I S S U E I V O L U M E 1

The Newsletter fromthe English Department

University ofMassachusetts

Lowell

BY KATHERINE CONLON

Gigi Thibodeau has had many jobs, butnone has taken her far from being a writer.She says, “Most writers need a day job.”

Prior to teaching at UMass Lowell as anadjunct faculty member, which she startedin 2001, Thibodeau was a creative-writingadult-education teacher, an ESL instructor,and even a trained chef. She has lived inmost of the New England states, in Vir-ginia, and in the Midwest, providing a richset of subjects and experiences on whichshe bases her writing. She has recentlycompleted a poetry manuscript calledLearning to Tell Time, and has started anew one. Her poem “Ouija-Board Rules”was a finalist for the James Wright PoetryAward, and is forthcoming in the Mid-American Review.

Among many other roles both on andoff campus, Thibodeau was chosen as thisyear’s Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence.Department Chairperson Melissa Pennellsaid, “A principal function of the writer inresidence is to offer one of our creativewriting classes and to work closely withstudents as they develop their own voicesand talents.”

The position is funded by the Provost’sOffice and John Sampas, who is both therepresentative for Jack Kerouac’s estateand Kerouac’s brother-in-law. The EnglishDepartment community is appreciative ofthe continued and generous support ofMr. Sampas in establishing the Writer-in-Residence program at UMass Lowell.

The program was established in 2001 tohonor Jack Kerouac by supporting writersin the community. It was founded by Sam-pas along with Professors Hilary Holladayand William Roberts. Sampas said, “I amdelighted to have this relationship with theUniversity and to be able to support writersand artists within the English Department.It has been very successful and I hope tocontinue contributing as long as I am able.”

Professor of English and member of theselection committee Marlowe Miller said of

choosing Thibodeau, “In addition to ourdesire to highlight and support the writingof such a talented poet, Gigi was also se-lected for her extraordinary and innovativework in helping to build the ‘creative econ-omy’ of both the University and the city ofLowell through the Urban Village ArtsSeries (UVAS), which Gigi has helped toshape. In 2007 through 2008, Gigi was thepublic face of UVAS, and saw every eventand project through at every stage, includ-ing the six regular annual events, otherspecial events, and the ‘Live from theUrban Village’ double-CD project.”

At that time, UVAS was a centerpiece ofthe Department’s outreach initiatives. It in-creased the number of students involved inthe life of downtown Lowell. Miller said,“Her CD project helped to gather studentsand faculty across disciplines—English, Art,and Sound Recording Technology—in aproductive relationship with each other andbetween the University and the city, and ina way that materially benefitted both un-dergraduate and graduate students in all ofthese disciplines, as well as businesses inLowell.”

2009 Writer in Residence

Continued on page 4Continued on page 7

Adjunct faculty member and 2009 Writer-in-Residence, Gigi Thibodeau

Visiting Scholarin the EnglishDepartmentGuihua Zhang was the English Depart-ment’s visiting scholar for the Fall 2008-Spring 2009 academic year. She is aprofessor at the Inner Mongolia Universityof Technology, a multidisciplinary institu-tion specializing in science and technology.Ms. Zhang joined us from Huhhot, thecapital of Inner Mongolia AutonomousRegion of China.

Through a professor in the PhysicsDepartment, Zhang got in touch withEnglish Department Professors MelissaPennell and Todd Avery to arrange forher stay here at UMass Lowell. She is anEnglish as a Foreign Language teacher whowas interested in learning more about theDepartment’s teaching methods and studiesin English and American Literature. Whileat UMass Lowell, she researched Englishteaching methodologies and applied linguis-tics. She also conducted a project in oralEnglish teaching techniques and observedhow technology/multi-media and textbooksare used here in teaching English courses.For her research, she attended such classesas Undergraduate Seminar in TeachingWriting, History of American LiteratureI and II, Monsters, Apes, and Nightmares,Oral Communication, College Writing Iand II ESL. She exchanged her teachingexperiences with professors in the EnglishDepartment, and took part in facultysalons and meetings held by the EnglishDepartment.

This past fall, her SALON presentationat UMass Lowell, “Inner Mongolia andMongolian Culture,” focused on herknowledge of the Inner Mongolian region,culture, education, history, and nationali-ties represented. Professor Zhang also tookpart in some cultural and social activities atHarvard University.

After being here for six months andmaking many observations, Ms. Zhang rec-ognized many similarities and differencesbetween her institution in Inner Mongoliaand UMass Lowell. She said, “The teachingmethods are similar and we offer similarcourses. But, we have many more studentsin our classes. And we need to take care ofmore details. We cannot offer as much dis-cussion. Also, at UMass Lowell, the profes-sors assign homework every week, but atmy school, besides homework, we havemore tests and we have one major paperdue upon graduation. Also, our professorsof College English Writing follow the samesyllabus as everyone else. “

2 The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Hi,

I hope you enjoy reading this issue of The Tatler, the new English Departmentnewsletter. Much has happened in the English Department over the last few yearsand we thought this would be a good way to share some of our news with you.We also hope that you will share some of your news with us—in future issues of thenewsletter an alumni updates column will appear. If you have something you’d like toinclude, please send it to me at Melissa_Pennell@uml.edu or to our staff assistant,Katherine Conlon, at Katherine_Conlon@uml.edu (Katherine’s position in thedepartment is one of the positive changes we have enjoyed).

So what has been happening in the department? In the last five years, we have hired 6 new facultymembers who bring energy, enthusiasm, and new ideas to our program and activities. You’ll meet a couple ofthem in this issue. A number of faculty members have been publishing books, articles, and reviews, deliveringconference papers, and working with student groups—some of their activities are described in the “FacultyHighlights” column. This year, for the first time, we hosted an international visiting scholar—I’m sure you’llenjoy reading more about Guihua Zhang and her experiences here at UMass Lowell. In the last five years,we have also seen significant growth in the number of English majors, going from 154 majors in Fall 2003 to246 this spring. It is exciting to see the enthusiasm our majors have for the study of literature and the craft ofwriting—we hope to add a concentration in Theatre Arts to the major as well. Students in the Departmentcontinue to produce The Offering through the Literary Society, and our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the Eng-lish honor society, holds the Tales for Tots children’s book drive each December. The Off-Broadway Playershave done three full-scale productions this year, including the challenging play The Pillowman by Martin Mc-Donagh. The Department has introduced a Common Text program for first year students and has workedwith the Concord Festival of Authors to host literary events here on campus.

Many people contributed material for this newsletter, but I especially want to thank Katherine Conlonand English major Alyssa Carrigan for their hard work in developing articles and pulling this all together.It wouldn’t have happened without their dedicated efforts.

