” she notes. “Our pet sitting was continuingto grow, as well as our day care.” Between 2007-2008, Sarah estimates thatthe business saw a growth rate in its clientele of 55%; between 08-09, 50%.In 2008, NRV Varmints moved into its first official home in North Blacksburg,but its setting up shop there did not occur without some ticklish moments.It was then that Sarah’s communication skills began to serve her well. Thatyear and the next, two other pet sitting/daycare services lodged complaintsbecause Sarah’s business had been permitted to locate within town limits,while theirs had not. Altogether, Sarah estimates that she has spoken infront of and presented proposals and other business documents to variousboards and zoning agencies – quite successfully, it bears noting – six toeight times.“A lot of the skills I’ve put to use come from my English background,” sheadds.NRV Varmints relocated to its current location near Montgomery RegionalHospital in 2010 in order to provide an outdoor space for dogs. Currently,the business has 900 clients, with 750-800 using pet sitting services. Sarahemploys 12 full-time pet sitters who either visit with pets several times aday or spend the night in clients’ homes. She marvels at the willingnesswith which she and her sitters have been embraced by their clients.streets -- literally. She helps run the dog parade in Blacksburg’s SummerSolstice Festival, which she also serves as a planning committee member,and has established a “Canine Corral” each year at Steppin’ Out, wheredog owners can let their pets play while they take in the sights.On the day the interview for this article took place, 12 dogs of various sizes– from a tall and serious St. Bernard to a Yorkie that moves between herlap and the floor, her lap and the floor – mingled together in the sunny yardand cooler interior play spaces. In the back of the facility, two spaniels anda small bulldog – all more rambunctious than the other dogs – played intheir own rooms. Sarah knows them all by name, and they looked to herexcitedly when she stands near them to list the variety of their breeds.With the clear love Sarah has for her wards and the success with which herhomegrown business has met, it might surprise that she would eventuallylike to return to school for a master’s degree. As she pursued her degree,though, she also worked almost full-time in a mental health facility, andshe grew to love the positive results she saw there. One day she would liketo earn a Master’s in Social Work – but not THIS day. And probably not anyday in the near future.“I’m not really in a rush,” she says, as she picks up the Yorkie once again.“It’s a mysterious thing to me sometimes that people ever let us in,” shesays. “But we’ve really developed special relationships with our clients.If you have someone who’s willing to write you in as a pet sitter, they’rebasically inviting you to eat out of the fridge. They’ll say ‘here’s the shower,”and they’ll put out pretty soap. The way that they trust is phenomenal.”The services Sarah provides are not merely a means to an end in termsof pet care; they also help nurture the deep bond that people developwith their pets. She tells the story, for example, of a woman in the armedforces who has been deployed overseas for nine months. She is a singlepet owner, and her family members live elsewhere, so she turned to NRVVarmints to take care of her five cats and three dogs while she was gone.Sarah has also worked hard to create a bond between NRV Varmints and itscommunity. She donates to local causes, but also takes her services to theYorkie Alex belongs to Ginney Fowlerand Nikki Giovanni. She has been withNRV Varmints for years.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesphd programsection design mike breitenbachIf his high school guidancecounselor had been able toexert more control over him,Evansville, IN, native TimLockridge might have endedup with a marketing degree,wearing a three-piece suitand sitting behind a desk in ahigh-rise. As it was, he foundhimself a year and a half into amarketing/advertising major, incollege at his parents’ behest,and hating the fact that inhis reluctantly-chosen field“people were statistics.”So he dropped out to work at amovie theater and play musicon the weekends, touring withhis band in a cargo van called“Gladiator.” It took a randomstop at a bookstore and thepurchase of Dave Eggers’tim lockridgePulitzer Prize-nominatedpiece, A Heartbreaking Workof Staggering Genius, to showhim that “the rules of writingweren’t really rules” and to convince him to return to college at the University ofSouthern Indiana – this time, as an English major.“My education,” he notes with a laugh, “has always been most poignant when Irealize you can do things you aren’t supposed to do.”Take, for example, the somewhat circuitous post-BA route he took to VT’s MFAprogram. Near the end of his BA, Tim finally asked a favorite professor and mentorhow he could end up doing what the teacher did. Although the professor toldA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012him about MFA programs, he worked random jobs for a couple of years beforeparticipating in a New Harmony, IN, creative writing summer program RopeWalkWriters Retreat. There, someone offered him a quirky piece of advice aboutselecting an MFA program: if you have writer whose work you admire, find outwhere he or she is teaching and go there.Which is precisely how Tim ended up at VT, from which he earned his MFA inPoetry and New Media Creative Writing in 2008. His committee was chaired bythat “writer whose work he admired” – Bob Hicok.But he wasn’t quite finished. Way back in about 1995, when he was still in highschool, his parents had purchased a computer, but didn’t want him to accessthe then relatively-new internet on it. In another random-but-invaluable turn ofevents, a fellow down the road from where he lived opened an internet café,which Tim would visit almost daily after school. After time, the café owner realizedthat Tim exhibited a facility for navigating the web, so he asked him if he wouldbe interested in helping his wife set up a web site. Despite knowing nothing abouthow to do that, Tim said yes – and then turned to the local library for assistance.He taught himself HMTL, created the wife’s web site, and even built a few more.Then, when the café folded and became instead a computer repair shop, he foundhimself working there full time.So it’s no surprise that after earning his MFA, he transitioned quickly into thePhD program and has since developed an impressive body of presentations andpublications in the areas of digital rhetoric, web writing and design, and newmedia and multi-modal composition. His dissertation, entitled “Beyond Invention:How Hackers Challenge Memory and Disrupt Delivery,” actually links his MFA andPhD work because it considers questions of ownership on the web.And when this summer he leaves Blacksburg for an assistant professorshipin multimedia writing in Communication Studies at St. Joseph’s University(Philadelphia, PA), it will be to what many in his position would consider a dreamjob: helping to build a new program from the ground up.All in all, not bad for a guy who used to tour the Midwest with his band in a vanknown as “Gladiator.”Table of Contents

