Fall 2013
Department
of English
Newsletter
Contents
From the Chair............................... 1
Join the discussion..................... 1
Making a difference................... 2
with a little help from
our friends...................................... 3
sweet sorrows.............................. 4
stay in touch.................................. 4
Your faculty.................................... 5
Department awards..................... 6
alumni news................................... 6
Alumni Publications.................... 7
student awards............................. 7
Robert Torry Fund
in English......................................... 8
Gift Form........................................... 8
English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Dept. 3353
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Hoyt Hall Rm. 201
(307) 766-6452
Fax: (307) 766-3189
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
UWYOEnglish
WEb Page: www.uwyo.edu/english
From the Chair:
O
Our English department is a
community of the past and the
future. Readers all, students from
years gone by and yet to come
meet through our fascination
with language—from Chaucer
to the challenge of the new.
We join through the words on
the page, and the sensitivities
cultivated by the best of teachers.
This year we lost one of those
teachers, Professor Bob Torry.
The generations of students who
benefited from his wry wit and
generous intellect share the most
valuable of bonds. “Doctor Bob”
knew how to let their voices
converse—with writers, with
ideas, and with one another.
We are working to bring UW
students a further level of
conversation—a conversation
that expands opportunities for
us all, from freshest undergraduate to most senior professor. UW offers no Ph.D.s
in the humanities. Yet as the university establishes a new Humanities Institute, it
may be time for that to change. English is pondering a degree that would ground
doctoral students thoroughly in the discipline, preparing them for careers in
academia if that is their bliss and where their talent lies. Wyoming doctorates
would also emphasize the public humanities—because the most influential
humanist may be one serving in law, public policy, government, or elsewhere.
And Wyoming degrees would necessarily gain color from our state and our unique
appreciation for the land around us. The students, alumni, and faculty who make
up UW English have much to give, and much to gain.
—Caroline McCracken-Flesher
Join the discussion
If UW develops an English Ph.D., it involves you. We’re proud of you, and
your faculty and tomorrow’s students want to do you proud in turn. Help us
determine how to achieve this through doctoral programming. New degrees
take time to formulate, to approve, and to fund. As we ponder, we would
value input from our community of alumni. Call the chair to discuss your
ideas, email them to [email protected], or complete the survey on our Facebook page:
www.surveymonkey.com/s /CNNPCT6.
Making a difference
Words from our new President,
Robert Sternberg
“
To me, top-rank land-grant status means becoming #1 in educating ethical, creative,
analytical, and practical leaders who will be passionate about making a positive, meaningful,
and enduring difference to the world.” We in UW English agree!
An English major makes a difference in the military
What connects the military and an English
major? An ROTC student, my future career
will likely take me on deployments to some
of the most hostile places on the planet—how
can my current studies of Dryden or Chaucer
somehow still matter?
I have spent the last week in Moore, Oklahoma,
helping crews tear down beautiful houses
devastated by the tornado. Yesterday I stood
by the wreckage of Plaza Towers Elementary
School and listened to stories like that of tenyear-old Jason who dug out three of his friends
immediately after the tornado hit, probably saving their
lives. I heard about a 9-year-old boy, named Christopher,
who left safety to hold his friend Sidney in his arms. A wall
collapsed and killed them both. Classmate Maggie, who
was just beside them, was able to escape because the weight
of the wall was borne by young Christopher’s body. By the
memorial where the school once stood, I snapped a teddy
bear tied to a chain link fence, a small, dirty American flag
tucked in the twists of that fence, and two wooden crosses.
These objects are symbols. Our flag means
many things: liberty, independence, courage,
honor, pride, resilience to name a few. The
teddy bear means to so many small children
one thing above all else, comfort. The crosses
symbolize forgiveness, compassion, and
sacrifice. Words are symbols too. Symbols
have meaning. That which has meaning also
has power. That power can be used to create
strife or to soothe it, to incite hate or to create
love, to instill courage or to tear it down, to
lash out or, like the teddy bear, to comfort.
