Sunteți pe pagina 1din 10

The Peripatetic Observer

Volume 6 SUNY College at Geneseo, Department of English Summer 2003

From the Editor. Ramblings


One of the peculiarities of the United States, among the many to which we admit and some to which we refrain from mentioning, is a
characteristic nearly outside our control. We may build upon it and remove and modify and tinker with it, but the natural configuration of our
national landscape remains as diverse as any study promoting diversity could divine it to be. Our typography in a strange and altogether
wondrous way shimmers in a glass reflecting our national population.
I have been pondering this observation for a long time. As a child, I held, sometimes ponderously, in my hands or tucked in bed early
at night cradled in the crook of my elbow the World Book Encyclopedia (1949 edition), fascinated by the spectacle of the photographs and
descriptions of places contained within the boundaries of the country. I had traveled with my family to be sure. But what was this hugeness and
mystery in this land to which I belonged and pledged my allegiance? The reference books called out to me, and I, a little boy with a big appetite
digested them. Yet, like the explorers I studied, I determined I must see to know. And I have to some extent.
I am not talking about being a picaresque figure or a vagabond or a sightseeing tourist although they each may hold their own appeals,
but about a person somehow sensing in a familial way, a knowledge of loci, of being related, attuned to these places. I have lived on the banks of
the Cape Fear River within aroma distance of the Atlantic Ocean, known the muddy redness of the Catawba in the Carolinas, too, called the
Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers my neighbors, crossed and recrossed by bridge the Genesee and sailed on the blue tides of Lake Ontario and on
the murkiness of the Erie Canal. They are all waters, named in history, but they are distinct with personalities, and they are mine.
Whitman and Thoreau and Billard knew this education by landscape, this metaphor for the human soul and spirit, this connection
between location and self, self and other. The point made is that the tropical foliage of Florida in the flat South, this fecund place, is as
invigorating to mind and body as is the icy sweep of the wind or the sloped hills meeting the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. The concave
cathedral of the Grand Canyon in Arizona is a reflected image of the Grand Tetons ridging their way through Wyoming. The gentle presence of
the forested Tuscarora Mountain range in Pennsylvania is a balance to the muted aridity of Californias deserts. The dialects and habits, the
mannerisms and dress, the local histories and concerns of the inhabitants are suggested by the looks of the places themselves. Landscapes and
selves are, perhaps, one and the same, linked. We are carrying these exterior landscapes internally in our psyches and in our hearts.
The diverse landscape, the diverse population, this familiar relationship between and among places and people are natural occurrences
suggested in books and sometimes known by experience, then recalled by history and memory. The idea is calming.
Dr. Walter B. Freed Jr.

Geneseo Literary Forum


The newly named Geneseo Literary Forums goal was to step up activity. We far exceeded this goal in what turned out to be a rich and
diverse year--perhaps the richest in the ten years I've taught at Geneseo. The Forum events included readings by novelist Kathryn Larrabee,
author of An Everyday Savior; poet Denise Duhamel, whose books Star Spangled Banner and Queen for a Day have been taught in several of
our courses; and (with the help of Professor Kaplan of the School of Performing Arts), distinguished poet Bill Heyen, whose several books of
poetry explore the legacy of the Holocaust. Professor Maria Lima brought three prominent Black British Writers to campus, Kadija Geoerge,
Bernardine Evaristo, and Joan Anim-Addo, in conjunction with her current research and new courses she has developed on Literature of the
African Diaspora and Black British Writers. In April, Professor Celia Easton brought Peter Lovenheim, author of Portrait of a Burger as a
Young Calf, to campus. The Forum also co-sponsored a visit from the award-winning social critic of poverty and urban life, Jonathan Kozol,
whose works are read throughout the curriculum in English, Sociology, Education, and Anthropology. It was a particular thrill to have had
Anne Bartlett 87, Professor of English at DePaul University, visit. The author and editor of several books in medieval studies, Anne began her
training as a medievalist under the tutelage of Ron Herzman and completed her Ph.D. at Iowa where Huston Diehl now teaches. Many of the
visitors participated in classes and workshops, visited informally with students, and answered questions about their work. Plans for next year
include a reading by short story writer, Matthew Derby 95, whose short story collection Super Flat Times, was just published by Little
Brown.