student profilesphd programAmy Reed was toiling diligently through the first-year rigors of medical school when she realized she no longer wanted to be a doctor. A BA in English and BS inBiology from Ohio State University had prepared her with both the communication and scientific skills she needed to succeed, but something was missing from theexperience.It wasn’t until she withdrew from medical school and enrolled in the master’s program at the University of Dayton that she discovered her true direction. She foundshe could parlay her dual interests in the humanities and the sciences, particularly medicine, into a career in Rhetoric and Composition – a path that would eventuallylead her to the PhD program at Virginia Tech.“I didn’t think it was possible to join my interests,” Amy says. “I had a foot in both worlds, butI didn’t know anything about Rhetoric and Composition or Professional Writing when I did myundergraduate education.”At Dayton, Amy studied genre theory and began reading about developments in the rapidlyevolvingfield of medical writing. When she began the PhD program, though, her initial goal was toundertake research on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), collaborative plans prepared byparents, teachers, and administrators to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities.Her interest soon shifted, however, the more IEPs she read. “I realized there was medical languagewhere I didn’t think it needed to be,” she says of the documents.Work already being produced in the Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society (CSRS) – Paul Heilker’swork on autism and Kelly Pender’s on breast cancer, for example – helped lead Amy toward thefield of medical rhetoric. Since making that move, she has worked as a research assistant and grantco-writer with various research groups within the CSRS, including the Epidemiology of Informationand the Rhetorical Situations in Bioethics groups. Even after her official coursework was finished,she extended her experience in the field by enrolling in Bernice Hausman’s medical rhetoric course.Amy’s dissertation – “Rhetorics of Down Syndrome” – draws on medical rhetoric and disabilitiesstudies to examine the subject of prenatal testing for Downs, which she indicates is “the mostcommon cognitive congenital disability.”amy reedAmy also has honed her teaching skills in both the Composition and Professional Writing programs, having tackled such diverse courses as freshman writing, TechnicalWriting, and Literature, Medicine, and Culture. For the past year, she has also worked with the Engineering Communications Program, serving as program assistantbut then moving to assistant and then lead instructor of various Materials Science Engineering courses.All of this experience will serve her well when she steps into her new role this fall: Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing Arts at Rowan University inGlassboro, NJ. Although she has come a long way from that year in medical school, she will nonetheless continue working and teaching in the field of medical writing,furthering her love of the sciences in the writing classroom.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesma programJessica Bates would likely be the first to admit that she is still searching for what she wants todo with her life. To her way of thinking, though, that inquisitiveness is not only natural, butalso inspiring. “I’m kind of a searcher,” she says. “I like being creative, and I like learning abouta lot of different things.”At Hendrix College, a small liberal arts school in Arkansas that she describesas a “hippie school,” she considered pre-med before graduating in 2006 with adegree in English and a History minor.Then, still searching, Jess went to work. She spent a year in Little Rock as acopywriter at an ad agency before following her sister to Washington, DC.Temporary positions as a technical editor at the Solidarity Council and as aninternational coordinator at the Cotton Council kept her busy for a year or sobefore she settled in for a two-year stint at the Society for Neuroscience, whereshe served as editorial assistant for the society’s Journal of Neuroscience.Finally, in 2010, Jess made her way to Virginia Tech’s MA program, from whichshe will earn her degree this spring. When she entered the graduate program,she had plans to study the metaphor of the robot. To some degree, that subjectstill found its way into her thesis, which studies the conceptual art of AmericanR&B/soul musician Janelle Monae. A self-described “music nerd,” Jess foundthe perfect research outlet in what she calls the “trans-media storytelling” ofMonae, whose work comments on the status of African Americans using musicand performance art with sci-fi and technological themes.jessica batesAfter graduation, Jess plans to return to Washington, where her brother also now lives.There, she will seek writing and editing positions that permit her to – no surprise here! – “doa lot of things, that will let me be creative in some way.”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesma programDickenson County, VA, native Bruce Blansett actually finds it a bit “odd” – his word – that he is about to earn his MA in English, becausehis journey didn’t start in that direction at all. In fact, when he enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia at Wise, he wasdetermined to study Biology, attend medical school, and become a pharmacist. Things did start out that way. But a second-semester coursein “London in Literature” – an interdisciplinary course he chose to complete an Honors requirement – “clicked” for him, and by his thirdsemester he had become an English major.bruce blansettYet he has not fully abandoned his interest in medicine. His thesis, on late 19th-early 20thcentury American writer and social activist Charles Chesnutt merges the two interests:it explores how the author’s collection of short stories, “The Conjure Woman and OtherConjure Tales” (1899), serves to critique the traditional medical professional. His researchargues, Bruce explains, “how the African-American or slave community could gain powerthrough their own sources of medical expertise.”Bruce’s forays into English and into an MA program might have been slightly accidental, butthey have been fruitful. In addition to chairing a panel on “Mulitmodal Sex: Perspectiveson Sex and/or Violence in Texts & Digital Environments,” he has delivered a paper entitled“Exploring Science and Race in Nineteenth Century America” at the 2011 meeting of ThePhilological Association of the Carolinas. In addition, he has a chapter forthcoming in theanthology Beyond Southern Frontier Humor: Prospects and Possibilities. That essay, “FromSwamp Doctor to Conjure Woman: Exploring ‘Science’ and Race in Nineteenth-CenturyAmerica,” examines how Henry Clay Lewis’s Odd Leaves “functions as a thematic, stylistic,and subversive antecedent” to Chesnutt’s “The Conjure Woman.”He has also been nominated for the Richard Hoffman GTA Award for superior teaching bya GTA. “I love teaching because I love writing,” he says. “It gives me the chance to showstudents my passion for it and get them excited about something that they have to take. Itry to show them how they can find their voice and become empowered by it.”While Bruce would like to teach after completing his MA, he is not ruling out an alternativecareer that would let him hone his writing and editing skills. And he plans to read for pleasure, a hobby he has had to postpone while pursuinghis MA. The first book he will read? The Man Who Made Lists, the biography of Peter Mark Roget, British physician and lexicographer. Nota surprising choice, when you think about it.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesmfa programtext whitney jonesThe small farming village of Stevensville, MI, where Rob Kenagy grew up, is a mere 57 miles from Chicago. Closeenough for him to make multiple runs to the farmers market there when he worked for nearby Mick Klug Farmsand to move to when he decided he wanted to try his hand at being a musician. Close to home, family, and friends.So it seems a bit odd that this committed Midwesterner would end up hundreds of miles away in Blacksburg. Endup here he did, though, drawn to the MFA Program by a desire to “do it right” – to be a poet who is also a teacher.Had things turned out differently, he could have been wearing khakis, parlaying a summer and occasionally fulltimejob as a park ranger at Silver Beach County Park into a full-time gig. But that momentary idea of “going intoparks and recreation” soon gave way to another idea – trying a career in Chicago’s music scene, where he playedwith friends’ bands and started his own – before it evolved yet again, and Rob found himself on the VT campus.“It’s sort of been a series of trying things,” he says with a laugh.A 2008 English and Philosophy graduate of Michigan’s liberal-arts based Hope College, Rob remembers how twoundergraduate workshops with poet Jack Ridl focused his attention on writing as a vocation. Ridl was one of thoseteachers, Rob says, who “cracked the world open” for him.Rob has, in turn, tried to do the same for his own students in such courses as Introduction to Creative Writing.“I love teaching,” he states. “It’s so cool to see people tiptoe into new worlds. I’m constantly surprised by mystudents and how weird they are – in a good way!”rob kenagyAlthough he has been busy recently putting the finishing touches on his MFA manuscript, a collection of poemsentitled “Jalopy Hymnal”, he has multi-tasked his way to publications in Midwestern Gothic, Gargoyle Magazine,and Opus, as well as through a variety of regional readings and a number of guest workshops in the classes ofcolleagues. He has also won a variety of awards for his work, including one presented by Virginia Tech and thePoetry Society of Virginia.MFA in hand, he will return to Michigan to be near family and friends. He hopes to find an adjunct teachingposition, but the “real plan is just to keep writing,” he says. “I try to just write. It’s all about surprising myself andchallenging myself. . . . I take pride in what I’ve done.”A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesmfa programtext whitney jonesSandra Yee studied acupuncture in Sri Lanka and then practiced it for several years in Atlanta,before admitting to herself that all she really wanted to do was write. “My first love, writing,was calling me home,” she says.Before reaching this conclusion, Sandra gained a variety of experiences in places all over theworld. For a time, she worked for the designer Vivienne Westwood in London, taught Englishin Chengdu, and even became an amateur filmmaker, creating a documentary about her andher grandmother. Her film was featured in a couple of film festivals in Atlanta and was evenshown at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.The Phoenix, AZ native earned a BFA in studio art and has used her design skills as co-curatorand coordinator for the Connecting Ridges Reading Series. She also served as the graduatestudent liaison for the 1st Glossolalia Literary Festival at Virginia Tech and as communicationschair for the English Graduate Student Organization (EGSO) Annual Conference.With an avid interest in natural medicine, recycling, organics and health foods, and theenvironment, it comes as no surprise that Sandra would pick somewhere like Blacksburg tospend three years concentrating on her writing.As her vita indicates, Sandra has been working on her writing for much of her academiccareer. “I am a workaholic,” she says, “and I do not recommend it.” Her list of publications isextensive. Most recently, her “Weather that Asks for the Lighting of Candles” was featured inThe Lantern Review.Even though Sandra says she has been “trying to get away from Phoenix, AZ ever since she hitpuberty,” she is now thinking of returning to work in her family grocery store. She describesthe store’s location as a “food desert,” figuratively and literally. And since Sandra enjoysdiverse opportunity, it is easy to envision her hopes of turning it into a health food store withan adjoining community library and literacy center.Turns out, for Sandra, home and writing are where the heart is.sandra yeeA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilescreative writingtext mike breitenbachEven a brief conversation with Drew Knapp reveals his creativity. His gaze seems fixed beyond his target,but should not be mistaken as apathetic. The gears of his mind turn in a constant and visible motion as hecarefully listens and selects his words.Drew came to Virginia Tech to study business, which he pursued for a year and a half, unknowing thathe would graduate as a published novelist. He took Introduction to Creative Writing as an elective andsoon decided that he wanted writing to be the focus of his academic career.Writing was a part of his life before college, but he claims that his work was “terrible” before hereceived the guidance of his professors. In Knapp’s opinion, “some of the best teachers at Tech arein the English Department.” He credits Robin Allnutt and Matthew Vollmer as particularly helpful inhis writing. He says his favorite class is the Advanced Fiction workshop, which he took with Ed Falco.Drew prefers the laidback atmosphere of workshops because they allow him to be more productivethan in lecture classes.After a few semesters in the English Department, he has already published one novel, Out of My BodyFlowers Will Grow, and a novella, Slug. As a result, he is graduating with plenty of writing experienceand familiarity with the “cutthroat” publishing industry.drew knappDrew credits his success simply to writing “way too much.” He is known for sometimes overwhelminghis teachers by bringing too much work to class. “I’m actually interested,” he says. “That’s the biggestthing I bring to the table.”He writes his stories mostly based off of his own experiences or stories from his friends. “A lot ofmy fiction,” he says, “is just nonfiction with the names changed. That way, it comes out more honestly,because you already know what you are talking about.”Upon graduation, Drew plans to attend graduate school for Creative Writing.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilescreative writingtext mike breitenbach“The goal isn’t to live forever; the goal is to create something that will.” One of Elisha Votruba’s favoritequotes from novelist Chuck Palahniuk describes her approach to writing perfectly. Elisha’s unbridled thirstfor experiencing life and trying new things fuels her writing. She describes herself as “accident prone”with no inhibitions or patience, a lifestyle that is apparent in her works of humor nonfiction.Elisha, “a writer from day-one,” is a senior in the Professional and Creative Writing concentrations. Asa child, she wrote stories about her dog’s adventures in the woods and received complaints from herteachers for reading under her desk during class. Today, she seeks work with a more technical background.She began her college career in Harrionsburg at James Madison University (JMU) as a communicationsmajor but transferred to Virginia Tech during her sophomore year, and she has since lived her collegeexperience to the fullest. Upon transferring, she felt “immediately welcomed” and has enjoyed the senseof community and complete acceptance of the Hokie nation.Elisha’s writing is strongly influenced by her professors, peers and family. Her skills were recognized inhigh school, but she felt that she needed more assurance in her writing. She claims that the supportfrom her Virginia Tech professors and classmates truly made her believe in her abilities. Professors FredD’aguiar and Bob Hicok, she says, were her most influential mentors in the department.She earned a second place Virginia Tech Literary Award for nonfiction in 2011 and was nominated forfiction as well. She was also selected to participate in the 2012 Sweet Briar Creative Writing Conference,which invites the top twelve writers from universities across the country.elisha votrubaIn the fall, Elisha will be working at General Dynamics as an integrated cost and scheduling specialist.After a few years of “experiencing life,” she hopes to go to graduate school for Creative Writing. Untilthen, she will continue writing.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesliterature, language, and culturetext whitney jonesIt is a very good thing that high school geometry and trigonometry exist, for without them,Patrick County, VA native Josh Thompson might never have decided to become an Englishmajor.But it was his 11th grade Honors English teacher, Mr. Henderson, who verified for him whatgeometry and trigonometry had started. It was that teacher, Josh explains, who openedhis eyes to the possibilities inherent in the study of English: “He basically showed me thiswhole other side to English – literary analysis. You can actually see into the literature . . . itspeaks about people and society, this whole intersection of everything.”Ordinarily, Josh would be finishing his college career in a few weeks, but since thebeginning of the Fall 2011 semester, he has been dual-enrolled in Tech’s MA program inEnglish Education, from which he will graduate to begin his own career as a high schoolEnglish teacher. While many students have dual-enrolled the second semester of theirsenior year, Josh is the first student to be enrolled as an undergraduate and a graduatecandidate for the entire year.“I’ve always wanted to teach,” he says. “I don’t know why, but it has always been there.Nothing has made me second-guess myself. It has just affirmed what I know: I want to bea teacher.”As an undergraduate, he has already begun to make his mark in the fields of teachingand literature. He has worked for two years as a tutor in the Writing Center, published anarticle about tutoring in The Writing Lab Newsletter, and presented papers on children’sliterature at several conferences, including the Virginia Humanities Conference and theMidwest Popular Culture Association.josh thompsonA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Josh is multi-faceted, though. Since his arrival at Tech as a freshman, he has been amember of the Marching Virginians, serving as drum major when he was a junior andrank captain the fall of his senior year. He is also a member and current president of theco-ed music fraternity Delta Omicron.Yet English remains his first love. In a few years, a classroom or two of high school studentswill be very happy about that.Table of Contents