So what does education mean to a soldier? It is a tool to
create the future. We study in order to go into the world
and shape and mold it, hopefully for good. Education is
not a matter of being given “the answers” or the tools for a
particular job or pay scale. English majors learn that words
have meaning—but that meaning only has an impact if
you have something to say.
Lucas Flanscha serves in the University of Wyoming Army
ROTC Cowboy Battallion, MSIII (Military Science level 3).
Eleanor Kambouris makes a difference for UW English
The Eleanor Kambouris fund supports student travel for research and conferences, and key purchases of books and other
equipment. When I caught up with Eleanor recently, she was at home in Missouri, preparing to take her grandchildren
camping at Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Monument Valley, and Mesa Verde. Eleanor homeschools the children, helping
them write and think with detail and clarity. These are skills that come in part from Eleanor’s own education in English. Mrs. Kambouris studied English at Fort Lewis College, then taught high school English in Oregon, coming to Wyoming
when her husband, George, was accepted to UW’s Ph.D. in Chemistry. She worked in the libraries while pursuing her
M.A. with us. Her thesis was on John Knowles’s A Separate Peace. She remembers writing multiple drafts longhand and
recalls, not entirely fondly, the challenge of cutting and pasting her words together (literally)—over and over again.
Eleanor donates to the English department primarily to help graduate students—she remembers how thin the grad student
budget is and she wanted to help. She hopes that basic financial support can give grad students the freedom to expand their
studies, read more books, and attend more conferences. And that is exactly what she has achieved.
These days, Eleanor works with her grandchildren on synonyms, encouraging them to use the widest array of words
possible. In her family, then, and also at UW through her generous support of our students, Eleanor Kambouris helps new
generations discover and exploit the power of words.
—Peter Parolin
02
With a little help from our friends...
UW strongly encourages study abroad—but it isn’t cheap, and UW students don’t have deep pockets. So English puts together funds
from a variety of gifts to make sure our students can embrace the opportunities they deserve. Undergraduate Joseph Platt spent Spring
2013 at the University of Singapore, studying English with its international faculty. He was helped by the Kambouris, Tanner, and
Harris funds. His email from early in the semester shows a mind on the move!
This photo was taken as we were exploring the Chinatown
section of Kuala Lumpur. It was my first experience
outside of Singapore, but it certainly won’t be my last. I am
planning a trip to Thailand and Vietnam for spring break.
I have enjoyed Singapore immensely. It is completely
opposite from Wyoming: hot, humid, tropical, crowded.
The people are very friendly and helpful. My first night
was one of the most memorable; I got off the plane at 1:30
a.m. and got to campus about 2:30. I didn’t have a place to
stay or a plan. I found a group of cheerleaders in my hall
making a prop for a competition. I was able to hang out
with them until 4:00, then one of the guys let me crash in
his dorm room until the office opened the next morning.
Since then I have made lots of local friends.
I would say that the most rewarding part of doing an
exchange is being able to make friends with a wide variety
of people. Singapore is home to Malays, Chinese, and
Indians. I have made friends with exchange students from
all over the world, too. It has been amazing to see all the
things that we have in common. —Joseph Platt
Graduate students take classes, and teach them too. They are students, but also colleagues, and they deserve professional support.
To that end, the M.F.A. gives students in Creative Writing substantial help from the Eminent Writer Fund. English M.A. students
(Literary Studies, and also Rhetoric and Composition) have previously had no such funding. Now we have taken a small step
in that direction with help from the Kambouris and Andrew families. Courtney Carlisle, a brand new M.A., tells how her
professional budget from the Kambouris fund helped her along:
Courtney Carlisle (left) working with Professor Susan Frye, Rowan
Derrick (M.A.), and Harry Whitlock (M.A.)