Summer Course in Black British Literature and Culture at Goldsmiths College


When Maria Lima spent her sabbatical as a visiting fellow at Goldsmiths College,
University of London, the creation of an exchange program between Geneseo and
Goldsmiths was only a dream. But when Joan Anim-Addo met with Stephen Burwood,
(Associate Dean of the College and Director of Study Abroad Programs) last February, the
first part of the plan started to materialize. A three-week summer course on Black British
Literature and Culture taught by Lima, with guest lectures by many of the writers studied in
the course, has been planned for July 2004. If the pilot is successful, according to Burwood,
the course will be added to the SUNY Study Abroad Program permanently. Burwood,
Anim-Addo, and Lima also talked about possible exchanges of faculty and students. Other
English Department faculty may be asked to offer a summer course at Goldsmiths in the
future. We hope this is only the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship!
Herzman Shares Honor
Its no wonder that this springs interdisciplinary offering The Age of
Dante, enrolled over 40 people, even though the students dont yet know a
secret that will have been publicly released by the time you read this. They
are hearing from the finest teachers of medieval literature in America.
Indeed, Professor Ron Herzman will soon be awarded the first ever CARA
Award for Excellence in Teaching Medieval Studies from the Medieval
Academy of America. This award is the highest recognition of teaching
excellence that a medievalist can gain. Ron will share this honor with
Professor Bill Cook of the History Department. Professors Cook and
Herzman recently saw the publication of the second edition of their book,
The Medieval World View, by Oxford University Press. If you missed or
have forgotten their lectures, you can hear them featured on tape and CDs
sold by The Learning Company, which features distinguished instructors
from the nations top research universities. This summer, Ron will again
be in Siena, Italy, to teach a seminar for high school teachers, sponsored by
the National Endowment for the Humanities, on Dantes Commedia.

Marie Henry Receives Prestigious PATH Award


On May 6, 2003, Marie Henry, Secretary of the Department of English,
received the Promoting Awareness Through Harmony Award. Presented by Dr.
Christopher Dahl, President of the College, the PATH Awards were created to
support Geneseos commitment to: Recruiting, supporting, and fostering the
development of a diverse community of outstanding students, faculty and staff;
respecting the unique contributions of each individual to the campus community;
and developing socially responsible citizens with skills and values important to the
pursuit of an enriched life and success in the world.
These are select College-wide awards, sponsored by the Office of the
President and administered by the Presidents Commission on Diversity and
Community.
The following criteria were used in the selection:
A record of sustained and current contribution to diversity and
multiculturism at Geneseo;
Commitment to fulfilling the Colleges Mission Statement as it
pertains to pluralism;
Assistance in the creation of an environment that nurtures intellectual
and personal growth in non-traditional arenas.
Mrs. Henry has been Secretary in the English Department since 1980 and for
two years has served with distinction on the Presidents Commission for Diversity
and Community. She is the first Administrative Secretary to be honored by PATH
and was nominated by Professor Celia Easton of the English Faculty.

Congratulations to Marie Henry for her fine work and noble example.