I will close with good wishes and a reminder that you are always welcome at department events,

Melissa M. Pennell

P.S. Many of you recognize the name of the newsletter as a nod to the work of Richard Steele. Do you knowunder what title the collected issues of The Tatler appeared in 1710-11?

Chat with the Chair

UML English Department NewsletterVolume 1 Issue 1May 2009

Writing Staff:Alyssa Carrigan, Practicum StudentKatherine Conlon, Staff AssistantEric Hultgren, English MajorPeter Maskaluk, English MajorKrista Perry, English Major

Editorial Staff:Mary Kramer, ProfessorMelissa Pennell, English Department ChairJeannie Sargent Judge, Professor

Special thanks to Mary Lou Hubbell, Keith Finch,and Vicky Dalis in the Publications Office forcoordinating the formatting process for TheTatler. Also, thank you to all of the EnglishDepartment faculty and staff for submittingstory items and input.

Do you have story items, questions, orcomments about the newsletter? If so,please contact us!

Mailing Address:UMass Lowell English Department61 Wilder StreetLowell, MA 01854Phone: 978-934-4182

Email: Katherine_Conlon@uml.eduWeb: http://www.uml.edu/english

3The Tatler—SPRING 2009

BY ALYSSA CARRIGAN

The Off-Broadway Players is one of thelargest student run clubs on campus andtheir performances can be seen at theComley-Lane Theater in Mahoney Hall.I sat with the faculty advisor, Nancy Selleck,to get some background on the group. Shetold me the students put on three perform-ances a year, one of which is always a musi-cal. Officers are elected and the studentsactually hire professional directors anddesigners to help with the shows. Thecurrent officers are: Annie Drewello(President), Nani Swaminathan (VicePresident), Ryan Monaco (Tech Officer),Jessica Tramondozzi (Treasurer), andAllan Sloan (Secretary).

“The players work with great directorsfrom the area who are excited aboutproducing great work,” said Pro-fessor Selleck. She teaches Shake-speare, Renaissance literatureand drama, and theater artscourses here at UMass Lowelland has been the faculty advisorto The Off-Broadway Playerssince 2004. Many of the mem-bers of the club are involved inthe theater arts program withinthe English department. Selleckadded, “There are some excellentand serious actors here.”

For the spring semesterof 2009 the players perform themusical Once on This Islandand in May they voted for theplays to be performed next year.

In 2008, the students performed MartinMcDonagh’s The Pillow Man and Shake-speare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.The Off-Broadway Players do a lot of workfor other groups on campus by helping outwith lights and sound at different events.Professor Selleck also told me the clubaccepts all participants associated withUMass Lowell, including alumni, staff, andfaculty, and even some of their childrenhave been in productions. The club is anorganization of like interests in one place.The actors are involved and passionateabout theatre, making this group one ofthe more dominant on campus.

For more information on The-OffBroadway Players please visit:http://tinyurl.com/dx36kn.

Dress rehearsal of the Off-Broadway Players April productionof Once on This Island, a one-act musical with lyrics by LynnAhrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the bookMy Love, My Love by Rosa Guy.

Off-Broadway Players Talks AboutTeaching WritingEnglish faculty engage intalks about teaching writing

To assist faculty in providing the highestlevel of instruction in the College Writing Iand II courses, co-directors of the CommonText Program, Paula Haines and MarloweMiller, organize the Talks About TeachingWriting twice a semester. The workshopsare mainly intended for part- and full-timefaculty who are teaching College Writing,but all faculty are welcome to attend.

Haines and Miller wanted to do follow-up on the professional development aspectof their semesterly Common Text work-shops, so they decided to institute this in-formal practice of getting together to talkabout teaching a couple of times a semester.Haines said, “This is our fifth year of Com-mon Text, and I think this is our fourth fullyear of Talks about Teaching Writing.”

“We share practices, tips, information,triumphs, and challenges, so there’re al-ways lots of great ideas to share. We hopeeveryone feels supported in his or herteaching for the department, and this is anopportunity to share what’s going on ineveryone’s classes. We want to help ourtalented and committed teachers find waysto use their expertise and creativity.”

This semester, they spent time on creat-ing and using wikis in teaching writing,scaffolding student assignments, discussingcourse websites, and offering tips for help-ing students in distress. Haines added, “Wealways try to talk abit about the cur-rent Common Textand how it’s work-ing in classes.”

Attendee andadjunct facultymember TracyMichaels said, “Asan adjunct instruc-tor of English, Iknow the talkskeep me connectedto the latest devel-opments in our department. They serveto make me feel like a valid memberof the faculty community versus ananonymous employee.

“Post talks, I find my colleagues andI not only discussing the ideas proposedin-depth (e.g., the use of wikis in our ownclasses), but also finding useful ways to em-ploy said topics in our classes, even duringthe present semester. Ideas proposed fromthe talks are not simply pedagogical pon-derings, but practical implementation toolswith which to enhance our instruction tothe UML community. I unabashedly en-courage others to attend these talks.”

Adjunct faculty membersCarl Mason and ThomasHersey attending Talksabout Teaching Writing

New Journalism ProfessorJoins the DepartmentBY ALYSSA CARRIGAN

Jonathan Silverman is the newest addition to the UMass LowellEnglish Department. He began in August of 2008 and this semesteris teaching Feature Writing, Reading and Writing About NewMedia, and College Writing II. Originally hailing from Norwalk,Conn., he has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, PaceUniversity and Virginia Commonwealth University among others.As a journalist at The Post-Star in Glens Falls, N.Y., he wanted to do more. He beganteaching in 1989 and spent a summer session in Andover, Mass. After he spent that summerteaching, he found he enjoyed it more than only writing.

“Being a professor you can write and teach,” he said. He teaches mainly compositionand journalism classes and is currently working on the development of the journalismconcentration. He is also the faculty advisor for the student newspaper, The Connector.He is enjoying the new job and is excited to be here, he said, “The faculty is engaged andthe students are eager to learn.”

He is currently working on a book about Johnny Cash. Some of his favorite authorsinclude Ralph Ellison, Louise Erdrich and Joseph Heller. Professor Silverman seems verydown to earth and personable. He makes a great addition to this department.

New faculty memberAssistant ProfessorJonathan Silverman

4 The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Thibodeau believes that participationin a community arts program is important.In December 2007, she was the co-editor ofan anthology of poetry in celebration ofthe 50th anniversary of the publication ofJack Kerouac’s On the Road, in conjunc-tion with the Cultural Organization ofLowell with funding from a grant fromthe National Endowment for the Arts.Thibodeau has also been involved inorganizing student panels for the NewEngland Poetry Conference.