student profilesliterature, language, and culturetext whitney jonesHope Wilkes has a dog named Harper Lee, a golden lab who “is too pretty for us not to take picturesof constantly.” It comes as no surprise that Hope would name her dog after a major figure in Americanliterature, but the fact that she recently met a golden retriever named Boo Radley, well, that’s a littleunexpected.Or, then again, maybe not. For those who know Hope, the unexpected definitely can be the expected.Like hanging out with teachers beyond the classroom. “She’s smart, intellectually curious, diligent,”says Steve Mooney, who remembers numerous conversations with Hope in his office about “booksand ideas,” as he puts it.“It was almost like an informal independent study – for no credit!” he added.And pushing herself physically, not just academically? Yep. An avid runner, Hope often participatesin marathons. In May 2011, she ran for the first time the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon inFredericksburg, VA, an endeavor she will repeat this year. She has run the Marine Corps 10K Marathontwice, and in February of this year, she participated in the Virginia is for Lovers 14K. But, the “goodstuff,” she says? On April 1, she ran the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon “a mere two weeks after finishingmy first marathon, the Publix Georgia Marathon on 3/18/12.”Hope’s immediate plans after graduation sound deceptively typical as well: she has planned a coupleof vacations. This summer she will be taking off on an island getaway – the Galapagos Islands, thatis, where she will be touring while toting around a copy of Darwin’s book The Origin of Species. Shealso hopes to attend the 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, a part of the Women’s CollegeWorld Series of Softball, in Oklahoma City, OK. It will be her second trip there, the first occasion beingan item she ticked off her bucket list.Her career plans are likewise intriguing: she will join the Marine Corps, entering as an officer. “I enjoy aphysical challenge,” she says about her decision. “I have strong leadership skills, and I have a desire toserve my country. I chose the Marine Corps specifically because of its focus on its history, traditions,and honor.”In truth, not unexpected at all!hope wilkesA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student profilesprofessional writingtext mike breitenbachSenior English/Professional Writing major Lindsey Brookbank began her exploration intoher future coursework early. In high school, she wrote for her student newspaper andchose to continue writing during her college career at Virginia Tech.“I just knew I wanted to be a writer,” Lindsey says. Initially, she didn’t know what fieldshe wanted to enter into, but during her junior year, she began her second major inCommunications with an emphasis Electronic and Print Journalism. During the same yearshe also began working as the Managing Editor at the Collegiate Times. From then on, hergoals were clear.After three years at the Collegiate Times, The Virginia Tech student-run newspaper, sheconsiders her work there to be her most valuable experience of her academic career. Sheoversees the work of all the editors, reads the stories, and puts the paper together everynight. Though her workload is often stressful, she reflects, “It has given me real-worldexperience that I don’t think I would have gotten elsewhere.”In October 2011, she won second-place for the Associated Collegiate Press Reporter of theYear Award, beating a reporter from Harvard and falling just behind a reporter from UCLA.She also attended the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention inOrlando, FL, where she received the award.Lindsey attributes her success to a unique mix of creative and journalistic writing, which shehas gained through her combination of English and Communications studies. She mentionsEd Weathers as a particular inspiration in the English Department, who made her believethat writing could be “an actual profession.”lindsey brookbankA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012In her time at Virginia Tech, Lindsey has particularly enjoyed a course, Designing Documentsfor Print, with Jennifer Mooney, and Writing for the Web, with Tim Lockridge. Bothercourses, she says, have given her valuable technical skills which she has applied in her workand internships. In the fall, she hopes to apply these skills by working for a newspaper innorthern Virginia.Table of Contents

student profilesprofessional writingtext mike breitenbachEnglish was Olivia Kasik’s favorite subject since elementary school. A self-proclaimed “horrible”creative writer, she discovered during high school that she wanted to study writing from atechnical, business-related perspective. When it came time to apply to universities, Virginia Techwas an easy choice, being one of the few schools in Virginia with a specific Professional Writingprogram.Olivia is a senior double majoring in English/Professional Writing and Psychology with a minorin Philosophy. Her impressive course work is also very cohesive. “Philosophy and Psychologydefinitely influence how I look at Literature and Professional Writing,” Olivia says. She claims thatPsychology has been instrumental to her development as a professional writer because it helpsher understand audiences, an absolutely essential skill in her field. She also values her study ofPhilosophy for improving her ability to analyze discourse.Supplementing her coursework, Olivia says that internships have been her most valuableexperiences of her academic career. As a junior, she interned with Virginia Tech Magazine whereshe conducted interviews and met with faculty and staff members, learning many things aboutVirginia Tech that she wished she had known before. She is currently involved with the Center forthe Study of Rhetoric in Society where she has prepared materials for a federal grant proposal andhelped with research for the vaccination research group. Olivia embraces the diverse experiencesshe has gained through these opportunities. She says that “vaccines are not something you talkabout very much in English, but it’s something that I have enjoyed because of that.”Olivia emphasizes her gratitude for those who have helped her throughout her academic career,particularly Dr. Kelly Pender, Dr. Bernice Hausman, Dr. Jim Dubinski and Heidi Lawrence. Olivia isalso grateful for the many scholarships she has won, including:• Joyce Gentry Smoot Scholarship (Fall 2009)• Alfred E. Knobler Scholarship (Spring 2011)• Jenkins M. Robertson Scholarship (Fall 2011-Spring 2012)• Robichaud Family Scholarship (Fall 2011-Spring 2012)Upon graduation, Olivia will put her writing skills to work as a Documentation Specialist at DovelTechnologies, Inc. in McLean, VA.olivia kasikA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