Rachel Hall-Another Successful Year


Awarded Chancellors Award for
Excellence in Teaching
Received a $5000 grant from the
Saltonstall Foundation for the
Arts. The award honors Rachels
fiction and non-fiction writing,
Featured as SUNY Geneseos
Educator of the week during the
month of March.
Professor Gollin Retires Film News and More..
For the first time since 1967 the English Department is not graced by Alan Lutkus piece on Agatha Christie appeared in Greenwood
the presence of its eminent Americanist, Professor Rita Gollin. It would be Presss Modern British Women Writers anthology, and he has spent odd
impossible to summarize Professor Gollins scholarly accomplishments in Spring semester momentssome very oddas College reviewer of the
one brief article. Her books and numerous articles on Nathaniel Hawthorne Music program in the School of Performing Arts. He also chairs the new
made her, of course, an internationally recognized authority on that author. interdepartmental film Studies Minor, involving English itself heavily, with
But Dr. Gollins career was also distinguished by the breadth of her film courses promised or already taught by Shawn Adamson, Ken Asher,
research interests, ranging from American art to the immigrant experience, Ken Cooper, Robert Barrick, Ed Gillin, Mary Hess, Maria Lima;
and embracing literary figures ranging from Mark Twain and Bernard Lutkus has taught a new cinema course each of the past three semester, The
Malamud to Herman Melville and the subject of her latest biography, Annie American West in Film, Screenwriting, and Shakespeare on Film.
Fields. For many years these interests found expression in a rich array of Sarah Watts, whose article on Rebecca West also appeared in
courses Professor Gollin taught at Geneseo. While students have missed the Greenwood anthology, will be sorely missed both by the Film Minor
her presence in the classrooms of Welles, her fellow teachers have missed and the Department generally. She is off to Texas after a two-term Geneseo
her presence as a colleague. Dr. Celia Easton observes, Rita was a special career, 1984-1987, 1993-2002, during which she taught Film Classics,
kind of mentor for us. She was always interested in her colleagues Fiction into Film, Film History, Journalism as Literary Genre, New York
scholarship: she really read our work and took it seriously. Dr. Ed Gillin City in Film and Fiction (American Studies), most of the writing courses
remembers being at a number of American literature conferences where English offers, and one it doesnt (Journalism). It was also largely her
strangers on an elevator would squint rather aloofly at his name on an painstaking research into college resources and programs elsewhere that
identification badge but thennoticing the SUNY Geneseo allowed the minors approval. Third term, Sarah?
designationsuddenly blurt out with evident affection and respect: Oh! The Department is also contributing to the International Film
So you work with Rita Gollin! Dr. Gillin expects to continue to capitalize Series, supported by the Provosts Office and several campus departments.
on that recognition for many years to come. Dr Gollin continues to be a Lima and Lutkus serve, with Rose McEwen of Foreign Languages, as the
productive scholar even as her retirement from the classroom allows her Series Steering Committee. The Series, already successful as a pilot
more time for family and for travel. program with faculty (including Lima) introducing individual films from
Everyone misses Dr. Gollins presence. But in many ways the legacy Third World and European directors, had its opening as an officially
of Rita Gollin, our Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, is destined sponsored college program this Spring.
to be permanent here in the place she served so well.
~Dr. Edward Gillin
Walker Exploits Students for Canon
This semester four English majors -- Sandy Rohlfing, Ruth Stevenson,
Meghan McKenna, and Adam DeMarco found themselves in the canonical
paradigm of student exploitation for faculty scholarship. Faced with a press
deadline for her book The Elizabeth Icon, forthcoming from
Palgrave/Macmillan UK, Professor Julia Walker has turned to her Milton
class for help with her entries for the Milton Encyclopedia, commissioned by
Yale University Press. The fearless four volunteered.
While Walker writes frantically on the image of Elizabeth the First as
an icon of Englishness over the 400 years from her death in 1603 until today,
these students zoom through scholarship on a daunting list of topics. Walker Stelzig Enjoys A Busy Sabbatical
has been commissioned to write the entries on Deborah, Elizabeth I, Fiesole, Gene Stelzig is very much enjoying his year-long sabbatical leave.
Florence, Galileo, gender (Milton's representation of), Sonnet VII, Letter to a He has presented papers on "Patriarchal Pressures: Portraits of Fathers in
Friend (1633), sexuality (Milton's representation of), Siena, Tuscany, women Darwin's and Nabokov's Autobiographies" in July (at the Life Writing and
(Milton's representation of), and last, but certainly not least: Eve. Generations conference at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia),
Like the un-thanked grad students of old, who toiled over index cards and on "Wordsworth's Bleeding Spots: Traumatic Memories of the Absent
to produce pre-PC concordances, these brave students are reading and Father in The Prelude" in October (at the International Conference on
summarizing the scholarship on the assigned topics from whatever year Romanticism at Florida State University, Tallahassee). In December he
Professor Walker last worked on a topic until the present. While they are chaired a special session on "The Range of Romantic Autobiography" at the
getting some directed study credit for this task, the group insists that reading MLA convention in New York City. His article, The Happy Few: Notes
Milton criticism is its own reward. Says Ruth Stevenson: "I always on Romanticism and the Aristocracy of Consciousness has been reprinted
dreamed of being exploited in a canonical paradigm." Walker remarks, in in Recent Perspectives on European Romanticism (Mellen, 2002) and his
passing, "They also serve who only sit in Milne." essay on Individual Transcendence or Romantic Thin Air? The uplifting
Conclusions of Wordsworths Prelude and Goethes Faust, Part II has
Maria Helena Lima been published in Inventing the Individual: Romanticism and the Idea of
Last fall Lima finally saw her essay for the special issue on Jamaica Individualism (Brigham Young, 2002). Gene has also been elected to a two
Kincaid published: Imaginary Homelands in Jamaica Kincaids Narratives year-term as President of the International Conferences on Romanticism
of Development" came out in Callaloo 25. 3 (2002). Three other articles (ICR), formerly the American Conference on Romanticism (ACR).
have been accepted for publication: Negotiating Black British/Caribbean
Identities: The Fiction of Andrea Levy in Kadija George, Ed. Write Black
British: A Literary Criticism Anthology. London: Hansib Books, October
2003; Merle Collins Angel of History in Moira Inghilleri and Joan Anim-
Addo, Eds. Swinging Her Breasts at History: Language and the Body in
Caribbean Womens Writing, London: Whiting and Birch Ltd; and Women
Righting: A Bilingual Anthology of Contemporary Fiction by Afro-Brazilian
Women, Miriam Alves and Maria Helena Lima, eds. (Maria Helena Lima,
translator). London: Mango Publishing. She presented on Caryl Phillips
The Atlantic Sound: Travel Writing in the Age of Globalization" at the
Black Travel Writing Symposium at Howard University, Washington,
D.C., in April. Dave Kelly published his fifteenth chapbook of poetry, When You
Tell Them About Us.
Tom Greenfield's chapter on "Radio" appeared in the four-volume Greenwood
Guide to American Popular Culture; he was co-author with former Geneseo
Communication professor Erica Scharrer. In January, he presented a paper,
Adrian Matejka won this years Alice James Award, which
