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Chair: Kent Baxter
Notes compiled by: Kate Haake
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Announcements:
Announcing (drum roll) an exciting exciting new year-long (inaugural?) film series, Reimagining Narrative, co-curated by Chris Higgs and (MA student) Katharine Mason. Launched September 23, with David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, the series continues on Friday, October 14, with Věra Chytilová’s Daisies, a Czech New Wave film from 1966 that has been described as “an aesthetically and politically adventurous film that’s widely considered one of the great works of feminist cinema.” This series is free and open to the public, and takes place in the LNJ Room (JR 319), at 7:00 p.m. Screenings will be introduced and contextualized prior to viewing, with open discussion to follow. Stay tuned for details about future events. For more information, contact Professor Higgs at christopher.higgs@csun.edu.
The COPD (Career Opportunities and Professional Development) group is pleased to announce an event that will explore graduate options in creative writing, with a special look at the difference between MFA and PhD programs. This event features guest speakers, Chris Higgs and Rick Mitchell, and will take place on Tuesday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m., in ST 703. All are welcome — grads, undergrads, faculty. Come see what the future may hold for you and/or your students.
The Faculty Retreat Planning Committee is pleased to announce that the 2017 Faculty Retreat will take place on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please save the date if you’d like to attend. Proposals are invited from those who’d like to address faculty and student success that contributes to the reputation and visibility of CSUN. The deadline for proposals is October 17, and the online proposal form is available at http://www.csun.edu/faculty-senate/faculty-retreat-proposals.
Reminders:
Do not forget: we are in Open Enrollment season, which extends through next Friday, October 7. No action is required if you do not plan to make any changes in your benefits. But if, for example, you want to take advantage of our pre-tax childcare or health care benefits, you do need to re-enroll.
As previously announced, the Santa Monica Review Fall 2016 launch reading is taking place Sunday, October 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The evening will feature a welcome and introduction by poet, teacher, and activist, Susan Suntree, and readings by Monona Wali, Richard Wirick, Michelle Latiolais, and Kate Haake, who will be introduced by our very own Sean Pessin. (Thank you, Sean.)
Opportunities:
This one’s for students: The Oakland Arts Review, an undergraduate literary magazine published by Oakland University in Michigan, is looking for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, scripts, graphic narratives, as well as artwork for our cover. There is no submission fee and students can submit online at their website: www.oaklandartsreview.com. Submissions are accepted year round, but they will start considering work in October and will finalize decisions for their second issue by November. They are also excited to offer the Hajja Razia Sharif Sheikh Prize in Poetry and Nonfiction, recognizing work that addresses the experience of being Muslim in America. First prize in each category, $500 and publication; second prize, $300 and publication. Please let your students know.
The George Bennett Fellowship at Phillips Exeter Academy will be accepting applications from October 1 through November 30. Designed to support emerging writers at a critical stage in their careers, the award provides the 2016-17 Fellow with a stipend of $15,570, plus housing, meals, and benefits. The duties of the Fellow are to work towards the completion of a manuscript of a book, and to be accessible, at times, for conversation with students interested in writing during the time the Fellow is in residence at Exeter. Sounds great! More information can be found at www.exeter.edu/bennettfellowship.
Achievements:
Martin Pousson’s new novel-in-stories, Black Sheep Boy, was featured at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, and he moderated the “Southern Reads” panel during the Trade Show in Savannah, Georgia. He was the featured book club author for Diesel Bookstore in Brentwood. And he read from Black Sheep Boy for Tongue & Groove at The Hotel Café in Hollywood.