She said, “As a person who lives in ademocracy, I feel it is my obligation to par-ticipate in civic life. Art is a great way toencourage people from all walks of life andall ages to be creative in the community.Great art can change people’s lives forthe better.”

Leading by example, Thibodeau is help-ing to showcase student work in the com-munity by collaborating with the VisitingNurse Association (VNA) of Greater Low-ell to celebrate its 100th birthday. An exhi-bition of VNA history at the Patrick J.Mogan Cultural Center in Lowell openedin April. Additionally, on April 14, from4-6 p.m., there was an elegant openingreception, “The Poetry of Home,” featuringa poetry reading by students in this semes-ter’s Creative Writing Poetry class. Theevent was co-sponsored by the VisitingNurse Association of Greater Lowell,The Lowell Cultural Council, and theUMass Lowell English Department

In addition to teaching and doing com-munity work, Thibodeau writes poetry, fic-tion, and essays. She also does freelancework such as writing liner notes for CDs,writing for the web, and is a poetry editorfor The Newport Review. Thibodeau mod-els what she teaches her students. In orderto be a good writer, she stresses, “You mustwrite. You also have to be an avid reader.I am an example of the writer who writesbecause I love to write and love to read.If you really love to write, you must writeevery day.” Thibodeau also often show-cases her work at poetry readings at UMassLowell and as the featured reader at eventsin the Lowell and regional community.

Miller added, “In addition to her writ-ing and her work with UVAS, Gigi bringsenormous talent, experience, and generosityto her teaching and outreach for the depart-ment. Her students have been selected toread and publish their poetry in local ven-ues, and they have been selected to presenttheir work from her classes at the UMassLowell Student Research Symposium.”

An active reader and writer, some ofThibodeau’s favorite writers are poet Eliza-beth Bishop and M.F.K. Fisher. She enjoysBishop for her use of imagery and Fisher

for her philosophical musings on food.“Her writing makes me hungry, that iswhat makes it good.” Thibodeau’s ownwriting subjects focus on language, mem-ory, and naming things. She said, “Mypoetry has a lot of motifs such as windowsand houses. I like to describe these thingsto my readers.” She also admits to writingabout off-beat and quirky things.

“My writing explores the images,places, people, or questions that fascinate,trouble, or intrigue me. I always hope, ofcourse, that those same obsessions of minewill interest a reader as well. I want areader to encounter a particular word orphrase that evokes image through manymeans: sound, denotation, connotation, itsrelation to the words around it, its place-ment in the line, and how it resonateswithin the context of the rest of the poem.This is a lot to ask of a word, and of apoem, and of a reader, and maybe of apoet, too, but to expect less seems to me awasted opportunity.”

Thibodeau remembers distinctly whatbrought her to the fields of teaching andwriting. Her father died when she was inhigh school, and a teacher gave her a bookof poetry by Czeslav Milosz. She read thepoetry at a tough time in her life and itsmeaning connected with her experience atthe time. “The author understood what Iwas feeling. I wanted to write and connectwith other people like that.” Now an expe-rienced teacher, she is able to reflect onwhat makes things click between her andher students. She said, “My students woulddescribe me as wacky and energetic. I amencouraging and tough in a good way.” Asa teacher, she believes that 75% of teachingis performance. “I would describe myself asa stand-up comedian.”

She also realizes that not everyone willget her jokes. But, she welcomes the chal-lenge to use her love for writing to helpstudents grow. “As a writer, I find it hardto empathize with others who don’t like towrite, but I try to encourage students toplay and have fun with writing. Some stu-dents have never had the chance to writeand experiment. I have seen first-hand thatwriting can give students a sense of pride.”

Melissa Pennell commented on Gigi as apoet and teacher: “She is a fine poet whosework reflects her sympathetic insights intohuman experience as well as her apprecia-tion of language and the power of imagery.Gigi is a wonderful teacher—not only interms of her knowledge of the genre ofpoetry and the kinds of practice anddiscipline that it takes to be a poet, but alsoin her ability to challenge students to ex-tend their reach while creating a supportiveatmosphere for that to happen.”

For current students and alums,Thibodeau has some advice for thosewho really want to pursue a career as awriter. She said, “I have had many jobs,I’ve traveled a lot, and I write from a placeof curiosity. I also didn’t go to grad schooluntil my late 20’s. I lived a lot before I gotthere. I would encourage people to take ayear or two after their undergraduate ca-reer before going to graduate school. But,if I could offer one piece of advice, I wouldsay, writing is a highly competitivebusiness. Don’t quit your day job.”

Gigi Thibodeau is a poet, an educator,and an active member of the communityarts scene in Lowell. Her poetry hasappeared in The Larcom Review,The Birmingham Poetry Review,Going Down Swinging, Mudfish, andThe Newport Review, among others.Her manuscript, Learning to Tell Time,is under review with several presses.It earned first prize for the 2009 PermafrostCompetition from the University of Alaska.Thibodeau has also published fiction andcreative nonfiction, and has received severalother awards for her writing.

Continued from page 1

2009 Writer in Residence

Keep intouchIf you are an alumnus/a of the EnglishDepartment, UMass Lowell communitymember, or friend and would like tokeep in touch with what is going on inthe Department such as readings byvisiting authors, theater productions,or other English related events, pleaseemail Staff Assistant Katherine Conlonat Katherine_Conlon@uml.edu to beadded to our English DepartmentAlumni List Serv. You will receive emailsabout upcoming events and other im-portant information.

You may opt out at any time byfollowing the instructions on thebottom of each email. We hope youjoin us soon!

Also, if you would like to submitupdates about yourself to the futurealumni section of the newsletter, pleaseemail us at Katherine_Conlon@uml.edu.Be sure to include your name, year ofgraduation, and updated career orschool information. We would love tohear from you and share your story withfellow alums in an upcoming newsletter!

For general alumni information, besure to visit the UML Alumni webpageat www.uml.edu/alumni.

5The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Alumna Morgan Hough (Class of 2008)I just finished reading a book by DonnaTartt called The Little Friend. I think it’s across between To Kill A Mockingbird andHuck Finn. It takes place in a southerntown during the 1970s, and follows ayoung girl, Harriet, avenging the murderof her brother. It has some really memo-rable, eerie, and very southern characters.Every character, even the most minor,was fascinating.