"The House of Chekhov: Elements of Sophoclean Dynastic Collapse in The brings with it the publication of his first book of poetry.
Cherry Orchard and The Three Sisters" at the Hawaii International Conference
on Humanities. In September, he was an invited plenary speaker at the Middle Julia Walker received a Chancellors Research Recognition
States Workshop for Accreditation Team Leaders and Team Members in Award in Albany on December 16, 2002.
Philadelphia.
Voices from Past & PresentAlumni News
1995
2003 Molly Metzler has been living in Boston, Brian Getz went on to become a grad
Melissa Adams is attending law school at pursuing a Masters Degree in Creative assistant at DePaul University, where he
New England School of Law in Boston. She Writing (playwrighting). She finished her worked closely with another Geneseo
received a full tuition scholarship. degree in Fall 2000 and joined the faculty as graduate, Prof. Anne Clark Bartlett; he
Samantha Bell is in a Graduate Program at a Lecturer at Boston University in the completed his MA in '97 and is currently
SUNY Brockport. Writing Program. teaching freshman and a new combined
Jennifer Burns returned to Long Island in history and English class for sophomores
Summer 02 in search of a full-time, high 1999 called European Studies (which he helped
school, English position. Benjamin Allee had his work published in create) at Des Plaines, IL. He also is the
Carey Daniels visited SUNY Geneseo in the April 2002 issue of the Fordham Law Mentor Coordinator for new teachers, and
Spring 03. She is ecstatic about her studies Review and is now serving as Editor-in- Coordinator for Cooperative Achievement.
at Western Michigan. Chief. He plans to clerk for Judge Peter brianjgetz@yahoo.edu
Emily DeFranks is attending Syracuse Leisure after graduation. Elaine Cipriano is the Associate Managing
University and plans to pursue a Masters Stacie E. Cornelius is currently working at Editor of Ladies Home Journal in New
Degree in Higher Education beginning F03. the Union City Pet Hospital as an office York City.
Courtney Hall is teaching middle school manager and technician in Union City, PA. Robin Falcone graduated with M.A.L.A.
English for the Happauge School District on She married in May 2003 to Brian R. from St. Johns College in 1998. She
Long Island. Chapman, DVM. They recently purchased a received her AMI Montessori Certification
Sueann Hockenberry is teaching in the home in Union City, PA, where Brian has a and her M.Ed. from Loyola College in 2001.
Rochester, NY area. private veterinary practice. She is currently teaching Montessori in
Tim Schaffer will be completing a one year Kim Tanico is the Director of Special Hingham, MA.
College Ministry Intership un Potsdam, NY Events at the American Cancer Society in Robin_falcone@hotmail.com
with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Parsippany, NJ, after a move from Buffalo. Michael McAuliffe is a drama instructor at
Julie Walinski will be attending the She recently got engaged and will be getting St. Anthonys High School in Melville, NY.
Masters program at the U of R (Fall 03) married in August 2003. He married Mary Ellen Bullock in August
where she has been offered full tuition and Kimberly.tanico@cancer.org 2002 and spends his time acting and
very generous scholarship. Matthew VanHouten is living with his directing regional theater.
Louis Wittiig is attending the Masters of wife, Carrie, in Fort Lee, NJ, and has been Jedil2006@aol.com
Professional Writing Program at USC. hired as Vice President Product Manager Jennifer Rossi earned her MA in literature
working for Treasury and Securities at the University of North Carolina at
2001 Services for JP Morgan Chase in Manhattan. Charlotte in 1998. She is currently working
April L. Deis is currently employed with He plans to study for his MBA ASAP. on her dissertation as she finishes her Ph.D.
Measurement Inc. grading standardized test in American Studies with a concentration in
essays from around the country. She plans 1998 Womens Studies at the University at
to continue in this line of work until her Craig Hinchcliffe is attending St. Johns Buffalo. She also teaches several courses at
book is finished. Graduate Institute, He would love to be a UB as a teaching assistant.
Hondo M. Humberstone is currently College Professor and is working hard to jcrossi@acsu.buffalo.com
teaching English to emotionally disturbed select a precise field of study. Stephanie (Schlau) Sarwal is a full-time
students in grades 9-12. Two nights a week chinchcl@sjca.edu mother to her son Job, after leaving the
he teaches a GED/ABE course. This practice of law. She currently resides in
summer he will be teaching English 1997 Silver Spring, MD. sschlau@umich.edu
composition at Genesee Community College Laurie Kirkpatrick is an Assistant Director
for the Upward Bound Program. He will of Major Gifts at Harvard Medical School. 1994
also be continuing with graduate work at In October 2002 she married Steven Carty Beth A. (Dingman) Claps earned her M.A.
Nazareth College in Literary Education. and they are currently living in Brighton, + 60 August 2002. She had son, Kyle
hondosola@hotmail.com MA. Laurie_Kirkpatrick@hms.harvard.edu Joseph, on October 24, 2002 (7lbs., 19 1/2).
Skye Suttie is an assistant to the Editor for a Jen Oyer King is currently employed full-
local newspaper in Syosset, NY. She is 1996 time as an associate faculty member
applying to graduate school to obtain her Colleen (Coulter) Gabauer is currently teaching in the Education Division of Bethel
MA in British Literature and perhaps a working on her Doctorate at the University College in Mishawaka, IN. She became a
Ph.D. Mariposa914@yahoo.com of Rochesters Warner School of Education National Board Certified teacher in 2000.
Jennifer Thompson is studying at NYU in and Human Development. She earned a Her first child, Emmanuel (Manny), was
their Masters program. Master of Arts in English at Seton Hall born April 11, 2002.
University in 1999. She is currently kingj@bethelcollege.edu
2000 employed as a freelance editor in Beaver
Wendi Hoffenberg is currently employed as Falls, PA. 1993
a school librarian for students K-8 in the Tracy Strauss is an Instructor of Writing at Ben Doon tells us he is currently mapping
Pawling Central School District. She earned Bostons University College of Arts and roads and trails in the Rio Grande National
her MLS in May 2001 from Syracuse Sciences (where she continues to collect a Forest which puts him in the mountains
University. lot of writing materialwho needs an doing field work about 4 days a week.
Heather Peck is currently employed at imagination when there is real life from ben@coloradowild.org
Career Strategiers Inc. as a project manager. which to draw??). She recently made a Corrine McKay teaches French in a school
She graduated from Emerson College in cameo appearance team-teaching Hum I at outside Boston. She fondly remembers
December 2002 with an MA in writing, Geneseo during Summer session, taking Laura Doan and other Geneseo faculty who
literature, and publishing. She recently some time to smell the roses, see the valley taught in creative, interesting ways. She
helped her employer self-publish her book, (live in a residence hall), go to Wegmans enjoyed a 1 year honeymoon to SE Asia,
Ask...How to Get What You Want and /WalMart, climb the hills, and have a few Australia and Switzerland and took some
Need at Work available at Amazon.com. chats with some of her favorite English time off to freelance write and start a family
Hpeck@hotmail.com Dept. residents like Marie, Michele, Ron, in Fall 2002.
Jill Kissick is excited to be returning to and Gene. tracelement96@yahoo.com
school at Temple University in the African Kate Woods is a media/entertainment
American Ph.D. program. In addition she attorney in New York City after a move
was offered a generous Future Faculty from Los Angeles. mk.woods@verizon.net
Fellowship award.
From the Chair.
Dr. Richard Finkelstein