Kambouris funding has helped me to become a better
scholar and student. I attended my very first conference—
the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance
Conference. That introduced me to a wider world of
academia and research that I love. At the conference, I met
faculty who not only had similar interests but also had the
same enthusiasm. They encouraged me to take my research
further and pointed out different directions it could lead
to. In addition, as I researched and prepared for writing
my master’s thesis, the funding allowed me to buy all of
the books I needed. I’m not sure I know a greater joy
than receiving new books, and as a scholar and student, I
certainly don’t know a greater convenience than being able
to keep the books I need and return to them repeatedly
over an extended period of time. The conferences, the
books, and the things that I have learned from being a
Kambouris scholar have prepared me and smoothed the
way for a future in academia.
—Courtney Carlisle
03
A cluster of 2013 graduates with
retiring Dean, Ollie Walter
Sweet Sorrows
This year, UW English masters students continue their achievements in doctoral study. M.F.A.s Ryan Ikeda and Brock Johnson
are on to Berkeley and Utah, and two M.A.s are headed to Emory. There, Lindsey Grubbs and Aaron Graham will make up one
third of the incoming class in English.
Ryan Ikeda, M.F.A.
When UW gave me an assistantship to write poetry for
two years, I left my career as a high school English teacher
and moved to the mountain west. While in Laramie, a
voracious appetite to read quickly emerged; soon I found
myself immersed in literature and poetry courses among a
community of poet-scholars who transformed, challenged,
and yet somehow managed to affirm the way I read, write,
and think about poetry. In the fall, I plan to continue this
inquiry into the rhetoric of poetry at the University of
California, Berkeley, where I will begin a Ph.D. program.
I hope to continue writing poetry and curating poetics,
giving back to the academic and poetry communities
which have been so generous with me. Lindsey Grubbs, M.A.
Upon graduation from the UW English master’s program
in May 2013, I had spent almost six years wandering Hoyt
Hall. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in 2010, and was
back teaching and taking classes for my graduate degree in
2011. This fall, though, I will be leaving Laramie to attend
Emory University. There I will work toward a doctorate
on the intersection of literature and science. My time at
the University of Wyoming shaped and encouraged my
interests, and without the support of faculty mentors like
Nicole Quackenbush, Michelle Jarman, Jason Baskin, and
many others, I doubt I would have been admitted to my
first choice Ph.D.—nor even known what my “dream
program” would look like! I will miss the familiar faces of
the UW English program dearly, and look forward to times
when our paths will cross again.
Brock Jones, M.F.A.
I will begin studies in the Creative Writing Ph.D. program
at the University of Utah this fall. My time at the University
of Wyoming was actually what led me to pursue a Ph.D.
Before coming to Wyoming, the thought never even
occurred to me, but after two rigorous years of teaching
and studying at UW and working with faculty and a cohort
that I can only describe as amazing and generous, I feel
ready to continue writing and studying through a doctoral
program and into the days beyond.
It is with fondness and sadness that I leave Laramie behind
(at least for now!).
Stay in touch!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UWYOEnglish
Web: www.uwyo.edu/english
04
Your Faculty
UW English teaching staff include academic professionals as well as faculty and graduate assistants. Academic professionals are
the backbone of the composition program that we offer for the university as a whole. They hold a range of degrees, and often bring
outside experience. This year, three stalwarts were promoted from assistant to associate lecturer.
Paul Bergstraesser joined us as a lecturer in 2007. A
creative writer, he teaches in Composition and Honors as
well, and has won awards for his work with first-year students
(most recently, the Fred Slater Award from English). His
serio-comic fiction has been published in several literary
journals and won him a National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowship in 2012. He remembers: “When the NEA called
and told me I’d won a fellowship, I hung up the phone and
cried like a baby.” It was a big moment for UW English as
well. To read an excerpt from his fiction, visit http://www.nea.
gov/features/writers/writersCMS/writer.php?id=12_17. Paul
holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University
of Illinois.
