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Chair: Kent Baxter
Notes compiled by: Kate Haake

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Announcements

Today, April 25, at 7:30 p.m., in JR 319, CSUN poets are hosting a book launch and poetry reading for Deborah Blakely Averill’s posthumous chapbook, Lovelier Than Dirt. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, and a portion of the proceeds from all sales of this book will be donated to the Deborah Averill Scholarship Fund. And if you can’t make it tonight, the book can be purchased at https://www.yakpress.com/product/lovelier-than-dirt/.

On Saturday, May 4, the English Department is proud to present its 2nd annual English Alumni Faculty Lecture Series. The event will take place in the USU Lake View Terrace Room from 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature Professors Michael Bryson and Anthony Dawahare talking about their new books. Dr. Michael Bryson will present material from two projects: his recent book, Love and its Critics, co-authored with former CSUN MA student Arpi Movsesian, and his forthcoming book, The Humanist (Re)Turn. Central to each book is the question of the value of literature, and the often hostile relationship professional literary scholarship and theoretically-based criticism has to that literature. Dr. Anthony Dawahare will discuss his recently published book, Tillie Olsen and the Dialectical Philosophy of Proletarian Literature. This book analyzes the impact of one of the most important philosophies of the last century, dialectical materialism, on the form and content of Olsen’s fiction. The event will also feature Professor Eric Kufs, independent singer/songwriter, as well as CSUN alum and faculty member, who will perform live along with the company of his guitar. Light food and refreshments will be served, and a cash bar available!

On Wednesday, May 8, the English Department’s Career Opportunity and Professional Development Club and Sigma Tau Delta will host a hands on workshop, Preparing for the Work Force. In it, English students will be mentored through the writing of professional job documents, including, but not limited to, letters, cv’s, and resumes. The workshop will take place in JR 319, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Please help spread the word.

The MA hooding ceremony will take place on Friday, May 17, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., with our year-end graduation reception and awards ceremony to follow, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please save the date and plan to come out and celebrate our students and their achievements.

Reminders

Don’t forget that spring is award time, with a host of English department awards available to qualified students. Undergraduate awards are the Henry Van Slooten Scholarship in English ($500), the Linda Nichols Joseph English Merit Scholarship ($2000), the Lesley Johnstone Memorial Award ($500), the Robert apRoberts English Honors Essay Prize $250), the William L. Wilson Award ($1,600), the Philip E. Love English 205 Scholarship ($500); graduate awards are the Professor Mitchell Marcus Prize in English ($4,000), the Mahlon Gaumer Award ($500), the Harry Finestone Award in English ($750), the Irene Clark Scholarship for Rhetoric and Composition ($500), the Angeline Olliff Memorial Scholarship ($250), and the Deborah Averill Award in Creative Writing ($250). These awards recognize different achievements and honor different people of note in the history and tradition of our department, but all are very meaningful to students, so please consider nominating your best and brightest, and encourage such students to apply. The deadline for all awards is Friday, April 26, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. For more information, see https://www.csun.edu/humanities/english/english-department-awards—spring-2018, or contact Leilani Hall, Chair, Amenities and Awards Committee, at leilani.hall@csun.edu.

Also, don’t forget Sharon Klein’s retirement party, which is taking place tomorrow, Friday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m., in JR 319. Jointly hosted by English and Linguistics/TESL, the event celebrates Sharon’s long and distinguished career at CSUN, and, despite likely tears, a good time will be had by all. Hoping to see everyone there.