Thanks to your help, we have had a wonderfully active year in the English Department. Faculty members
continue to be energized by our present and past students. We are excited to be building a strong community in
Geneseo, and increasingly through electronic media, with former students who have become current friends.
This year saw the founding of the Geneseo Literary Forum by Professor Rachel Hall and other members of the
Department. The Forum now serves as the umbrella organization for bringing visiting speakers to the department. The
stepped-up schedule of fiction writers, essayists, and poets brought to campus was made possible largely through
donations that alumni designated to the department.
Our film minor is up and running and we continue to expand our instructional collection of films on DVD and
VHS. They don't just support courses in Film: I never thought Id have the opportunity to screen clips from a brilliant
film version of Shakespeares once obscure Titus Andronicus, but I did just that in Shakespeare II this spring. We
received a generous contribution from retired Professor Sarah Watts in support of activities connected with the program
that has helped us move forward with a host of new courses. Happily, we now find ourselves desperately in need of a
secure storage area for our growing film collection and have begun preliminary discussions about adapting an existing
space.
Ive been delighted to see our students engage in the kinds of community service activities central to the college
mission of a public liberal arts college. With the help of Professor Mary Gillin, the English Honor Society Sigma Tau
Delta organized a poetry reading at a local nursing home and did a benefit for the local library. We are sponsoring a
growing number of internships, including one with BOA, the distinguished publisher of poetry based in Rochester.
Professor Wes Kennison, who is also the Geneseo Town Supervisor, is hard at work finding internship settings for our
students with local community groups. As people are doing at other top colleges and universities, I am actively seeking
financial support that will at the very least allow students to be reimbursed for the commuting expenses to these jobs,
positions that benefit the community and provide opportunities after graduation. Speaking of new support for students, I
am delighted to tell you that a generous new merit scholarship has been endowed for an incoming senior in memory of
Natalie Selser Freed, mother of Professor Walter Freed.
This year of new opportunities has also been a year of transition. Rita Gollin, one of the two SUNY
Distinguished Professors who has served the Department, retired last spring after 35 years at Geneseo. One of the
worlds most distinguished Hawthorne scholars, Professor Gollin may have stopped teaching, but she has just brought
out a new book and is still a strong presence at national conferences on American Literature. I am very sad, though, to
tell you that Professor Don Watt died last summer after a long illness. We miss Don deeply. Since his memorial service,
we have received many messages from students who cherish the wisdom that he shared with them.
Perhaps the best part of my job is hearing from youinterested members of the department communityabout
what youre doing. Ive had a great time answering e-mails from people I once knew and many that Ive never met,
including alumni whose time at Geneseo long precedes mine. Everyone here is thrilled to receive your messages. We're
delighted to hear that our graduates are following diverse paths and leading interesting lives. Send any messages to
finkelst@geneseo.edu. Thanks again for your help and support, with