Assistant Professor Susan KirtleyI suppose I shouldn’t admit this, but honestlyI’m reading a lot of comic books to try tokeep up with my Graphic Novel class.Right now I’m reading a graphic novelcalled Superman: Red Son by Mark Miller.It’s a re-imagining of Superman as a SovietHero. It’s actually quite ingenious inchallenging an American icon.

Professor Marlowe MillerI’m just starting The Guernsey Literary andPotato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

and Annie Barrows. It is an epistolary novelthat tells the story of a literary societysurviving through the German occupationduring World War II. I am also readingThe Wonder of Boys—a book about raisingboys in this day and age. Helpful andsobering!

Adjunct Faculty Member Gigi ThibodeauI am reading Kim Addonizio’s new book,Ordinary Genius, which is a wonderfulguide to crafting poems. I’m also readingReverence by Paul Woodruff. Woodruffargues that reverence is a forgotten virtue,but that by cultivating a sense of awe forthings greater than ourselves, we can rekindlereverence and thereby strengthen othervirtues, such as respect and charity.

Assistant Professor Andre Dubus IIIIn addition to my students’ fiction, I’mcurrently reading Bridge of Sighs, the newnovel by Richard Russo. I’m also readingNot the Religious Type: Confessions of aTurncoat Atheist by Dave Schmelzer, and

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich byAleksander Solzhenitsyn.

Assistant Professor Jonathan SilvermanI’m reading a few things at once—Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami,The Thoreau You Don’t Know by RobertSullivan, and slowly, Infinite Jest by DavidFoster Wallace. I’m also reading ratherslowly, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by JuliePowell. And the Chicago Manual of Style.

Breanna Leibman (English/History Major)

The last book I read for pleasure that Iloved was Snow Flower and the Secret Fanby Lisa See. LOVED it! It was a great his-torical novel about oppressed women inChina. Another book is The Six Wives ofHenry VIII. I’m only on wife No. 3, but itis a great, but very long read!

BY PETER MASKALUK

Founded in 1924 as a national honor so-ciety, Sigma Tau Delta strives to promotethe study of all aspects of the English lan-guage, including composition, literatureand language studies. Ten years ago, Pro-fessors Melissa Pennell and Martha Mc-Gowan of the English Department startedthe Alpha Theta Rho chapter of Sigma TauDelta here at the University of Massachu-setts Lowell. Today’s advisors are Profes-sors Laura Barefield and Jeannie Judgewho, together with the current members,sponsor a number of events that supporteducation and the advancement of the Eng-lish language.

Members have arranged for facultymembers to talk about their individual re-search interests with the student body. Pro-fessors Carole Salmon, Susan Kirtley andMary Kramer have spoken in recent semes-ters. Sigma Tau Delta has also organized astudent book group in which studentschoose the books to be explored in student-led discussions. This book group meets twoto three times a semester and has discussedsuch highly praised works as The KiteRunner by Khaled Hosseini and CormacMcCarthy’s The Road. During NationalPoetry Month, members distribute plasticeggs, filled with poems, all over campus inorder for students to find and read them.

Sigma Tau Delta’s focus also takes itsmembers out of the lecture halls and into

the city. Every year beforeChristmas, they organize acampus-wide children’s bookdrive called “Tales for Tots.”All the books donated go tothe Children’s Corner of Com-munity Teamwork Inc. andthe Family Literacy Center,both in Lowell, where they aredesperately needed and greatlyappreciated. This year, stu-dents from Sigma Tau Deltaorganized a “reading hour”before the Family Day gameof the UMass River Hawks atthe Tsongas Arena. Studentsread the Christmas tales ofClifford, the Big Red Dog andCurious George as the chil-dren sat with eyes wide.

In April of each year, Sigma Tau Deltaholds an induction ceremony for newmembers. This year, the induction dinnerand ceremony was held Thursday, April 30,at the Wannalancit Mill Complex. Twenty-three students were inducted. Following thedinner, the students were called up, in frontof their friends and families, and given acertificate of membership that confirmsthem as distinguished scholars of the Eng-lish language. Graduating seniors are alsoinvited to the ceremony and are presentedwith their honor cords to wear during thegraduation ceremony.

The members of Sigma Tau Deltahave joined together in order to make adifference both on campus and in thecommunity. Whether it is by sponsoring alecture series or donating books, the SigmaTau Delta chapter here at the University isconfident that a small group of dedicatedindividuals can make a difference in theworld. Remaining true to Sigma Tau Delta’sideals of sincerity, truth and design, thesestudents do, indeed, make a difference,even if it is one book at a time.

What Are You Reading Now?

Activities of the English Honor Society

A few members of the Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society, From left,back row: Peter Maskaluk, Liz Mucica, Ann Papadopulu, front row:Hillary Pickard, Miranda Fortenberry and Christine Beecher.

6 The Tatler—SPRING 2009

BY KATHERINE CONLON

Professor Mary Kramer has been a full-time professor in the English Departmentfor 40 years. Her career began at UMassLowell in 1969 at what used to be calledLowell State. To her colleagues she isknown not only as a dedicated teacher, butalso a generous volunteer and a scholar ofShakespeare.

Kramer has given her time to studentsin high school as a mentor in the Giftedand Talented Program in Chelmsford,coaching teams for Odyssey of the Mindcompetitions, and as a judge for NationalHistory Day.

But, as a student at UMass Lowell, untilyou get to know Professor Kramer well,you might be a little intimidated. One ofher students, April Fournier, said, “Yes, Iam quite familiar with the (daunting) styleof Mary Kramer’s teaching...She is possiblyone of the most wonderful teachers I’veever had, although she can be ‘scary’ tonewcomers.” Almost all English majorshave had her as a professor at least oncesince she teaches Shakespeare I, History of

English Literature I, and Human Values inWestern Culture classes.

Professor Kramer does admit that herreputation precedes her. “A colleague ofmine had a student describe me as funny,

but dangerous. But, if they see me as fair, Iwould be happy with that.” When speakingabout her retirement this year, she said,“I enjoy teaching and enjoy the students.I wanted to stop while I still enjoy teaching.I am definitely going to miss it.”

Kramer has always wanted to be ateacher. Her career path was very straight-forward. Kramer said, “I think my careerpath was genetic. My father was a profes-sor and my mother was a teacher. I learnedmy way around a library early on.” Sheearned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoratedegrees all before the age of 25. Prior tograduate school, she won a prestigiousNational Defense Title IV Scholarship thatpaid for her education. Upon graduation,she joined UMass Lowell, which has beenher home ever since.

