Lycoming College News

New edition of "Brilliant Corners" released

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The 2011 summer edition of “Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature” has been released. Dr. Sascha Feinstein, the journal’s founding editor, is a professor of English at Lycoming College. Feinstein is also the editor of “Ask Me Now: Conversations of Jazz & Literature,” which compiles the first 10 years of interviews that first appeared in “Brilliant Corners.”

The latest issue contains an interview with music historian, pianist, author and record producer John Edward Hasse. Hasse also serves as the curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and is the founder of Jazz Appreciation Month, celebrated in more than 40 countries.

In addition, the summer issue features poems by Michael Gaspeny, poet and fiction writer; Neil Shepard, author of three books of poetry and founder of the Writers Program at the Vermont Studio Center; Betsy Sholl, winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry; Jeffrey Alfier, two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and nominee for the UK’s Forward Prize for Poetry; and Richard Jackson, author of nine books of poems, two critical books and several chapbooks of translations from Italian.

“Brilliant Corners” also contains fiction from Karin Lin-Greenberg, teacher of creative writing at The College of Wooster in Ohio; Benjamin Roesch, teacher of English in Burlington, Vt.; and Marko Fong, two-time nominee for a PEN/O. Henry Prize and Pushcart Prize. The issue presents an essay by Johnny Bull, who also contributed the cover art, “Swing Beckons Charlie,” which honors guitarist Charlie Christian. In the essay, Bull discusses the cover art.

“Brilliant Corners” is published biannually and features jazz-related poetry, fiction and nonfiction. A subscription costs $12 a year ($18 for international orders). Send check or money to Brilliant Corners, Lycoming College, 700 College Place, Williamsport, PA 17701. More information can be found at www.lycoming.edu/BrilliantCorners.

Published at Lycoming College, “Brilliant Corners” is funded in part by Lycoming College, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and private endowments.

Lycoming College is a national liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. It is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News and World Report. Founded in 1812 in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation.

English Department to host award-winning author

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The Lycoming College English Department will host a fiction reading by author Philip F. Deaver on Thursday, April 14, at 8 p.m. in Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall as part of the College’s Himes/Sweeney Visiting Scholar in Creative Writing. The event is free and open to the public.

Deaver, a native of Illinois, has been writing about the Midwest for more than 35 years. His work has appeared in the O. Henry Prize Stories anthology and been recognized in the Pushcart Prize and Best American Short Stories. He is also the recipient of the Flannery O’Connor Award and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference. In addition to his short fiction, he has published a collection of poetry and edited an anthology of creative nonfiction.

Deaver resides in Florida and is a professor of English and permanent writer in residence at Rollins College. His work appears regularly in literary magazines.

The Himes/Sweeney Visiting Scholar in Creative Writing is an endowed fund created by Lycoming alumna Diane Sweeney. Income from the endowment is used to bring distinguished writers in residence and practitioners to the College to address topics related to creative writing. Its goal is to promote discussion and exploration among students, faculty and the community.

Student attends English Honor Society Convention

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

English professor to participate in Yale seminar

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Dr. Andrew Leiter, a Lycoming College assistant professor of English, has been selected as one of 25 scholars to participate in The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s seminar, “Slave Narratives,” at Yale University June 12-15.

“This is a very prestigious conference,” said Dr. Thomas Griffiths, provost and dean of the College. “Competition for one of the 25 slots was pretty intense, and it’s wonderful that Dr. Leiter will be representing Lycoming this year.”

Leiter is a 20th century American literature specialist with particular interest in the textual intersections of racial representations by white and African-American authors.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is a nonprofit organization supporting the study and love of American history. The seminar, part of an annual series held for professors of American history at small colleges, is co-sponsored by The Council of Independent Colleges and the United Negro College Fund.

Spring issue of "Schemata" released

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.— Lycoming College’s academic resource and writing centers announce the release of the spring 2011 issue of “Schemata,” an online journal of essays and photography by Lycoming students.

“Schemata,” first released in 2010, was created by Shanna Wheeler, assistant director of Lycoming’s academic resource center, in an effort to give students the opportunity to publish their work and gain experience in editing, design, publishing, marketing and public relations.

Selected from more than 50 submissions, the second issue of the journal features 19 essays from across Lycoming’s curriculum. “Schemata” features work from freshmen through seniors as well as recent alumni.

“My hope is that with each issue, the Lycoming community will recognize more and more that Schemata is a good source of model essays for students as they write and faculty as they teach writing,” said Wheeler. “I look forward to seeing the journal evolve over time.”

“Schemata” can be viewed online at www.lycoming.edu/schemata.

College to host “Cheer from Chawton: A Jane Austen Family Theatrical”

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa - The Lycoming College Women’s and Gender Studies Program and Theatre Department will present “Cheer from Chawton: A Jane Austen Family Theatrical” performed by New York actress Karen Eterovich on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall. The show is free and open to the public.

Eterovich also wrote the play, which is based on the life of novelist Jane Austen and highlights her contributions to the world of literature, her relationship with her family and her adventures as a “flirtatious butterfly” in rural England. Eterovich created “Cheer from Chawton” after performing in a play about Jane Austen.

She has performed the play at the Players Club in New York City and at the 2006 Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, in addition to regional theatres, colleges and universities across the United States.

Austen is one of the most widely read English novelists, exhibiting such superior quickness of wit and intuition that nearly two centuries after her death, her works continue to inspire.

