Tribute to Jean C. Lee

Jean Lee was an amazing artist, writer, editor, and human being. I first met her when I was a student at Knox College and she was the technical advisor for Catch, the student literary magazine. She taught me most everything I know about editing and design. Later, after I had worked in Chicago for aContinue reading “Tribute to Jean C. Lee”

Where do we go from here? One faculty member’s perspective

[The following is a column originally printed in the Commercial Dispatch, Columbus, Mississippi, on Sunday, February 7.] I ended a recent letter stating MUW needs to look to the future and be proactive. The issues of changing our name or merging with another university appear to be behind us for now, and no matter whatContinue reading “Where do we go from here? One faculty member’s perspective”

Vegetarian Hutsepot: Warm food for a cold night!

A winter storm with up to an inch or two of snow is predicted to hit Mississippi tonight. People were already in the grocery store stocking up, when I stopped after dropping the kids off at school (we just needed a normal grocery run), talking about the possibility of being stranded for a few days.Continue reading “Vegetarian Hutsepot: Warm food for a cold night!”

Resolutions for 2010

December was a month for family (and finals), and I fell behind in my blogging. That’s all right, though. Family is important, and time away from technology can be time very well spent, especially when travel is involved. So I have a few resolutions for the new year: getting back to the blog is onlyContinue reading “Resolutions for 2010”

Poetry and Politics

This has been another busy week, which is to be expected, since it’s the last full week before finals. What I didn’t expect (until recently) was the news of Governor Barbour’s proposal to merge MUW with MSU. This has put everyone in high gear to respond and keep up with classes! I’ve laid down theContinue reading “Poetry and Politics”

Just say No (to merger)

First a bit of history…. a little over 15 years ago in June, when I was a relatively young grad student who had just defended his dissertation and was out on a job interview, I awoke to the public radio station reporting news of a planned merger for the school where I was about toContinue reading “Just say No (to merger)”

Afterglow (or is it sleep deprivation?)

Well, the 21st Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium has come and gone. Each author’s reading was great, and my only regret was that I couldn’t be two people: one listening calmly and hanging on every word and another who could run after batteries for the failing sound system (we did get it replaced, thanks to MackContinue reading “Afterglow (or is it sleep deprivation?)”