alumni news2011Carey Bald (Professional Writing, left)has accepted a position as MarketingCoordinator for Athletics at ArizonaState University. She will be in chargeof all marketing efforts (marketingplan, promotional scheduling,sponsorship maintenance, and gameoperations/event management)for volleyball, wresting, women’sbasketball, and softball; and she willcontribute to football program efforts. While there, she will begin working onher MA in Higher and Post-Secondary Education. Since she graduated, she hasworked as an intern for VT’s Athletic Department, where she reports she gained“a ton of experience.”Anna (Derlaga) Blevins (MA) married Joseph M. Derlaga (VT AOE BS ‘07,current AOE PhD. candidate) on August 13, 2011 in Blacksburg. Their ceremonyand reception were held at the Peggy Hahn Horticulture Garden on campus. Shenotes that, alas, there was no Hokie Bird present.Brian Gogan (PhD), an Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University, haspublished “Revising Ownership in the Critical Classroom: Writing, Rhetoric, andthe Wager of Reciprocity” in the collection Who Speaks for Writing: Stewardshipfor Writing Studies in the 21st Century (Peter Lang 2012).Tess Jeans (MA; BA, Pre-Eduction, 08) married her college sweetheart twoweeks after receiving her degree. She has been working as an 11th grade Englishteacher at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg, VA.Sarah Ryan (CW) currently works as an administrative assistant to WorkforceDevelopment at Wytheville Community College and also serves as an adjunctEnglish instructor. She bought a house and is getting married on September 8,2012.Lindsay (Ehrlich) Simpson (MA) has, since graduating, worked at VirginiaWestern Community College, and she now teaches for the English Departmentat the VT Language and Culture Institute. On October 29th, 2011, she marriedA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012another graduate student, Elias Simpson, who she met when she shared anoffice with him in Shanks. They have a beautiful daughter named Lucia.Seneca Sok (Pre-Law and Cultural Studies) will graduate in May 2013 fromGeorge Mason University’s MPA program and iscurrently working at the U.S. State Departmentunder Special Representative for IntergovernmentalAffairs Reta Jo Lewis.Arianne (Arshad) Urena (Professional Writing,right)) worked in Business Development andMarketing at CommPartners in her hometown ofColumbia, Maryland for 6 months after graduation.In December, she married Benjamin Urena, anofficer in the US Army, and moved with him toItaly, where he is stationed until July 2013. Ariannereports that she cooks, thrifts, takes care of herhusband, and assists the Warrior Transition Unitsoldiers with their professional development.Julia Viets (Professional Writing & CreativeWriting) will graduate this August from theUniversity of Pittsburgh with an MLIS and aspecialization in Archives, Preservation, and RecordsManagement.Casey Whitehead (Professional Writing, right) worksin the client services department of a small business inAlexandria, VA called 25K Digital, which specializes indeveloping custom software, applications, and websites.She started working there the summer following her year,writing contracts, editing documents, and guiding theinitial stages of projects over the summer. She continuedworking for the company through her senior year,handling social media and writing a weekly newsletterfor clients. She was offered a full-time position thereafter graduating.Table of Contents

alumni news2010Jessica (Razumich)Bergersen (ProfessionalWriting, left) currently works forthe Department of Defense inMaryland. She is now married toBrandon Bergersen, an Ensign inthe United States Navy.Ally Haak (Literature)graduated with a Master’s inEnglish Education from Stanfordin 2011. She is about to finishher first year of teaching (10thgrade literature).Caitlin Laverdiere (Literature?) currently serves as the Internship Coordinatorat The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC.Sarah E. Plummer (MA) works as the education and performing arts beatreporter for The Register-Herald based in Beckley, W.Va. She is also teachingthree classes a semester at Bluefield State College, a combination of ModernLiterature, Regional/Ethnic Texts, Freshman English, and Writing from Research.Brittney Trimmer (ProfessionalWriting, left) was promoted to ResearchManager for the Richmond, VA, basedcompany Feedback, which specializesin audience research. She heads themajority of the company’s researchprojects and in the last year has traveledfor her job to New Orleans and London.She has worked at Feedback since 2011.Alli Vail (Pre-Education) finished hermasters in education in Summer 2011from the State College of New Jersey and now teaches grades 6, 7, and 8 at TerrillMiddle School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.L. Lamar Wilson’s (MFA, Creative Writing, above right) manuscript Sacrilegionwas chosen by Lee Ann Brown as the winner of the 2012 Carolina Wren PressPoetry Series. Lamar has poems published or forthcoming injournals and anthologies such as jubilat, African AmericanReview, Callaloo, Rattle, Vinyl, The 100 Best African-AmericanPoems and A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology ofContemporary Persona Poetry. He also won the 2011 BeauBoudreaux Poetry Prize and was twice a finalist for the NewLetters Poetry Prize. Currently, Lamar is pursuing a PhD inEnglish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,studying 20th-century African-American and Caribbeanpoetics.2009Brittany (Sanders) Cowan (Literature) graduated with a Masters of Arts inLiterature from North Carolina State University in Spring 2011. She had a Hokiethemedwedding with her college sweetheart, Jonny Cowan(Mechanical Engineering ‘08, ‘10), in August 2011. Currently,she works as an adjunct instructor teaching ExpositoryWriting, Argument Based Writing and Southern Literature atRowan-Cabarrus Community College in Concord, NC.Jeremy Griffin (MFA) published A Last Resort for DesperatePeople, a first collection of short stories and a novella, withStephen F. Austin UP.Rachel Milloy (MA; Professional Writing, 07) is finishing herthird year in the Rhetoric and Professional CommunicationPh.D. program at New Mexico State University. There, sheco-authored the school’s first-year writing textbook, Paideia.Recently, the graduate school awarded her the OutstandingGraduate Assistantship Award for contributions to the research and teachingmission of New Mexico State University. Soon, she will be moving back to VA tobegin her dissertation research. She will work with community college facultyand developmental writing students to determine how writing technologies canbe used to strengthen writing skills and help students move through non-creditcourse much more quickly.Sara Musick (BA, Pre-Ed) graduated from Virginia Tech in December 2011 witha Master’s in Human Development, concentration in Strengthening Families andPrevention Education in Nonprofit Organizations. In January, she was offeredA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

alumni newsand accepted a position at the Women’sResource Center of the New River Valleyas a Child Sexual Abuse Counselor. Sarasays she feels lucky to work on a daily basiswith children and their families in Gilesand Montgomery Counties. She lives inBlacksburg with her Corgi-Bassett Hound,Adrienne.Kathleen (Cooperstein) Neace (Pre-Law. left) will graduate from Yale Law Schoolthis May. She is then moving to Washington,DC, to clerk for a federal judge.Matt Sams (Professional Writing) lives in Roanoke, VA, and serves as theMarketing Specialist at Carilion Clinic. In his current role, he serves as themarketing adviser for various departments within the organization, while alsospecializing in web production, social media strategy, search engine optimization,and project management. In his spare time, he works as a freelance web/socialmedia producer and continues to strive for Virginia Tech football tailgatingperfection.Jamie Sinclair (Literature Minor) will this Mayreceive her J.D. from New York Law School, locatedin NYC. She is on the editorial board of the lawreview and the VP of the labor and employmentlaw society at NYLS. After graduating, she will bestudying to take the N.Y. Bar Exam in July.Daniel Tinsley (BA in English & Political Science)has published his first novel, The Noble Ones, whichtakes place in the late 18th century and chroniclesthe journey of young Aidan “through enchantedforests, across sprawling countrysides, and intothe underbelly of corrupt cities where he battlespolitical adversaries who will stop at nothing tomaintain the status quo.”2008Barbara “Bobbie” Allen (Professional Writing, above right) moved back toCamp Lejeune in North Carolina to live with her parents and continue an internshipshe had held the previous summer.During this time, she taught herselfto play guitar while also writing forthe military newspaper called TheGlobe. She ended up moving backto the DC area all while continuingto write songs. She played her firstshow in DC at Artomatic, a summerfestival, and she reports “it’s beenup and onward from there.” Whileperforming in and around the DCarea, including coming back toTOTS last fall to perform for CoachFosters charity event at VirginiaTech, she has been working for Accenture.She has released Ready or Not, her first album, independently to great reviews.In Fall 2011, she traveled to Nashville several times and recorded a new albumwith singer/songwriter friend named Trent Dabbs and producer Jeremy Bose.Stay tuned, she says, to find out when the album will be coming out.Marianne Brigola (Pre-Law and Professional Writing) is currently working asa Career Advising Fellow at Elon University in Elon, NC. During Summer 2012,she will be in Los Angeles, serving as assistant coordinator for the Elon in LAsummer undergraduate internship programand program coordinator for Elon Bridges: LA,Elon’s new post-graduate transition program.Kara LeFleur (MA) has accepted a positionas Grants Manager at the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art, where she will help raisefunds for special exhibits, a ten-year capitalcampaign, and art conservation initiatives.Bonnie (Short) Ramsey (Literature,right) is currently a Junior Proposal Managerwith Harris Corporation for Western U.S.and Canadian Land Mobile Radio SystemSolutions. She and her husband, Todd, justwelcomed a baby boy, Harker Michael, onNovember 29, 2011. They are continuing torestore their 1946 Sears home in Lynchburg,and Bonnie is hoping to run her third half marathon by next February.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