She is also a married mother of two, anavid knitter for the Veterans Hospital, andalways balanced teaching with freelancewriting, such as book reviews and humorarticles. The articles were mostly about herchildren. Kramer remarked, “I stoppedwriting about them when they wereteenagers. I found that I couldn’t embarrassthem anymore after that.” Although bal-ancing work and family was hard, she said,“You learn to organize early and thor-oughly.”

An active volunteer in the Chelmsfordcommunity, Kramer has been a vital part ofthe annual Friends of the Chelmsford Li-brary book drive. The book drive is a 3-daysale that raises over $30,000 for the library.

Retiring English Professor Mary Kramer

Retiring English Professor Mary KramerWill Be Missed

Jeannie JudgeProfessorWhen I was preparing my book manuscript for publication, Mary Kramer graciouslyvolunteered to proofread it. A few days later, on a Friday morning, I mentioned that Ihad it with me. Mary said, “Great! Just leave it on my desk, and I’ll take it home withme.” So, when I arrived on Monday morning and found the manuscript on my desk,I thought, “Oh, good grief, I left the manuscript on my desk and never even gave it toMary.” But that was not the case. Mary had read the “book,” written precise com-ments on a separate sheet of paper, and returned it by 7:00 a.m. on Monday. She hadalso graded her exams, prepared her classes, and painted her house (just kidding aboutthe house).

In the seventies, we were blessed with a winter much like this one: frequent snow-storms had left the parking lots looking like Supply Central for ice and snow sculp-tures. Along with a number of eager, dedicated students, I was taking a course inChaucer and longing for the sweetness of April; not that the “droughte” of March hadpierced anything yet, but the snows of January had challenged my ten-year old autotoo many times. This particular morning, however, we were being challenged by Dr.Kramer’s test on the General Prologue. Part One offered us the opportunity (well, fiftyopportunities, to be precise) to identify the subjects of one-line entries (“Nowher sobisy a man as he ther was”).

A few minutes after the examination was in our hands, a passionate scholar, ayoung man named Chris, rose to his feet. “Dr. Kramer,” he exclaimed with a courtlyflourish, “I just want you to know that, after looking at this exam, should you everagain (and I emphasize the again) find your noble vehicle buried under two feet ofsnow in the parking lot behind Coburn and all you have is a feeble snowbrush and noshovel, please do not expect me to take on any more knightly rescues. I am done. I willnot be at your service—if this is my reward.”

And then he sat down and proceeded to write; so he did not get to see Dr. Kramer’sattempts to cover her amusement as her shoulders shook and she buried her head inher text. I, on the other hand, could not imagine that Dr. Kramer would not have ashovel in her automobile. She was, and still is, prepared for everything.

William HerseyEmeritus ProfessorMary Kramer has been my friend andcolleague for over 25 years and her withas been one that you could alwayscount on.

In 1980, Mary and I took swim-ming lessons at the University swim-ming pool. My most memorablemoment during one swimming classwas when Mary tried to help me getover my fear of the deep water. Shetried to assure me that everythingwould be okay and she was swimmingby my side toward the deep end of thepool when she said “swim with me,swim with me,” and when I lookedover to see where she was in the pool,I discovered that she had deserted meas I sank to the bottom of the pool!I certainly have a vivid memory of thatswimming lesson.

7The Tatler—SPRING 2009

BY ERIC HULTGREN, PRESIDENT,LITERARY SOCIETY

The most exciting experience of study-ing literature is the recognition that itnever happens in isolation but is alwayspart of a community. The Literary Soci-ety celebrates this experience. Whetherhosting lectures, Halloween parties, po-etry readings, more parties, or workingon UMass Lowell’s literary journal TheOffering, the Literary Society is alwaysengaged in bringing students, faculty,and the community together to celebrateliterature.

I joined the Literary Society in 2005,my first year at UMass Lowell. I had im-ages of high-brow literati mingling overcoffee and cocktails. Since then I haveserved in various offices within the Soci-ety, including president for the past twoyears. I now often look in the mirror toadjust my brow height, though our fac-ulty advisors, Professors Julie Nash andBridget Marshall, are quick to clip. The

Literary Society is a chance forstudents to have fun doing whatthey love outside of the class-room. Our yearly duties, thoughlargely determined by thestudents, are divided betweenorganizing literary events,parties, and publishing TheOffering. Through The Offering,students learn to edit and pub-lish the writing and photographyof fellow students, staff, faculty,and alumni.

The Society’s current officersare Mike Frye, co-president,Audra Colopy, vice president, andRebecca Yoakum, secretary. The latestedition of The Offering will be releasedin late April/early May. A release partyis planned for that time.

As a student organization, the Liter-ary Society both establishes a communitywithin our University and one betweenour University and Greater Lowell.We try to host as many events as we can

in downtown Lowell to involve studentsin a growing local arts community.For more information on The LiterarySociety and upcoming events contactDr. Julie Nash at Julie_Nash@uml.eduor Dr. Bridget Marshall atBridget_Marshall@uml.edu.

Table of Contents Meeting for The Offering, from left,Falicia Wyman, Audra Colopy, Eric Hultgren, andJohn Dowling

Graduating President Remarks onLiterary Society Activities

She said, “People travel from all overNew England just to come to the fair.”The fair is held every September and offersmore than 100,000 books.

It’s apparent that reading and writingare a major part of Kramer’s everyday life.Although Shakespeare is one of her favoriteauthors, she is often known for joking aboutthe limitations of American Literature. Shesaid, “I just really like English literaturebefore 1642.” But, she likes to encouragestudents to explore. “Pick something youenjoy and keep reading. Just because you’regraduating, don’t close the book.” She hasinspired numerous readers by leading manybook discussions at public libraries through-out the state on such authors as Zora NealeHurston, Sarah Orne Jewett, MarianneMoore, and Toni Morrison.

Since Kramer is retiring this year, futurestudents won’t get the opportunity to haveher in class, but she has touched many livesin her work with teenagers, college stu-dents, and adults alike. By mentoring,coaching, and encouraging others and inleading by example, she has encouragedmany to aspire to professional excellence.She has definitely made an impact on hercurrent student, April Fournier. April said,“The only reason I get up at 6 a.m. to be inher Human Values class is that I knew itwas my last semester having her. I don’teven need the GenEd, I just like being there.I’m really going to miss her.”

Bill RobertsEmeritus ProfessorFormer Department ChairI learned of Mary Kramer’s retirement while enjoying part of my own retirement inKey West, Florida. Mary was a member of the English Department when I arrived in1971, and she was still going strong when I left in 2006. I’ll never forget her loyaltyand friendship, her wit, and her commitment to English majors.