Snowden Library receives Louisa May Alcott grant

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Snowden Library of Lycoming College is one of 30 libraries selected in the U.S. to receive a Louisa May Alcott grant from the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The grant will be used to support reading, viewing and discussion programs featuring the documentary “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind ‘Little Women’” and the companion biography of the same name. Both works explore the life of the author and the historical and cultural context that inspired her body of work.

Dr. Andrew Leiter, assistant professor of English, will serve as Lycoming’s lead scholar for the project.

New edition of "Brilliant Corners" released

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The 2010 winter edition of "Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature" has been released. Dr. Sascha Feinstein, the journal's founding editor, is a professor of English at Lycoming College. Feinstein is also the editor of "Ask Me Now: Conversations on Jazz & Literature," which compiles the first 10 years of interviews that first appeared in "Brilliant Corners."

The latest issue contains an unusual, joint interview with jazz pianists, composers and teachers Bruce Barth and Eri Yamamoto. It also features poems by Michael Bazzett, winner of the 2008 Bechtel Prize from Teacher’s & Writers Collaborative; C.G. Hanzlicek, author of eight books of poetry and former director of the creative writing program at California State University, Fresno; Richard Lyons, whose most recent book won the 2005 Washington Prize from The Word Works in Washington, D.C.; Sjohnna McCray, poet and former high school English teacher; and David Petruzelli, winner of the Tupelo Press Judge’s Prize.

“Brilliant Corners” also contains selections from French poet and jazz critic Jacques Réda’s “L’Improviste: Une lecture du jazz [The Improviser: A Reading of Jazz].” The work is translated by Aaron Prevots, whose essay on Réda is also featured. The issue presents additional essays by Moe Brooker, an award-winning artist and professor and chair of the Basics Department at Moore College of Art and Design, and Andrew W. Hurley, author and lecturer in cultural studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. Brooker also contributed the issue’s dynamic cover art, “For Trane & Parker,” in honor of saxophonists John Coltrane and Charlie Parker.

"Brilliant Corners" is published biannually and features jazz-related poetry, fiction and nonfiction. A subscription costs $12 a year ($18 for international orders). Send check or money to Brilliant Corners, Lycoming College, 700 College Place, Williamsport, PA 17701. More information can be found at www.lycoming.edu/BrilliantCorners.

Published at Lycoming College, "Brilliant Corners" is funded in part by Lycoming College, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and private endowments.

Students present at medieval and early modern studies conference

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Eight Lycoming College students presented papers at the 5^th Annual Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, held Dec. 4 at Moravian College. The interdisciplinary program explored and celebrated the literature, history, art and philosophy of the periods ranging from 500 CE to 1800 CE.

Student presenters collaborated with Lycoming faculty Dr. Todd Preston, assistant professor and chair of the English department, and Dr. Cullen Chandler, assistant professor of history, in preparation of their papers.

The students and presentations were:

Nathan Bowley, a senior English literature major from Sparta, N.J. - “The Arthurian Authenticity – Using the Myth as Reality.”

Amanda Burt, a senior archaeology major from Cobleskill, N.Y. - “Crannogs: Defining the Function and Construction of Water-dwelling Structures in Scotland and Ireland.”

Danielle Heaney, a senior archaeology major from Lusby, Md. - “Irish Monasticism: A Unique Institution.”

Melody Johnson, a senior creative writing and psychology major from East Stroudsburg, Pa. - “The Tragic Wedding of Medieval Society and Romance.”

Alexa LaRocco, a junior archaeology and history major from Torrington, Conn. - “Carolingian Art and Its Relationship with Religion.”

Brandon Sellers, a sophomore from Baltimore, Md. - “Stupid Speakers in Chaucer’s Dream Vision Poems.”

Denyse Walters, a junior archaeology and religion major from Flint, Mich. - “Infidels: The Perception of Muslims in Middle English Literature.”

Amy Weaver, a creative writing major seeking education certification from Williamsport, Pa.- “The Sickness of Love in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde.”

The conference is one of the nation’s few undergraduate conferences focused on humanities and was the first to feature medieval and early modern studies. This year, more than 100 students from 30 colleges and universities across the country attended.

Alumnus and English professor to hold Homecoming book event

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - James Minick, a 1986 graduate of Lycoming College, and Dr. Andrew Leiter, assistant professor of English at the College, will participate in the Lycoming Authors book event Saturday, Oct. 16, at 11 a.m., in the College Archives, Academic Center. Minick and Leiter will give brief readings of their work and chat with guests during the event, which is part of Homecoming and Reunion Weekend.

Minick published his memoir, “The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family,” in August. It captures how Minick and his wife, Sarah, both schoolteachers, fulfilled their dream of owning a blueberry farm which they operated for more than a decade.

At 3:30 p.m., Minick will also hold a more in-depth, fireside discussion of his book on the first floor of Snowden Library.

Leiter’s book, “In the Shadow of the Black Beast: African American Masculinity in Harlem and Southern Renaissances,” was published earlier this year by Louisiana State University Press. It marks the first book-length study of the sexually violent African-American man as a literary phenomenon. The “black beast” theme was a fundamental element of writers from both Harlem and Southern Renaissances who explored its psychological, cultural and social ramifications.

Leiter’s teaching specialty is 20th century American literature. He has particular interest in the textual intersections of racial representations by white and African-American authors.