alumni newsMatthew Strittmatter (Pre-Education) wasmarried on July 9, 2011. He and his wife Mallorywork as teachers in Chesterfield County. Theybought their first house in Richmond and adopteda yellow lab, whom they promptly named “Hokie”!Nathan Walker (Pre-Education, left) and hiswife Christine welcomed their first child, AddelynMargaret, born on February 27.Miranda (Puckett) Williams (MA) marriedAndrew Holt Williams May 27, 2011, in SanFrancisco, CA. They now live in the DC area.2007J. Seth Lee (MA 2007; Pre-Option BA, 05) got married July 30, 2011 to JulieNaviaux, a fellow PhD student studying African American literature at theUniversity of Kentucky. This past fall he passed his qualifying exams and begandrafting the first chapter of his dissertation this semester. The project earned aFaculty Emeriti fellowship for the summer of 2012.Nicole Patino (MA; BA, Literature, 05) currently works as a substance abusecounselor in Galax,VA, but is planning on starting law school in August. She hasbeen been offered scholarships from SUNY-Buffalo and Elon School of Law.Traci Wilmoth (MA; BA. Literature, 05) currently teaches 10th grade honorsEnglish at Halifax County High School. She has taught high school -- gradesten through twelve –at all levels: inclusion, general education, and advancedclasses. She is also an online adjunct with both Strayer University and EverestCollege, where she teachesremedial writing and both sectionsof freshman composition. Twoyears ago I bought a house, andthis summer she is getting married.2006Rebecca Daly Cofer (MA; BA,Literature, 04, left, with husbandJordan Cofer) was recentlyelected as the 2012-14 Commission Chair for theAdvising Students with Disabilities Commission of theNational Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Shehas been involved with the organization since 2007, haspresented at numerous meetings, and was chosen toserve the conference Advisory Board. Rebecca worksas an Academic Support Counselor and Study AbroadCoordinator at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural Collegein Tifton, GA.Jaquisha Kearson (Professional Writing, right)received her masters in Pastoral Counseling fromLoyola University Maryland in May 2011 and as ofSeptember 2011 also became a nationally certifiedcounselor. In October 2011, she became a Licensed Graduate ProfessionalCounselor in Maryland. She works as a Psychotherapist for the Dhyana Project inBaltimore, MD, and as mental healththerapist for Generations CounselingCenter LLC. In the last couple ofyears, Jaquisha has become an aviddistance runner and often competesin marathons.Kara Lee (Haggard) Rowe (MA;BA, Professional Writing, 04; right)has been busy since graduation.She taught English as a secondlanguage at a middle school in Seoul,South Korea, then she taught inthe Advanced Writing Program atClemson before beginning her careeras a law student at George MasonUniversity School of Law, at which she had been offered a scholarship.She graduates this May, and after she takes the bar, she plans to join the familylaw firm at which she currently works. When she can, she also assists with probono work in the areas of family law and immigration. In addition, her Master’sthesis The Textuality of the Body: Orlan’s Performance Art as Subversive Act waspublished by a German press and is available on Amazon.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

alumni news2005Benjamin Horton (Creative Writing)currently works as an Account Coordinator atGRM Marketing, a sports marketing firm inCharlotte, NC.2004Sarah Parker-Clever (MA, ; BA, Literature,2002, left) has been promoted to AssociateDean of Arts and Sciences at Hocking Collegein Nelsonville, OH. She also welcomed her firstchild, Ruth Ann Clever, into the world on January 30, 2012.Mary Beth Pennington (MA 04) has worked as an assistant professor(Rhetoric and Composition) in the English and Fine Arts department at theVirginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia since August 2010. She receivedher PhD in English from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in May2010.Mike Pilola (BA, Creative Writing) published several short stories in PoorMojo’s Almanac(k), Ascent Aspirations, and the Taj Mahal Review beforeentering the MFA program at Hollins University in 2007. After graduatingin 2009, he decided to pursue a career as a high school English teacher, getmarried (wife’s name is Agatha), and start a small-time literary blog called AdHominem Art and Literature Review in 2010, about the same time he wasadded as a managing editor of PoemoftheWeek.org. Though Mike reportsthat his ability to update Ad Hominem has been limited recently, he plans toreturn to the blog this summer. Until then, he sayshe is content to work quietly on a steampunk noveland watch old episodes of Doctor Who.Samantha (Ellis) Spittle (pre-option BA) gavebirth to her second child, Conner Ellis Spittle, onFebruary 24. He joins his big sister, Riley Grace, 18months old (born Sept 17, 2010).Katherine Blair (White) Steele (pre-optionBA, left) and her husband Quincy Steele (VT 2002)welcomed a baby boy, Micah, on October 29, 2011.Blair teaches in the Fluvanna County School System.Jennifer (Hilty) Tellis (Professional Writing)graduated with a J.D. from the George MasonUniversity School of Law, passed the bar, andmarried her husband Sunil Tellis – all in 2007!They settled in Ashburn, VA, and have twodaughters -- Madeline Elisabeth (2008) andKatharine Rose (2010) – with another baby dueto arrive in October. In 2009, Jennifer says thata “struggle with cancer humbled [her] worldlyambition,” and she left work to “pursue theadventures of stay-at-home motherhood.” Weare happy to know that you are doing well,Jennifer!Joey Tran’s (BA, Cultural Studies) latest film,Singularium, was accepted into its first filmfestival, the Fourth Annual SENE Film, Music& Arts Festival on April 11-15 in Rhode Island!Check out a teaser.2003Lauren (North) DiSalvo (Literature) married Josh DiSalvo in May 2008, andthey bought our first home. She is currently teaching high school English inLoudoun County, VA, and reports that she and her husband stay busy with ourfamily, friends, and work, but thatthey love to travel and try to exploreas often as they can.2002Douglas Root (Pre-Option BA,02) is currently in the last year ofa Fellowship at the University ofGeorgia and is applying for jobs.Alpha (Glass) Wingfield (Pre-Option BA, 02, right) has worked withthe US Department of Transportationsince graduating. She began as an editor, but eventually developed an affinityA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

alumni newsfor the layout and graphicdesign aspect of publishing andhas been working as the solevisual information specialist forher department for the past5 years. In 2005 she marriedMack Wingfield and in 2009they bought their first hometogether, which is decorated inher favorite Mid-Century style.2001Allyson Armistead (MA; BA1999; left, with husband ChrisMcClinch) graduated with an MFA in fiction from George Mason University in2010, and has been regularly publishing short fiction in literary journals acrossthe country, including Narrative Magazine, Emprise Review, Coal City Review,Ruminate, River and Sound Review, and others. In 2009, she was listed inNarrative Magazine as one of 30 Under 30 exceptional emerging authors andhas been nominated for 2012 Best American Short Stories, Best New AmericanVoices, a Pushcart Prize, and a PEN/O. Henry Prize. In 2011, her short story“Oasis” was awarded the $1,000 William Van Dyke prize by Time magazine ‘s topfivebestselling author, Leif Enger. Currently, she is at work on a novel, The Wayof Lien, which has been partially funded by a generous fellowship from GeorgeMason University. She resides in theWashington, DC area with her husband,Chris McClinch (MA 2001; BA, 1999); hercat, and soon-to-be baby daughter. Readmore about her fictional pursuits at herblog.Justin Van Kleeck (Pre-Option BA;left) earned his PhD in English from theUniversity of Virginia. After that, heleft academia (although he still doesindependent scholarship on WilliamBlake) to work as an editor and writerfor three years at Rosetta Stone. Now,he works for a non-profit organization, the Staunton Creative Community Fund,doing community development and small-business lending, in addition toworking for the Harrisonburg Farmers Market and being very involved in thelocal community. He also just got married to, in his words, “the most wonderfulwoman in the world. Ever.”2000Joshua Reid (BA, right) willgraduate in May from the Universityof Kentucky with a PhD in English andan MA in Art History. He and his wife,Erin, welcomed their first child, adaughter named Juliet, in November2011. Currently, he works as theCoordinator of Learning Services atIllinois State University.1993Shaya Misra Fitzgerald (pre-option BA) works as anOrthopaedic Physician’s Assistant and is married to fellow VTENGL major Ben Fitzgerald. Ben is a partner with a law firm inNorthern Virginia. They live in Ashburn with theirdaughter, who is almost two years old.1992Donna Lewis Cowan’s first book of poems,Between Gods (Cherry Grove), will be publishedin March 2012. Her work appears in Crab OrchardReview, DMQ Review, Notre Dame Review, 32Poems, and Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry,among other publications. She is an experiencedtechnical writer and computer programmer inthe Washington, D.C. area, and attended the MFAprogram in Creative Writing (Poetry) at GeorgeMason University. Visit her website.Submit news at Alumni News - Feast of Words!A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