Mary, first and foremost, is a teacher with rigorous standards and a kind heart.For this she earned the respect of her students and colleagues. When I served asdepartment chairperson, I came to fully appreciate her support, candor, and friendship.She deserves a long and happy retirement, and she will be missed by all of us who hadthe good fortune of working beside her.

Ms. Zhangheaded back toChina on Febru-ary 23rd, takingmany ideas withher. “I was in-spired by the ex-cellent teachingmethods in theEnglish Depart-ment and the op-portunities givento students topractice writing.I would like toask our English majors to help grade thewriting of non-English majors’ work. Itwould be similar to the concept of yourWriting Center, but it would also help ourprofessors with grading. Also, at my univer-sity, I would like to develop a new Englishcourse that relates real science andtechnology similar to Professor Avery’sMonsters, Apes, and Nightmares.”

Visiting scholarGuihua Zhang

Visiting Scholarin the EnglishDepartment

Continued from page 1

8 The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Julie NashJulie Nash was recently promoted toAssociate Professor of English.

Her research focuses on eighteenthand nineteenth-century British literature,women’s literature, literature and work.She is currently working on articles on theLowell Mill Girls and a reference articleon seventeenth-century writer Aphra Behn.Recently, she published two collections ofessays, one on Anne Bronte and one onMaria Edgeworth. Another book, Servantsand Paternalism in the Works of MariaEdgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell (2006)is a study of the changing role of the servantin nineteenth-century literature. A professorat UMass Lowell since 2002, she is cur-rently teaching a Selected Authors class onAphra Behn and her World and the CriticalMethods class as well as an Honors Semi-nar for freshmen. Professor Nash is also theco-advisor to the English Department’sliterary journal, The Offering.

Todd AveryTodd Avery was recently promoted toAssociate Professor of English. His teachingfocuses on twentieth century British andIrish literature, while his research focuseson relations between science and literatureand twentieth century modernist literatureand culture. In his book, Radio modernism,he discusses the relations between literatureand ethics with communications/technologyin England in the 1920s and 1930s. Cur-rently, he is researching writer LyttonStrachey and his place in British modernistliterature. Avery has a book chapter comingout in 2009 in a volume published by theUniversity of Florida Press. The book iscalled Broadcasting Modernism. Last April,he gave a conference paper at the NortheastModern Language Association conferenceon the American nature writer John Bur-roughs and the “Two Cultures” debate inthe late nineteenth century; and another inNovember at the Modernist Studies Associ-ation on feminism and early British radio.He also organized a national interdiscipli-nary conference in December 2007 atUMass Lowell called “Nanotechnology,Literature, and Society.”

Diana ArchibaldAssociate Professor Diana Archibald cameto UMass Lowell in the fall of 1999. Sheteaches in both the writing and literatureconcentrations. She taught Essay Writing

for English Majors in the fall and Literatureof the Victorian Period this spring. Profes-sor Archibald is editing a collection of es-says on Anti-Americanism in 19th-centuryBritish literature. She is revising her grand-mother’s memoir, for which she conductedextensive research during her sabbaticalleave last year. Having traced her grand-mother’s family’s migration across theUnited States (in a car trip with her son),she also visited the “Old Country” andfound her ancestors’ homes in Sweden andNorway. Her grandmother’s book begins inNorway above the Arctic Circle in theearly-1800s and traces the family throughthe 1960s in California. Alums would beinterested to know that she serves as thedepartment’s internship coordinator.

Hilary HolladayProfessor of English and Director of theJack and Stella Kerouac Center for Ameri-can Studies, Professor Holladay has been atUMass Lowell since 1993 and has regularlytaught African American literature, a vari-ety of poetry courses, surveys in AmericanLiterature, and Literature of the BeatMovement. She has directed UMassLowell’s biennial Jack Kerouac Conferenceon Beat Literature since its inception in1995; the next conference is scheduled forOctober 2009, on the UMass Lowell cam-pus. She has been on research leave at theVirginia Foundation for the Humanities, inCharlottesville since January ‘08. Duringher time in Charlottesville, she has com-pleted What’s Your Road, Man? CriticalEssays on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.The book, which she co-edited with RobertHolton, is now available from SouthernIllinois University Press. Holladay alsorevised a draft of the biography of theBeat Movement icon Herbert Huncke andhopes to see it in print in a year or so.

Bridget MarshallAssistant Professor Bridget Marshall hasbeen teaching at UMass Lowell for fouryears. This semester, she is teaching acourse in the Gothic Tradition in Litera-ture, which she designed. In Fall 2008, sheintroduced another new course, Disabilityin Literature. Her research interests focuson gothic novels, literature & law, disabil-ity in literature, early eighteenth &nineteenth-century American literature.Professor Marshall is currently working ona book for Ashgate Publishing titled Dark

Justice: The Transatlantic Gothic Noveland the Law, 1790 - 1860. It’s about theportrayal of legal systems in gothic novelsand slave narratives. She has several publi-cations forthcoming; the following shouldbe out this year: “An Evil Game: GothicVillains and Gaming Addictions.” GothicStudies. Special Issue on Addiction. Ed.Carol Margaret Davison. 2009. “‘Thereshall be a wonder in Hadley!’: MaryWebster’s ‘Hideous Witchcraft.’”(co-author with Brian Ogilvie) ChangingWinds: Essays in the History of Hadley,Massachusetts. Ed. Marla Miller, Universityof Massachusetts Press, 2009. She attendedthe Popular Culture/American Culture con-ference in New Orleans in April to presenta paper on teaching comics. She has givennumerous presentations on Massachusettswitchcraft trials at academic conferences,and to groups of teachers and historians.She will be doing one in October for the350th anniversary of the town of Hadley,Mass. Professor Marshall is also the co-advisor to the English Department’s literaryjournal, The Offering and she organizes theFaculty SALON series.

Laura BarefieldAssociate Professor Laura Barefield joinedthe English Department in Fall 2001. Pro-fessor Barefield teaches Great Books ofAntiquity, Arthurian Literature, Literatureof the Middle Ages, History of the EnglishLanguage, Old English, Beowulf Seminar,and History of English Literature I. She isthe Advisor for Sigma Tau Delta, the Eng-lish Honor Society, and Coordinator forTales for Tots, the English Department’sannual children’s holiday book drive tobenefit children in Lowell,

Chair of the Awards and Scholarshipscommittee and member of the ChelmsfordOne Town, One Book Committee, she iscurrently working on a book project onVergil in the Middle Ages. Her previouspublications include: Gender in MedievalEnglish Romance and Chronicle (PeterLang: 2003), articles in Medieval Perspec-tives, Medieval Feminist Forum, MidwestMedieval, and an essay in the book CourtlyArts and the Art of Courtliness. She is alsoa book reviewer for Arthuriana and Me-dieval Review.