Valerie Pexton has long
been a familiar face in Hoyt
Hall. A Wyoming native
who grew up on a cattle
ranch, she earned a UW
M.A. and M.F.A. both! Add
in her B.A. in Studio Art
from Humboldt State, and
it is not suprising that since
2001, she has taught all over
our curriculum—serving in
the Composition Program,
teaching Intellectual Com­
munity classes in literature, film and creative writing, and
instituting the Freshman Workshop for the Writing Center.
A gifted short story author, Val coordinates the Creative
Writing Minor. Watch out for her Laramie readings.
Joyce Stewart holds a B.A. from Felician College and
an M.A. from Creighton. Since joining English in 2002,
she has become the doyenne of Freshman Composition.
As director of that program, Joyce provides orientation
and runs ongoing mentoring for graduate students as they
grow into Composition teachers; she teaches a fabulous
first-year English course and provides “stretch 1010” for
students who, after one semester, are struggling to achieve
professional levels of communication even as they may be
racing ahead in their other subjects. To understand her
work, seek out her article (with April Heaney) “Admission
Rhetoric and Academic Self-Efficacy: The Importance
of First-Communications for Conditionally-Admitted
Students” (The Journal of College Admission, 2013). Joyce’s
dedication to the program, the undergraduates it serves,
and the graduates who teach in it knows no bounds.
Welcome
University departments are always changing. This year,
we bid farewell to Harvey Hix—off to Philosophy to teach
in his degree field—and Beth Loffreda—now in American
Studies at UW. Thank you both for all you have done for
UW English. We welcome Vanessa Fonseca—shared with
Chicano Studies—and UW M.A. David Bray—shared with
the Synergy Program. Here, they are introduced by the search
committee chairs who found them and, to our great benefit,
recruited them for UW.
Vanessa Fonseca joins
English and Chicano Studies as
an assistant professor. Vanessa
received her B.A. and M.A. from
the University of New Mexico,
and her Ph.D. from Arizona
State. Her degree focuses on
three periods in Chicano/a and
Southwest Mexican literary and
cultural production. Vanessa
considers how colonial legacies
persist in contemporary culture.
Vanessa writes in English and Spanish; as a Chicano Studies
scholar, she aims to produce a good body of critical texts in
Spanish. When her dissertation is published, she hopes it
will have both English and Spanish editions. Students will
work with Vanessa on literary texts with bilingual themes.
In Wyoming, remembering that the state was once part of
Mexico, Vanessa will consider cross-overs and differences
between Chicano/a life in rural and urban contexts.
—Peter Parolin
David Bray joins us as a lecturer and program coordinator
in UW’s Synergy Program. David graduated with an
English M.A. this spring. He will teach English and
Synergy courses, coordinate instructor training, and oversee
Synergy initiatives. Synergy provides courses and advising
for first year students admitted outside of regular admission
standards. It will expand this fall to serve 300 new students.
David was a GA in English for two years, and worked as an
admissions counselor and athletics coach at Northwestern
College in Iowa before coming to UW. He taught English
overseas and worked as a high school teacher.
—April Heaney, Director Synergy and LeaRN
Continued on page 6
05
Your Faculty Continued from page 5
Department awards
Visiting Fellows
Julia Obert and Erin Forbes gained A&S International
Travel awards, and Julia also gained a Basic Research Award.
Duncan Harris won the College’s Award for Extraordinary
Merit in Advising, April Heaney won for teaching, and
Alyson Hagy and Susan Aronstein won for research.
Peter Parolin won the Ellbogen Award for Teaching.
English welcomes foreign
Susan Oliver
scholars to spend their
exploring Vedauwoo
sabbatical in Laramie. In
Spring 2013, Susan Oliver
of the University of Essex,
and Jonathan White, emeri­
tus at Essex, joined us for
an intense and wonderful
semester. They each gave a talk
and worked with students,
and Dr. Oliver ran a short
colloquium on Literature
and
the
Environmental
Imagination. Dr. Oliver liaised
with colleagues across the
university, laying the groundwork for a future exchange
and scholarly collaboration with Essex on literature and
the environment. Essex is renowned for its “Wild Writing”
program, which brings together scientists and literary
scholars focused on the “wild east” (of England). We hope
to provide the “wild west.” For her efforts, Dr. Oliver was
recognised by the Provost’s office with the permanent title
“Fellow in English”—the first to be so designated for UW.