faculty newsenglish awarded ‘exemplary department’ statusThe English Department was one of two to receive a 2011 Exemplary Department or Program Award.The annual award began in 1994, and this is the second time the English Department has been chosen as a recipient. In 1995, the department received the awardfor its efforts to manage faculty resources of time and talent effectively and creatively to fulfill stated departmental or program missions.This year, the winning programs were chosen for their achievements in effectively linking assessment with instruction to improve student learning, the annualtheme set forth by the University Exemplary Department or Program Awards Committee.Susan Allender-Hagedorn published “Public Perceptionof and Public Participation in Microbial Source Tracking,”in Microbial Source Tracking: Methods, Applications, andCase Studies, ed. Charles Hagedorn, Anicet R. Blanch, andValerie J. Harwood (New York: Springer, 2011), pp. 281-99.Linda Anderson presented a paper entitled “‘Rememberthee?’: Memory and Death of Fathers in Hamlet and All’sWell That Ends Well,” in the seminar entitled “Memory andTrauma in Shakespeare” at the International ShakespeareAssociation’s Ninth World Congress, Prague, the CzechRepublic, July 2011.Eva Brumberger presented at the annual conference ofthe International Visual Literacy Association in Galloway,NJ, September. Her presentation was entitled “Evaluating Visual Communication,Assessing Visual Literacy.”Gena Chandler was the keynote speaker for the 15th annual Mason–SekoraLecture on March 23 at North Carolina Central University. Her talk on the topic,“Charles Johnson Revisions Dr. King,” highlighted the ways that National BookAward winner Charles R. Johnson’s short story collection, “Dr. King’s Refrigerator,”and his novel, “Dreamer,” examine the life, history and fictions surrounding Dr.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Martin Luther King. The annualMason–Sekora Lecture is namedin honor of Dr. Ernest Mason andDr. John Sekora, NCCU professorswho stressed an interdisciplinaryapproach in learning andscholarship.Katherine Combiths (right)worked with students in the ESLProgram at National College. Sheconducted a mini-workshop andpresented a lecture, ”A Quilter’sHeritage,” in January for students in the ESL Program at National College. Femalestudents in the program discussed the needlework traditions in their countriesafter seeing the quilts she and her grandmothers had made. In February, malestudents from Saudi Arabia visited the Virginia Tech campus and enjoyed studentactivities of bowling, ping-pong, and pool in Squires. Katherine and her husband,Peter Laws, Director of the ESL Program at National College, gave the studentsthe opportunity to visit and explore the Blacksburg community as prospectivestudents of VT after completing certificates that show proficiency in the Englishlanguage.Table of Contents

faculty newsFred D’Aguiar published the poem “Yesterday’s News” in the Spring 2012 issueof Poetry London. He also has an essay forthcoming: “Wilson Harris: the Writeras Surveyor,” in Another Life, Mélanie Joseph-Vilain & Judith Misrahi-Barak, eds.Coll. Horizons anglophones, Series “PoCoPages”. Montpellier: Pulm.Charlene Eska was elected Vice President of the Celtic StudiesAssociation of North America. She also presented a paper at the34th Annual University of California Celtic Studies Conference/Annual Meeting of the Celtic Studies Association of America atUCLA in March: “Celtic and Germanic Light on Hittite DivorceLaw.” Additionally, she published “Marriage by Purchase in EarlyIrish Law” in Tome: Studies in Medieval Celtic History and Lawin Honour of Thomas Charles-Edwards, ed. Fiona Edmonds andPaul Russell (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2011), pp. 183–91.Joe Eska presented a paper at the 34th Annual University of California CelticStudies Conference/Annual Meeting of the Celtic Studies Association of Americaat UCLA in March: “TeuoχTonin! and Related Matters.”Carlos Evia and Tim Lockridge presented “Balancing Entertainment andInformation Content in Technical Communication Comics” at the AnnualConference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, in St. Louis inMarch.Ed Falco, Associate Professor and Director of the Creative WritingProgram, has been presented by CLAHS with an Excellence inResearch and Creative Scholarship Award for showing “evidenceof sustained effort and achievement in the generation of newknowledge” in his field. In addition, his novel The Family Corleone, aprequel to The Godfather, will be published in May by Grand CentralPublishing.Virginia Fowler, for her efforts in assisting undergraduate students with courseselection, career guidance, and placement, has been selected as a recipient of theCLAHS Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award. Fowler is the former Directorof the Literature, Language, and Cultural Studies Program.Serena Frost and John Langley,senior Political Science major, (shownwith Silas House, middle) traveled toIndiana University of Pennsylvaniafor the 35th annual AppalachianStudies Association conference. Theirpanel presentation -- “Moonshineand Politics: A Modern Day Victoryin Tennessee?” -- explored thecomplexities of the 2009 “legalization”of moonshine and the distillery whichopened in the wake of the new law inGatlinburg, Tennessee. This is not the first conference that the pair has attendedtogether. In fact, John has been a part of Serena’s student/teacher research teamfor the annual Appalachian Studies conference for three out of his four years asan undergraduate student. As a freshman, John presented alongside two otherstudents in Portsmouth, Ohio on his experience with being a “Hybrid Appalachian.”For his sophomore year, Serena led the team to Dahlonega, Georgia where theypresented a documentary on Big Coal.Tom Gardner published John in the Company of Poets:The Gospel in Literary Imagination (Studies in Christianityand Literature; Baylor UP). Larry Woiwode, Poet Laureate ofNorth Dakota, says of the book: “The masterful explicationof the poems chosen by Gardner draws their texts, alongwith the reader, deep into the gospel’s sometimes elusivesignificance so that, all in all, John in the Company of Poetsstands as the best contemporary rediscovery of the gospel Ihave read.”Nikki Giovanni stayed very busy during the last year. Sheauthored two books: These Women (with John McCormick)and Nikki G: A Portrait of Nikki Giovanni in Her Own Words (Illustrated by Tim T.Thomas. New York: DL Publishing); five new poems, three nonfiction essays, threebook blurbs, one book introduction. She saw nine works reprinted and received19 awards or forms of recognition for her work, including being an honoree atthe 2012 National Black Writers Conference at Medgar Evers College and anA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