Best wishes for the coming year,


Alumni News Is No News Without You. tell us about yourself, wed like to know
Name: _________________________________________ Date graduated: _________________
Email: ______________________________ May we share your email with other Alumni? ________
Home address: __________________________________________________________________
Employment & title: ______________________________________________________________

My news is: _____________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Would you be interested in mentoring a current English major? _______________________________


If yes, how would you prefer to be contacted:
By Department or Student: ____________________________________________________
Preferred method of contact (mail, phone, email, etc.): ________________________________
Other info: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Return to: Department of English, SUNY Geneseo * 1 College Circle, Welles 226 * Geneseo, NY 14454

Depa rt men t of English An nua l Fun d

Please consider supporting the Department of English students and faculty in their pursuit of a high quality
education with your tax deductible contribution. Matching gifts from your place of business are also welcome.

Yes, I want to invest in the Department of English


$100 $50 $25 Other $________

My check made payable to SUNY Geneseo Foundation-Department of English is enclosed.

Please charge my credit card $____________ VISA Mastercard

Name on Card: _________________________________ CARD # _________________


Exp. Date: ________________ Approved Signature: _____________________________

I am eligible for a matching gift. MY matching form is:

Enclosed Will Follow

Return to: Department of English, SUNY Geneseo * 1 College Circle, Welles 226 * Geneseo, NY 14454