Where are they now?
Ever wondered what your fellow alumni are up to? Here are
some who have gone on in research, teaching, and publication—
and who now teach us.
Marlene Tromp is the dean of New College at Arizona State.
Mimi Fenton is the new dean of the Graduate School and
Research at Western Carolina University.
Susan Oliver, Peter Remien, and Erin Forbes all won
fellowships to the Huntington Library, and Harvey Hix
won a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship. Brad Watson
earned an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award—
one of eight in the country.
Peter Parolin
Brad Watson
If you are a recent graduate, you will know our fabulous
office team. Alumni who call the English department also
meet Rachel Ferrell (office supervisor), Patty Romero
(accounts and events), or Gwynn Lemler (M.A. and
M.F.A.). This past year, we have been short staffed, yet the
office has been better than ever. We are truly grateful to
their grace under fire. They each won a department award,
and Patty won the college Award for Extraordinary Service.
Steve Watt, a professor at Indiana-Bloomington, adds
to his list of accolades those of “Provost’s Professor” and
Sonnenborn award winner. His recent book on Beckett won
the Robert Rhodes prize for Irish Studies.
Amy Tigner is recently promoted to associate professor at
the University of Texas, Arlington.
Chris Morrow has been promoted to associate professor this
year, and appointed director of Graduate Studies in English
at Western Illinois.
Wendy Matlock has been promoted to associate professor
this year at Kansas State.
Nancy Gwinn is director of the Smithsonian Libraries.
06
Meg Van-Baalen Wood won the TIE Award
for Outreach.
Read with UW: Alumni Publications
Student Awards and Honors 2012
Andrew Graduate Studies Award: Leighanne Allen,
Rebecca Golden, Aaron Graham, Mary Kate McCarney,
Joseph Rubin
Wilson/Land Dekay Award: Leighanne Allen
Clough Award: Kacey Brown, Lindsey Carter, Amy Pauli
Janice Harris Award: Charles Fournier, Joseph Platt,
Corina Powell
McIntyre Award: Zachary Anderson, Hannah Green,
Trisha Parsons, Kelli Price, Hollie Sambrooks
Schwartzkopf Award: Mary Bardgill, Molly Potas
Merriam Award: Laurel Snider
Undergraduate Creative Writing Award: John
Degenhart, Markus Holly, Laurel Snider
Kambouris Award: Joseph Platt, Chelsea Biondolillo,
Timothy Etzkorn, Charles Fournier, Aaron Graham,
Ryan Ikeda, Caleb Johnson, Joseph Rubin
Tanner Award: Chelsea Nelson, Erika Partenheimer,
Joseph Platt, Corina Powell
Study Abroad Award: Zach Anderson
Torry Award: Connor Novotny
A&S Board of Visitors Award: Mary Bardgill
A&S Outstanding Graduate: Brianna Johnson
A&S Summer Independent Study Award: Chelsea
Biondolillo, Sofia Thanhauser
UW Outstanding Graduate Thesis Award:
Karen Fielder
UW AHC Award: Erin Lund
UW Cheney Award: Kelly Hatton, Joey Rubin,
Sofi Thanhauser
UW Ellbogen Award for Outstanding Graduate
Teaching: Courtney Carlisle
07
Department of English
Dept. 3353
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Vendor to Insert
Indicia Here
Robert Torry
We sadly announce the passing of Bob Torry on December 14, 2013. With his keen sense of humor,
generous intellect, and enormous kindness to students and colleagues alike, Bob showed us our best
selves. For years to come we shall see him reflected in every student he taught.
Last year we announced a fund in Bob’s honor. The Robert L. Torry Fund for English supports
English Honors and Literary Studies.
To contribute to the fund, contact UW Foundation, and name the Robert L. Torry Fund for English.
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