faculty newseportfolio team wins xcalibur awardFor their work on the English Studies ePortfolio Project, a 16-member eam won a 2011 XCaliber Award for “excellence in creating and applying technologies ona large-scale team project.”That team included 10 English Department members: Nancy Metz, project coordinator; Ginney Fowler; Lissa Bloomer, Kaye Graham, Jenny Lawrence,Julie Mengert, Steve Oakey, Victoria Le Corre-Cochran, Vanessa Ruccolo, and Todd Stafford, PhD candidate.The XCaliber Award – short for “exceptional, high caliber work” – was established in 1996 by the Office of the Provost.NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Word – Poetry. She was interviewednumerous times and spoke across the campus, region, state, and country. Pleasenote: those were just SOME of the numerous activities in which she was engaged!At some point, we sincerely hope that she took avacation, too!Diana George is one of the new co-editors of thejournal Reflections: A Journal of Public Rhetoric,Civic Writing, and Service Learning. She sharesthat honor with Paula Mathieu of Boston Collegeand Cristina Kirklighter of Texas A&M-CorpusChristi. Also, the 8th edition of her Reading Culture:Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing, writtenwith John Trimbur and published by Pearson/Longman, came out in 2012. InOctober 11, she was invited to speak to members of the Boston College WritingProgram and to Emerson College writing faculty.Kaye Graham presented a paper, “The Culture of Childhood as a Gateway toUndergraduate Research,” at this year’s meeting of the Virginia HumanitiesConference in Roanoke on March 24. Alumnus Orlando Dos Reis and springgraduate Josh Thompson also presented.Bernice Hausman published Viral Mothers: Breastfeeding in the Age of HIV/AIDS (U of Michigan P). Alison Bartlett, University of Western Australia, says ofthe book: “Hausman’s focus on cultural representation rather than real mothersand practices is savvy and strategic in removing the debatesfrom personal stories and investments to the ways in which thisvolatile topic becomes embedded in cultural values, language, andimagery.”Christine Kiebuzinska published two articles: “Bertolt Brechtand Luther’s Bible.” (Invited) Encyclopedia of the Bible and ItsReception (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2012, 459-464) and “Violenceand Pornography in Elfriede Jelinek’s Princess Plays” Gender andTrauma: Interdisciplinary Dialogues. Ed. Fatima Festic. (Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2012, pp. 153-190). She also presented at aconference: “The Plague and Cruelty in Artaud: Or the Director as Dictator.”Seminar on Dramaturgies in Crisis, American Comparative Literature Conference,Brown University, Providence, RI 29 March-1 April 2012.Jenny Lawrence, Coordinator of the University’s Writing Center and AdvancedInstructor of English, waas named Virginia Tech Teacher of the Week in Januaryby the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER).She has been recognized for her teaching of composition, the department’sePortfolio development course, and an advanced Writing Center Theory andPractice course.Victoria LeCorre-Cochran was named the new Assistant Director of theLiterature, Language, and Culture Program.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

faculty newsJeff Mann published two novels: Fog: A Novel of Desireand Reprisal (August 2011) and Purgatory: A Novel ofthe Civil War (March). Both books were published byBear Bones Books/Lethe Press. Richard Labonté, a wellknowngay editor and critic, named Fog as one of his“10 Favorite Fiction Reads of 2011.” In addition, Jeff wasnamed the new Director of the MFA Program; publishedpoetry in Assaracus: A Journal of Gay Poetry, The LambdaLiterary Review, and Appalachian Heritage, amongothers; published short fiction in numerous journals andbooks; and saw his novella Camp Allegheny anthologized.Erika Meitner won the The Emily Clark Prize for Poetryfrom the Virginia Quarterly Review for her series “This Is Not a Requiem forDetroit” (Spring 2011 issue). Her poem “Elegy with Construction Sounds, Water,Fish” was included in The Best American Poetry 2011 (Scribner), edited by DavidLehman and Kevin Young, and she also was included on Rita Dove’s list of YoungPoets to Watch (see Bill Moyers’ website). Additionally, she also published poemsin Sou’wester, Painted Bride Quarterly, Crab Orchard Review, and Salt Hill, withadditional work up online at The Rumpus and Poetry Daily; and read at a varietyof festivals and universitiesNancy Metz published “Dickens and the American Millennium: The UniformitarianArgument of Martin Chuzzlewit.” Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens. Special Issue,Dickens in the New Millennium. February 2012, pp. 285-296.Jennifer Mooney presented at the annual conference of the InternationalVisual Literacy Association in Galloway, NJ, in September. Her presentation wasentitled “Place and the Shaping of Visual Literacy: The Case of Shelby Lee Adams’Appalachian Photography.” She was also elected to the IVLA Board of Directors.Steve Mooney was interviewed by Richard Paul for an upcoming Kennedy Centereducational podcast on coal mining music, to be used by teachers.Fritz Oehlschlaeger published The Achievement of Wendell Berry: The HardHistory of Love (Culture of the Land Series; UP of Kentucky). CHOICE Reviews says:“As much homage as critical discourse, Oehlschlaeger’s study is indispensableA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012giovanni, heilker join global scholars programNikki Giovanni and Paul Heilker are on the 2013 faculty for the newPresidential Global Scholars Program, a collaborative learning communitysponsored by the Office of the University President and University Honors.The program will, according to its web site, “provide Virginia Tech honorsstudents with the opportunity to discover their niches in an interconnectedsociety and to empower them to contribute positively to our transformingworld.” The program will take students to Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.to appreciating as well as understanding Berry’s work. . . .Highly recommended.”Kelly Pender published Techne, from Neoclassicism toPostmodernism: Understanding Writing as a Useful,Teachable Art (Parlor Press, May 2011).Katy Powell, Associate Professor and Director of theWomen’s Studies Program, has received an Excellence inOutreach Award from the College of Liberal Arts & HumanSciences. The award is presented annually for “outstanding,focused, and innovative outreach program(s) geared tosolve current problems or recognized needs of people ororganizations.”Vanessa Ruccolo presented, along with Linda Vick, on“Appreciate Advising” at the University’s Second AnnualAdvising Matters Conference in March.Cheryl Ruggiero and Susan Allender Hagedorncollaborated on and published “Stuff of Dreams,” inBewildering Stories. Issue 464, 30 Jan 2012. Web. *FirstQuarterly Review 2012 Editor’s ChoiceTable of Contents

faculty newsSteven Salaita was named Director of the Literature, Language, and CultureProgram. He and his wife Diana welcomed a son, Ignatius Steven, in late March.Scott Loring Sanders’s short story “The Pawn” was republished in Prime NumberMagazine’s annual anthology in January. In addition, the story was picked up byMy Audio Universe: A Literary Magazine of Sound, where it was recorded and hasbeen re-broadcast on radio stations across the country. It will be on WVTF in thenear future. He also had stories published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazineand Everyday Fiction.Joseph Scallorns was named as the Assistant Director of the Creative WritingProgram, beginning this July.Matthew Vollmer was promoted to Assistant Professor. In July, he will becomethe Director of the Creative Writing Program. Recent stories have appeared inGlimmer Train, Tampa Review, Willow Springs, Barrelhouse, Unstuck, PANK(online) and Cold Mountain Review. Recent creative non-fiction has appeared oris forthcoming in Passages North, Hayden’s Ferry Review, New England Review,Ecotone, The Sun, LUMINA, Grist, The Pinch, Phoebe, Fringe, Dark Sky Magazine,elimae, DIAGRAM, The Collagist, and Carolina Quarterly. A collection of stories,which he co-edited with David Shields--Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews,Faux Lectures, Quasi-Letters, “Found Texts,” and Other Fraudulent Artifacts--isforthcoming from Norton this fall.Jane Wemhoener was selected as a recipient of the2012 Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award,which is chosen by the Academy of Teaching Excellence, isgiven to just two VT faculty per year. It means that Jane,who won a Certificate of Teaching Excellence in 2010, willbe inducted into the Academy of Teaching Excellence! Amulti-talented and expert multi-tasker, Jane is involvedin international work as well and is one of the organizersof the first international conference to be held at VT (cosponsoredby the English Department, March 29-30).student newsgraduateMegan O’Neill (right) successfully defended herdissertation in Sp 12. She also received Honorable Mentionfor the 2012 Graduate Student Excellence Award sponsoredby the Alumni Association.Ph.D. student Franny Howes was been selected by theVT Graduate School to participate in its Diversity ScholarsProgram, which encourages scholarship and mentorshipthrough diversity initiatives. Franny, who received an MAin Digital Rhetoric and Professional Writing from MichiganState University, notes on the English Department’s web sitethat she is “interested in visual rhetoric and the rhetoricalstudy of comics. . . . [as well as] the relationship betweencomposing in human languages and computer languages,disability studies, the canon of memory, and decolonial histories of rhetoric andwriting.”Molly Scanlon, Franny Howes, and Dr. Dan Lawson (Central College, VT PhD2011) presented a panel entitled “The Panel is a Gateway: Comics, MultimodalWriting, and Rhetorical Transition” at the Conference on College Composition andCommunication on Friday, March 23 in St. Louis, Missouri.Libby Anthony, Kathy Kerr, and Molly Scanlon will be publishing an articleentitled “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to (Community) Literacy: An Interview with Eli C.Goldblatt” in the Spring 2012 issue of Reflections: A Journal of Public Rhetoric,Civic Literacy, and Service Learning.Rob Kenagy, whose poem “End Notes” has won the Virginia Tech/Poetry Societyof Virginia Award, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. MFA writersMichael Roche and James Stolen placed, respectively, as first and secondrunners-up. Rob and Michael both will be nominated for the 2012 Best New Poetsanthology from the University of Virginia Press. Nominated poets get to submittwo poems each to Best New Poets, which showcases the work of 50 emergingwriters each year.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

