Being Human - Rockhurst University

ForalumniRockhurst Roots Grow Love for LanguagesWhen Abilene, Kan., native MarkCurran, ’63, graduated fromRockhurst, his classmates gave him anaward as “Most Outstanding ForeignStudent.” The jest was not completelyinaccurate, for Curran already hadbegun his long journey as a teacherand scholar of Spanish and Portuguese.Curran, Ph.D., is now professorof Spanish and Portuguese at ArizonaState University, where he has taughtfor 30 years. He is affable and modest.And, he is one of the world’s foremostauthorities on the Brazilian Literaturade Cordel, a form of grassroots narrativepoetry. His most recent book,“Historia do Brasil em Cordel,” gainedwide acclaim by Brazilian daily newspapers,Veja (equivalent to Time) andby literary critics.Curran was born and raised on aKansas wheat farm. His family is ofMark Curran, ’63Irish-Catholic descent. “Coming to Kansas City was a bigdeal to me,” he says.At Rockhurst, Curran made friends easily with bothAnglo and Latino students. In fact, two of these students(one from Brazil and another from Guatemala) becamelifelong friends.“One of the best things at Rockhurst was the largenumber of Latin American students,” he says.They were seeking the serious academic discipline forwhich the Jesuits are known worldwide. Curran quicklysought them out to practice his Spanish language skills. Hegraduated from Rockhurst with a bachelor of science inbusiness administration and a minor in Spanish. Majors inlanguages were not available at the time.He recalls with fondness his yearsat Rockhurst: the “terrific” basketballteam, the variety shows, the danceswith the women from Avila, and manyfaculty members, such as FathersHuger, Price, Schmidt, and Gough.He particularly remembers instructorVernon Long, who fueled his passionfor languages and persuaded him topursue graduate studies at Saint LouisUniversity where he earned a full-ridescholarship. There, he completed hisPh.D. in Spanish and Latin AmericanStudies with a minor in Portugueseand Luso-Brazilian Studies in 1968.For 30 years, Curran’s scholarshiphas focused on Cordel, a type of poorman’s poetry that originated in Brazil’snortheast interior. It was written bypoets and printed as rough eight-to-10page booklets. He was the first NorthAmerican scholar to study and write about it. During hiscareer, he has made more than 15 research trips to studyCordel, lasting from one month to a full year.The Cordel booklets filled the gap in areas where therewas almost no access to mass communication. They servedas both a literary entertainment and as a type of newspaperin verse for the poor. Cordel booklets used woodcuts asdecorative illustrations on their covers. These woodcuts,much like the poetry they were created to depict, are vanishing.The woodcuts grace the covers of several of Curran’ssix books.At Arizona State he considers himself first and foremosta classroom teacher, then a scholar. His grassroots asa Kansas farm boy and Rockhurst student have indeedserved him well.Tee With Me in St. LouisSt. Louis alumni have a chance for networking and funat the St. Louis Alumni Golf Tournament, scheduledfor Monday, Sept. 25.The tournament will take place at the Country Clubat the Legends in Eureka, Mo. The $175 fee includesgreens fees, cart, breakfast, refreshments and awards dinner.Shotgun start is at 11 a.m. For details, contact theAlumni Office at 816-501-4025, or 800-756-ALUM, orby fax at 816-501-4136.ROCKHURST22