Faculty Research Highlights

9The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Nancy SelleckAssociate Professor of English, FacultyAdvisor to the Off-Broadway Players, andDirector, Theater Arts program, NancySelleck has been teaching at UMass Lowellsince 1998. Her research interests are inShakespeare and Renaissance theatre;women in Early Modern culture; modernand contemporary drama; feminist theory;theories of acting, and psychoanalytic the-ory. Selleck is currently working on a bookon Renaissance theories of acting. Herbook, The Interpersonal Idiom in Shake-speare, Donne, and Early Modern Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) argues thatShakespeare’s culture understood identityin very different terms from ours. She re-cently presented a paper to the Society forthe Study of Women in the Renaissance atCUNY Graduate Center in New York on“Rethinking Objectification: Twelfth Night,Feminist Theory, and the Objects of Play.”She also presented a paper on “Intimacyand Interiority” at the annual ShakespeareAssociation of America conference inWashington, D.C. in April.

She directed a Staged Reading of Shake-speare’s Measure for Measure on campus inearly May. She is Co-P.I. on the NSF grant:“Performamatics: Connecting ComputerScience to the Performing, Fine, and DesignArts,” which is developing a new interdisci-plinary curriculum, including courses link-ing theatre arts and computer science.

The Comley-Lane Theatre was refur-bished in 2005 with the help of a majordonation to UMass Lowell by BonnieComley and her husband, Broadwayproducer Stewart Lane. In the spring of2006, the renovated theatre was offi-cially christened at a ceremony hosted bythe Off-Broadway Players. Theceremony included a perform-ance of one-act comedies byDavid Ives and instructorRichard Snee, and it featuredspecial guest artists Paula Plumand Richard Snee performingalongside the OBP. BonnieComley graduated in the ’80sfrom UMass Lowell with a

business degree and went on to become aBroadway actress and producer alongwith her husband. (Their recent creditsinclude the musical Legally Blonde.)Their generous donation was the resultof her desire to give back to the univer-sity in support of the school’s TheatreArts program and drama club.

BY ALYSSA CARRIGAN

The Common Text Program is a thrivingstudent program that began in the fall of2005 following the introduction of fresh-man student theater visits by ProfessorNancy Selleck in the spring of 2004. Thisevolved into a larger discussion of the playfor all first year students. Professors PaulaHaines and Marlowe Miller have developedthis further to involve the freshman classesas a whole in discussing a book or play andanalyzing its contents.

It is easy to see Professor Haines’ pas-sion and enthusiasm for this program. “Ilove it. It’s a lot of hard work and details,but it’s extremely rewarding. You don’t getto see the developing picture every day,then once you do, it’s like that’s why we dothis! It rocks my world,” she says. Thebook or play is read in College Writing Iand II and initially the program directorsbelieved that it was asking a lot of the fac-ulty. Haines said, “They’ve actually gottenenthusiastic about it. A new book everyyear enlivens the course.”

The shared reading experience has hada high success rate among students. It helpsfaculty evaluate the writing styles of theincoming students and teach them how towrite at a collegiate level. This helps to pre-pare them for the rest of their college writ-ing careers. “We see changes in their actualwriting, but there is more change in theirattitude. They see that they have a choice tobe engaged in community and that is some-thing measured more than anything,” said

Haines. Professor Haines and ProfessorMiller have branched out and targetedLowell High School, developing a work-shop for teachers to help them better pre-pare their students for the challenge ofcollege. Haines said, “This is all to helpthem have the skills needed when penhits paper.”

The spring 2009 semester brought theplay Tranced by Bob Clyman to the fresh-man class. It has political intrigue, profes-sional ethics, and themes that are widelyinteresting. The books and plays are chosenby taking suggestions from both staff andstudents. The choices are narrowed throughresearch on the faculty end and then theoptions are put up for a vote among theEnglish Department. The program takestime and bonds the students to both facultyand UMass Lowell. “You get to see thecapability in these young people. It showsthere is a result in that what you’ve donehad an effect.”

Professor Haines is herself a 1991 Eng-lish alumna of UMass Lowell. She is proudof this program and happy to get the wordout about its significance to the studentshere. She said, “It is a highly successful andmeaningful program that seems an essentialstepping stone into the college world.”

For more information about the CommonText Program, visit www.uml.edu/english.

The Common Text Programat UMass Lowell

Did you know?

10 The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Assistant Professor Bridget Marshall isthe host of the Faculty Salon series, talksthat give faculty the chance to share theircurrent research with colleagues and offerthe audience a chance to learn about thecurrent research happening at UMass Low-ell. Often faculty presenters develop theirSalon presentations into more formal pre-sentations for conferences, or the findingspresented in the Salons appear in facultypublications.

Who are its sponsors?The Division of Humanities, Fine Arts,and Social Sciences covers the refreshmentswe offer at each session. Other than that,the current organizer/host is in charge anddoes the planning, ordering of food, reserv-ing of rooms, and overall organizing. Themost recent three hosts have been Englishdepartment faculty, but there isn’t any ruleabout who has to be in charge.

What is the format?A faculty member presents on his/herchosen topic, typically for 45 minutes toan hour, followed by Q&A discussion.The presentations sometime include power-point presentations, film or music clips,or other kinds of media. We typically sitaround a table to enable discussion. Wealso have coffee and snacks, to help makeit a collegial and social time for faculty toexchange ideas.

Who can attend the Salon?Anyone is welcome to attend. Our coregroup is faculty, but we often have staffmembers join us. For some topics, we’ll geta group of students (particularly if they’rein a course related to the topic). We’ve alsohad residents of the greater Lowell area at-tend, particularly if the research touches ona local community issue. Alumni sometimesjoin us, particularly when they recognize afaculty member they remember.

How are the topics chosen?I put out a call for interested faculty at theend of the spring semester. I ask them to letme know a bit about any new researchprojects they’d like to talk about. Once Ihave a list of interested faculty, I review thetopics and department affiliations to find anice mix for the year’s Salons. I try to makesure a broad range of departments withinour division is included. We’ve had presen-tations from faculty in English, Philosophy,Psychology, RESD, Community Health andSustainability, Political Science, and Historysince I’ve been running the Salons. I hope

we can get more departments, particularlynew faculty members, involved in nextyear’s Salons.