Return to: Department of English, SUNY Geneseo * 1 College Observer


The Peripatetic Circle * Geneseo, NY 14454
Department of English Newsletter
Editor * Dr. Walter B. Freed Jr.
Associate Editor * Michele E. Feeley
Visit us on the Web: http://english.geneseo.edu
Alumni News (cont.)
1993 (cont.)
Kristina Petty is currently employed as a Derek Owens is a recently tenured
catering coordinatior at the Lenox Hotel in Associate Professor and Director of the
Brooklne, MA. She is utilizing her Writing Center at St. Johns University in 1973
certificate in Meeting Management from Queens, NYC. He is the author of Leslie (Ferris) Haggstrom is completing
Bentley College at Bostons oldest luxury Composition and Sustainability: Teaching her fourth year as an Assistant County
hotel. Her duties include sales, marketing, for a Threatened Generation (NCTE Press, Attorney in Allegany County, NY
and customer service. The best part is the Refiguring English Studies Series, 2001), prosecuting abuse and neglect in family
hotels location next to Bostons Public and Resisting Writings (and the boundaries courts. She graduated from UB law school
Library. ktpetty@canada.com of Composition) (Southern Methodist UP, in 1977. She is active in the United
1994). He is currently living on Long Island Methodist Church with many volunteer
with his wife, fellow Geneseo alum (1985) activities, painting, quilting, and gardening.
1992
Teresa Hewitt, and 8 year-old son, Ryan. haggstlj@alleganyco.com
Vasant Marathe recently completed a
owensd@optonline.net or
successful year at a magnet school in inner
owensd@stjohns.edu 1972
city Knoxville, TN. He spent summer 2002
reflecting and refreshing himself before Carolyn Vang Schuler, Ph.D. is currently
beginning research on a novel about cheese. 1981 employed in the Monroe County Library
He is currently attending graduate school for Stuart Strickland received a Masters of system. She is the publisher of Choices: A
a Masters and has already completed his Science in Information Science from the Core Collection for Young Reluctant
M.S. in Elementary Education. University of Pittsburgh in August 2001. He Readers, (John Gordon Burke Publishers,
maratheV@aol.com is active in promoting urban mass transit to Carolyn Schuler/Shawn Brommer,
Jennifer (Seymour) Sommer has been Pittsburghs middle class, when not riding Compilers and editors, 2001, vol. 5). In
teaching English at Reszel Middle School in his unicycle. stusarah@telerama.com 2001, she participated in a two-week
the North Tonawanda City School District Childrens Literature Symposium in China.
for six years. With her husband Brett, she 1979 cvschuler@juno.com
has a daughter, Abigail and a son, Jacob. David Glerum is presently Music Director
of WMFE-FM in Orlando, FL, program 1971
annotator for the Orlando Philharmonic and Karen L. (Kosty) Stover is currently
1991
the Daytona Beach Symphony Society. He employed at the Pickerington Public Library
Allison Hasting is currently employed as a
was recently elected to a three-year term as a as a Head Reference/Research Librarian.
technical documentation coordinator for
member of the Board of Directors of After receiving her Masters in Library
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She
AMPPR, the Association of Music Science. She assisted local authors in
received her MS in Technical
Personnel in Public Radio. Columbus, OH, with their research. She has
Communication from RPI.
ahasting@nycap.rr.com also written articles for local papers and
1978 library procedures handbooks. She has
Lisa Schalk is a freelance writer and mother enjoyed teaching internet classes to public
1990
of three in New York City. adult book talks. Karlouise@hotmail.com
Teresa Andreoli is working as a writer for a
schalkie@aol.com
business magazine in NYC.
tandreoli@advanstar.com 1966
1977 Stephan P. Clarke retired from the
Michael Murphy received his MA in Spencerport Central School District in 1999.
1989
writing at Maharish University in 1993. He He is now working on the second edition of
Lisa (Maddison) Fingar has been a
is currently teaching technology and The Lord Peter Wimsey Companion, an
marketing coordinator at SWBR Architects
multimedia in the Education Department at encyclopedic annotation of the Lord Peter
for the past six years. She has been in
Maharish University. short stories and novels. He is also working
marketing positions since graduation and
mmurphy@mum.edu to create a genealogy for his daughter, Erin
credits her major in English as a benefit to
Elaine Shaughnessy is a Senior Staff 2000 grad). He travels in Europe with wife
her employers. She has two children, Erin, 5
Analyst in the Computer Technology Mary Hawley '66. sclarke@rochester.rr.com
and Kyle, 18 months.
Department at Citibanks The Student Loan
lisafingar@yahoo.com
Corp. in Rochester, NY. 1964
Denise Romano received an MFA in
writing and poetics (she studied with Allen George Wilkerson is presently employed as
Ginsberg), went on to get MA in 1974 a technical editor at General Electric's
Organizational Psychology and an EdM in Helene Siskind Parsons is a gagwriter for Global Research Center in Schenectady. He
Counseling Psychology from Columbia, and syndicated and non-syndicated cartoonists. also teaches classes online for Southern New
now has a dream job at Hudson River Park In addition to writing for The Lockhorns, Hampshire University and he owns and
Trust in NYC, where she's Director of cartoons containing her gags have sold to manages a commercial website. He has
Human Resources and Organizational Harvard Business Review, Barrons, three books in print-- one a college textbook,
Development and Training. Readers Digest, USA Weekend, Parade, and one a trade book for business managers, one
Better Homes & Gardens. a collection of short stories. He completed
Pars111@hotmail.com his Masters in Creative Writing at Syracuse
1987
Claire Morgan is currently employed in the and his PhD in Ed at U of Texas in Austin.
Linda Poe (Tamasy) is a self-employed
Genesee Wyoming Catholic Central School gwilkers@nycap.rr.com
interior designer in Palm Bay, Florida. She
District in Attica, NY. After completing a
completed her post-graduate work in art-
Masters program with Empire College in
interior design, and obtained her BFA in
1995, she was employed as a substitute
1992. She is married with two children, a
teacher in local schools, and as a sales
boy and a girl, ages 7 and 2.
assistant at Radio Shack. She recently
completed her first year teaching the fourth
1985 grade.
Marc DiPaolo is attending Drew Univeristy.
Sigma Tau Delta
Geneseos chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International
English Honor Society, has continued its efforts to become more
active in the department, the campus, and the community. This
years induction ceremony was held in the Walter Harding Lounge
on October 24 and upped the clubs enrollment to twenty-five
members. Professor Greenfield gave the ceremonys key-note
speech and the event was presided over by members of STDs e-
board.
Since the induction, STD has become more active in the
Geneseo community. On April 11, STD helped the Wadsworth
Library prepare for their annual book sale. Along with members
from other organizations on campus, STD worked throughout the
afternoon setting up tables and hauling books out of storage. That
evening the group baked cookies and breads for an STD-funded
bake sale, held the next day. The bake sale, which was the first one
ever to be held in conjunction with the book sale, made $65 for the
librarys childrens collection.
The group also made its first trip to the Geneseo Assisted
Living Facility on Lakeville Road this April. Participating members
joined an intimate group of residents to read and discuss poetry. By
the end of the afternoon, residents at the facility had even recited a
poem or two for the students!
Sigma Tau Delta is in the process of electing new officers
for next year to carry on the groups activities and to continue our
efforts to become an active, positive force in Geneseo.

English Club ~Jennifer Poggiali


This semester has been an extremely successful one for the
Geneseo English Club. We held two used book-sales in the Union
Lobby, raising nearly $100! Along with funds from the Academic
Affairs Committee (AAC), the club was able to print out copies of
OPUS, the club's first to-be-annual literary magazine.
Although most of our efforts have been concentrated on
fund-raising, soliciting, collecting, selecting, editing, and organizing
submissions for OPUS, we've also had a lot of fun. We went to see
"The Boys of Syracuse" on campus and, more recently, had a poetry
sharing time on the college green.
Questions, Comments, Donations?

