Hardcore English Geek

John Keats film, Bright Star, to be released 2009!

Hi all! Just wanted to share a link to the trailer for Jane Campions film, Bright Star, to be released in 2009. This film is based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which was cut short by Keats' untimely death at age 25.

Enjoy!

Oh, and P.S. Ben Wishaw=amazing actor.

Aug 5 Meeting on Conference; Alumnus Speaker

We’re starting to ramp up for the new year at our next meeting, Wednesday August 5 in MRCN 217. The business meeting will be from 5:30 until 6:15, then our speaker, UTB Alumnus and A&M PhD Candidate Chris Carmona, will speak to us until about 7:00 on his experience finding and being in a PhD program.

One of this year’s big projects is our conference on February 20. We’ll need to make some decisions next Wednesday since things need to get rolling as soon as possible. Among the other details, we’ll need to elect chairs for the conference. Start thinking about roles you want to volunteer for and other people you think are good fits for certain roles. The positions to be voted in are:

• Co-Chair (2)
• Area Chairs (British Lit, American Lit, Creative Writing, Rhet/Comp, Other)
• Program Chair
• Facilities Chair
• Communications Chair
• Webmaster

We are also going to be shooting around ideas for the conference theme, possible speakers for the conference, and developments for our new journal.

Even though the fall semester hasn’t begun, I hope you can make it. It’s going to be an exciting year with lots of opportunities for fun and career development opportunities.

Also, sign up for a blogger account on this blog. That way you can add your own snarky (or useful) comments and content!

Special Treat in Store for Next EGADS! Meeting

I highly recommend the upcoming EGADS! meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Mary Rose Cardnas Hall North 217. Chris Carmona, who earned his master's degree in English from UTB/TSC and who is currently in Texas A&M's English Ph.D. program, will be speaking. Chris has a lot of expertise in beat writers. He wrote his master's thesis on Joan Vollmer, who is primarily known as William S. Burrough's wife. Chris will relate his experiences in getting admitted into a Ph.D. program and what it is like in such a program.

Brownsville Writer to Debut Novel

The fall semester must be getting close to starting. Brownsville native Oscar Casares will read and sign copies of his book, “Amigoland” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6 at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.

UTB/TSC will also host a book reading and signing at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the bookstore for Hispanic Heritage Month.

For those who have read it, Casares, a writer professor at UT Austin, is the author of a fantastic collection of short stories entitled, "Brownsville." I highly recommend it.