student newsTim Lockridge presented, with Carlos Evia, “Balancing Entertainment andInformation Content in Technical Communication Comics” at the AnnualConference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, in St. Louis inMarch. Tim also successfully defended his dissertation.Kedon Willis won the Virginia Tech Fiction Prize for his short story “Sat’day.”Mark Derks and Sandra M. Yee placed, respectively, as first and secondrunners-up. Kedon’s story will earn him a small cash award, and Virginia Tech willalso nominate his story for the 2012 Intro Journals Project, an annual competitionfrom the Associated Writing Programs. Eventual winners of the Intro competitionwill receive an award letter, publication, and a $100 honorarium.undergraduateJosh Thompson (Pre-Education, 12) has been busy this year. He has presentedthree papers: “Matrimony and Motherhood: The Effects of the Wife and MotherRoles in Harry Potter” at the Midwest Popular Culture Association’s conference inMinneapolis, MN on October 2, 2010; “Meditations on Mortality: Keats’ Odes of1819 as an Ode-Sequence” at the English Department’s Undergraduate ResearchConference on March 25, 2011; “Matrimony and Motherhood: The Effects of theWife and Mother Roles in Harry Potter” at the Virginia Humanities Conference atRoanoke College on March 24, 2012. He also had two articles published: “Musicand Words: How Band Camp Taught Me to be a Better Writing Center Tutor in theSeptember/October 2011 issue of The Writing Lab Newsletter, and -”Whistling,”in the 2011 edition of Silhouette. Josh is also dual-enrolled in the School ofEducation’s English Education graduate program.Lurlene Barnes and Brooke Fiesthumel presented presented at the NationalConference on Peer Tutoring in Writing at Florida International University onNovember 4-6, 2011. Barnes presented a poster, “Dealing with Challenging Sessionsin the Writing Center,” while Fiesthumel presented her paper, “Recognizing theUnique Needs of the High School Writing Center Client.”Lara Mangum (double major in LLC-Literature andFrench; left) presented her research project “TheFrench Connection: The Madame Duval Subplot inBurney’s Evelina” at the 7th Annual ACC Meeting ofthe Minds undergraduate research conference (TheInn at VT, March 30-April 1). As part of her researchinto English Francophobia in the eighteenth century,Lara located and analyzed French letter-writingguides contemporary to Burney’s novel, contrastingthe advice offered about genteel behavior in these“foreign” books to that given in English conduct booksof the period. Her goal was to contextualize for modernaudiences the “Frenchified” characters of the noveland its strain of foreigner-baiting farce. Lara wrote thepaper for Nancy Metz’s The English Novel course.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

meet the team behind this year’s feastmike breitenbach is a graduating senior in ProfessionalWriting. He currently works as an editorial assistant forPracticing Anthropology and races bicycles for VT CyclingTeam. He hopes to working in a college development officewhile searching for long-term writing and editorial positionsthat relate to his interests in cycling or music.katie mawyer is a graduating senior in Communication, withminors in Professional Writing and Humanities. She works asan oral communication coach in VT’s Communication Lab, aswell as with Virginia Tech Athletics Communications. Katie hasalso participated in several undergraduate research projects.She will pursue a master’s degree at Clemson University.kevin burke is graduating senior in Communication, witha Professional Writing minor. He is currently an intern withVirginia Tech IMG Sports Network. Kevin has a passion forsports writing and broadcasting. He will move to Corvallis,Oregon to work as a broadcaster for the Corvallis Knightssummer college baseball team.sean simons is a graduating senior in Professional andCreative Writing. He is currently the graphic designer ofSLAM (Silhouette Literary and Arts Magazine) and helpedorganize Glossolalia, a literary festival held this spring at VT.Sean hopes to work in publishing, be it journal/magazine orbook -- or in a bakery.ally hammond is a graduating senior in Literature andProfessional Writing from Charlottesville, Virginia. Allycurrently runs her own creative and work-related blog, worksat the Virginia Tech Writing Center, and as a writing tutor forstudent athletes. She hopes to pursue a career in editing andpublishing.karen spears is a graduating senior in Professional Writing.She works for the Scholar system as a technical writing intern,A Ban Against Neglect as a proposal writer, the VaccinationResearch Group as a website developer, and Philologia asan associate and web editor. Karen will pursue a career inwebsite creation, graphic design, writing, and editing.whitney jones is graduating senior in Professional Writing,who hails from Tazewell, Virginia. She has been a tutor forthe Virginia Tech Literacy Corps and is currently a WritingCenter tutor. Although her dream is to write a bestsellingnovel, she hopes first to pursue a career in print and web ordocument design.beth thompson is a graduating senior in Literature andProfessional Writing. She spends most of her time workingas a tutor, both at the Virginia Tech Writing Center and atStudent Athlete Academic Support Services. Beth is also thephotographer for A Feast of Words, and she will pursue acareer in print and web design.jen mooney, faculty advisor, graduated with a Literature degree from the University of Virginia atWise (‘83) and spent two years working as a reporter for The Coalfield Progress newspaper beforepursuing graduate degrees at the University of Kentucky. She has a PhD in Victorian Literature, butnow teaches in the Professional Writing Program. She has been at Virginia Tech since 1996.page designwhitney jonesA FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents

a “thank you” to friends of englishYour gift to the English Department is important to the students we serve. Your generosity assists us in providingscholarships for deserving and accomplished undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, your gifts help supportstudent programs and activities that enhance curricular education.Please join the growing circle of alumni and friends who are making a difference with a gift. Visit www.givingto.vt.edu(specify “English Department”).If you would like more information about assisting with our student scholarship and education programs through abequest, estate/trust, or outright gift, please contact John Howard King, Director of Development, College of Liberal Artsand Human Sciences at jhking@vt.edu, direct 540-231-8734, or toll-free 866-261-4443.Thank you to the following alumni and friends for their gifts and pledges to the English Department (as of March 2012):PATRONS $5,000+Armstrong Family FoundationJoan Morrison (L)Robert and Eileen PatzigPearson EducationSPONSORS $1,000+AnonymousAnonymousRobert C. ArthurLisa M. DerxWilliam Carl HanklaKiplinger FoundationBrian P. LiswellCarroll and Darrel Mason (L)Raleigh and Linda Seay (C)Robert Hale TateVirginia LTC NetworkFRIENDS $250+AnonymousClyde D. BaileyFrankie Y. BaileyHeather A. Barker-ChurchJames D. BecknerGerald C. Canaan (L)Charles D. Fisher, Jr.Virginia Fowler (L)Karen GibbsKathryn and Peter GrahamSandy S. HagmanIF Marketing & AdvertisingMary Denson MooreMary Jane MorrisonThomas and Martha MorrisonKelleigh N. MoyerCarole NickersonLucinda RoyCarolyn and Donald RudeScott and Jocelyn SandersDawn Krumwiede WatkinsAmy L. WidnerSharon Breeden WillZhong-Hao Howard XieDONORSJennifer F. AdamsLinda M. Anderson (L)A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Richard H. BorgmanJoy M. CurryLester G. CarterKaren M. CoatsClara B. CoxCharles C. EpesGeorge J. Flick, FrDennis K. FolsomNikki Giovanni (L)Richard R. GuevaraLisa GundermanAmanda S. HanksRegina HedgepethPatrick J. IrvingIBM International FndtnKylie H. Johnson (L)Donna Mays-GillenwaterandDenis GillenwaterThomas W. McGheeMiriam H. McLeodKPMG FoundationLisa Ann OlsonOtter River ElementarySchoolDavid Wayne PitreAndrew and Katherine StoneKatherine Long WahlersWells Fargo FoundationElizabeth Emery Wright(L) Legacy Society(C) Caldwell Society(U) Ut Prosim Society2011 award recipients:Caroline Pace Chermside AwardRichard Todd StaffordHonorable MentionDaniel HerbertRobert Chermside AwardAmy GayCharles Martin AwardJessica CohenCreative Writing AwardsPoetry Lisa MinnerFiction Adrienne RushNonfiction Matthew ClarkEmily Morrison Prize for PoetrySandra YeeRobert H. Dedman, Jr. AwardHolly KaysRichard L. HoffmanGTA Teaching AwardTherese SellComposition ProgramGTA Teaching AwardBrian GoganSharon Messer AwardEmily Reed LoveUt Prosim Service AwardsCaitlin McHaleChelsea SkelleyTable of Contents

the times, they area-changin’Virginia Tech is an ever-changing place,constantly undergoing construction andrenovation. In this photo gallery you cansee some of the new attractions of Tech andthe beauty of your favorite town in Spring.Simply roll your mouse over the images toexpand them.A FEAST OF WORDS | Spring 2012Table of Contents