We meet on weekly and our website is


http://www.geneseo.edu/~englclub/

Heidi Angstrom, President

Standing before the marble pediment of the Parthenon of Athens (financed by Pericles and swallowed by the British
Museum), Geneseo students contemplate politics, history, economics, art, imperialism, and Romantic poetry during the
2003 Literature in London Museums January class with Dr. Julia Walker.
2003 English Department Honors and Awards

Graduating Senior Awards


The William T. Beauchamp Literature Award
Heidi E. Bollinger & Katherine Fusco
The Patricia Conrad Lindsay Memorial Award
Jennifer Poggiali
The Rosalind R. Fisher Award for Student Teaching in English
Whitney Reed
The Walter Harding American Studies Award
John Egan
The Calvin Israel Award in the Humanities
Kevin Fryling
The Joseph M. OBrien Memorial Award
Deanna Trella

Scholarships
The Hans Gottschalk Award
Class of 2003: Heidi Bollinger & Marie Bonarski
Class of 2004: Mary Jane DiStasio
Class of 2005: Rue Kenyon
The Walter Harding Memorial Scholarship
Robert Allen
The Joseph O'Brien Transfer Scholarship
Mark Dibble
The Cook/Herzman Senior Scholarship
Colleen Butler
The Natalie Selser Freed Memorial Scholarship
Jessica Curran
The Don Watt Memorial Scholarship
Sarah Callahan
Annual Writing Awards
The Jrme de Romanet Award in African American Studies
Kate Ann Steinnagel
The Creative Non-Fiction Award
First place: Marianne Joy Upham
Second place: Michael Sheehan
The John H. Parry Award in Critical Essay
First place: Heidi E. Bollinger
Second place: Janine Giordano
The C. Agnes Rigney Award in Drama
First place: Jennifer B. Poggiali
Second place: Michael Chin
The Lucy Harmon Award in Fiction
First place: Beth Wasnock
Second place: Ashley Pankratz
Third place: Ben Stein
The Mary A. Thomas Award in Poetry
First place: Katherine Fusco
Second place: Jesse Curran
Third place: ben valentin
Annual Cover Design: Anna Balok
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
Department of English PAID
SUNY Geneseo Geneseo, NY
1 College Circle, Welles 226 14454
Geneseo, NY 14454
Permit No. 1

In Loving Memory of Dr. Donald Watt He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one;
1938 - 2002 Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading,
And to those that sought him, sweet as summer.
~~William Shakespeare, Henry VIII

Dr. Watt came to Geneseo in 1967 and served as Professor of English until 2002. He acted as English Department Chair from 1984 through 1993. He was
recognized with the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1981. He was a husband and father, a master teacher, an authoritative Aldous Huxley scholar,
and a tireless mentor to students and junior faculty alike. Above all he was a friend.
In November of last year the department met to remember Dr. Watt formally. Students, friends, colleagues and the family of Dr. Watt held a simple
memorial at the Campus House on Main Street in Geneseo. We gathered, shared uplifting stories of our friend, listened to traditional
Celtic music played on the violin, read from Dr. Watt's favorite books, and ate Twinkies. Legend has it that Dr. Watt's lunch
was very often a vending machine Twinkie. It had all the makings to become a sad affair. Someone had died, we were
gathering on a dreary cold day to remember him and to say goodbye. How many times do we console ourselves by saying
that we are really gathering to celebrate the life of the deceased, and then end up being sad anyway when we realize
they are gone forever? For some reason this was not the case at Dr. Watt's memorial. I suspect the reason was Dr.
Watt himself, that his very nature defies sadness. We felt like he was there. We expected him to pop his beanie-
capped head out from the corner and say, ironically, "Who died!?!" Instead of thinking of him as gone, we thought of
all he gave, and how much better we all were for having known him.
Students, faculty, family, and friends shared stories of Dr. Watt and being in his company. Dr. Ken Asher told
us about his interview experience with Dr. Watt for his job at Geneseo. Dr. Ashers plane had come in late from
California and Dr. Watt picked him up from the airport and took him to Livingston Lanes, the only late night eatery at the time,
and had Buffalo wings specially prepared. Knowing that Dr. Asher was a Californian and not accustomed to WNY deep fried
delicacies, Dr. Watt postponed the interview for a few hours to give Dr. Asher time to recoup. Dr. Ron Herzman shared stories of Dr. Watt
as a basketball teammate and Boston Celtic enthusiast. I shared stories of Dr. Watts habitual wearing of a beanie cap and Birkenstocks with dress socks. Another
student, Marie Bonarski, remembered Dr. Watts characteristic facial contortions and his love for the dry humor found in the deepest recesses of Dickens novels.
The most remarkable thing that I have found since I began writing about Dr. Watt is that everyone tells the same story about him. I asked alumni, faculty,
students, and family for stories about him that I could share in this piece. Everyone spoke about the same traits- his humor, his compassion, his dedication to students,
and his eagerness to help. Dr. Watt treated every person he met in exactly the same way. That is the definition of integrity, said Dr. Ed Gillin. I wish I could have
learned more from Dr. Watt. I would have been a better person for it. We will all miss Dr. Watt. His memory will live on in all of the people that he touched over his
long tenure at Geneseo. His example lives on in our reading and thinking, in our leadership of others, and in all of the bad jokes that we tell at work.
Thank you Dr. Watt,
Jonathan W. Senchyne

Please note: Dr. Watts family has requested that any memorials in his honor be donated to the Geneseo Foundation and designated to the English Department.

S-ar putea să vă placă și