When/where are the talks usually held?We have six talks, three each semester. Thetalks are always the first Wednesday ofeach month—October, November, Decem-ber, and then February, March, and April.We always meet from 3:30 to 5 pm. Thistime was set before I took over, and itseems to work well. We typically meet in aroom in McGauvran, but sometimes weend up in various media rooms in O’Leary,or occasionally elsewhere, such as the Labfor Interdisciplinary Design in Coburn.

What were some of the highlights duringthis academic year?I love all the Salons. One reason why Ienjoy organizing them is that they’re thekind of talks that I would want to go hear,but I know that it’s easy to forget about atalk, or to be over-scheduled and not havetime to attend. Organizing the Salon meansthat I get to go to all of them, and I get tohear about some amazing research in awide array of fields. It’s exciting.

Last December, Mansoureh Tajik fromCommunity Health and Sustainability pre-sented her research on the community im-pact of high-volume hog farming. Whileher research was on farms in the South,several local residents who attended thetalk have been affected by a factory farm inTewksbury. It was a surprise for me tolearn that this was such a problem locally.

The residents who came really got a lot outof the presentation, and it was great to seethe exchange between faculty and theLowell-area community.

Sometimes the Salons are particularlynotable for their timing. In October, we hada presentation from Bill Lazonick (RESD)on Business Organization and High-TechEmployment in the United States. As wewere heading into rough territory in theeconomy, his talk was particularly enlight-ening about some of the troubles we hadthen—troubles that have only gottenworse.

It’s also nice to be able to get visitingfaculty from other schools to offer theirperspectives. Last fall we also had our de-partment’s visiting scholar from China —Guihua Zhang — give a talk on InnerMongolia that was very interesting.

Any other information pertinent to alumsor University community members?Everyone is invited to join us!

The Salon series has a lot to offer to thecampus. We’re listed on the Events calendarand on the UMass Lowell Today e-mailswhen there is an event coming up. I alsopersonally send the Salon Announcementsto an e-mail list (mostly of previous Salonpresenters and faculty I know personally).If anyone would like to be added to thelist, he or she can e-mail me directly:Bridget_Marshall@uml.edu

Faculty Salon presenters, Bridget Marshall and Susan Kirtley; Presentation: Zap! Pow! Comics Hit theClassroom: Pedagogical Practice and Graphic Narratives

Faculty Salon, a Faculty Colloquium in theFine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

11The Tatler—SPRING 2009

Professor Jeannie Judge was the table leader for the Poetry Question at the Advanced PlacementReading in English Literature, held in Lexington, Ky., in the summer 2008. With her here is Irish-born poet Paul Muldoon, a professor of English at Princeton University and the Pulitzer Prizewinner for Poetry.

Contribution Coupon

This scholarship honors the memory ofProfessor Arthur Friedman. A much-lovedprofessor of Shakespeare and dramatic arts,Professor Friedman was called by one of hiscolleagues the “Woody Allen of the EnglishDepartment.” Colleagues and studentsalike appreciated his humor and wit. Atheater reviewer for the Boston Herald,Professor Friedman was also active in manyproductions at the Loeb Drama Center andAgassiz Theater. He loved performing, andacted with Stockard Channing, TommyLee Jones, John Lithgow, and JamesWoods. English majors who hold at leastsophomore standing and will remain herefor at least one semester are eligible toapply. The scholarship is an annual awardbased on merit. Preference is given tostudents with an interest in TheaterArts or Shakespeare.

If you would like to contribute to theFriedman Scholarship Fund, please clipthe coupon adjacent and mail it withyour contribution to the address below.Make checks payable to University ofMassachusetts Lowell and include‘English Department Scholarship’ in thememo line. Thank you.

Please mail it to the following address:

UMass LowellEnglish Department61 Wilder StreetLowell, MA 01854

A Brush with Fame

Arthur Friedman Scholarship 2009-2010 Arthur FriedmanScholarship Fund

Circle one:

Alumni Friend

UMass Lowell Community Member

Name: _____________________________________

MailingAddress: ____________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Phone Number: ____________________________

Email: _____________________________________

ConnectorUpdateBY KRISTA PERRY

This year, the Connectorhas greatly improved its onlinepresence. Its new Web site,UMLConnector.com was verysuccessful attracting readers.Last fall, the Connector attendedthe Associate Collegiate PressConvention in Kansas City, wherethe staff learned new tricks ofthe trade. Some of the great storyideas we got were the pizza tastetest, which included ChancellorMarty Meehan, in the search forthe best pizza within five miles ofcampus. This year the Connectoralso greatly improved its relation-ship with the UMass Lowell policechief. We also want to say thatwe encourage submissions andparticipation on the paper; we havegreat hopes for the next year.

Audrey Mangone will be thepaper’s editor for the 2009-2010academic year.

Non-Profit OrgU.S. Postage

PAIDLowell, MA

Permit No. 69UMass LowellEnglish Department61 Wilder StreetLowell, MA 01854

BY ALYSSA CARRIGAN

Andre Dubus III joined the UMass Lowellfamily in 2001 as the Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence. He returned in 2005 because,he says, “I needed to get out of writingall day and these are my kind of people.”Hailing from Haverhill, he has found workat such esteemed universities as Tufts andHarvard. This semester he taught CreativeWriting Fiction I and II along with 10directed studies with writing students.

Last year he found himself immersed ina 15-city book tour that turned into a 70-city tour for his latest book, The Garden ofLast Days, lasting from March 31st toDecember 7th, an impressive feat. The hardcopy came out this June of ’08 and the pa-perback is due to come out in June. Profes-sor Dubus gave me a rare glimpse into aday in the life of a book tour. Dubus said,“The hectic routine of bouncing from a cityhandler through signings and readings andinterviews and dinners to a flight the nextmorning made my head spin. I’m not com-plaining. It’s hard to get published, but it’s arecipe for self loathing. You get sick of yourown voice after a while.”

After his breakthrough novel, House ofSand and Fog, he worked for three years ona piece that went nowhere. “As I’ve toldyou before, Alyssa, you learn to stare at thepage.” Andre Dubus has been an influentialprofessor in my college career and is alwaysthere, giving great writing advice to usyoung writing wannabes.

The idea for The Garden of Last Dayscame from an image. “It was a wad of cashon a bureau, but it wasn’t my bureau. I real-ized it was tips, a stripper’s tips.” He says itcame from stories of 9/11 hijackers that hadbeen seen in Florida strip clubs. “Howcould they? I began to think, what’s it likefor a woman in this position, to have aman’s blood money?” The story thus beganand it is told from eight different points ofview. He wrote the entire novel while teach-ing at UMass Lowell and says there is sometalk of film development.

Andre Dubus does a lot of public speak-ing and has a lecture agent. He is invited totalk at university libraries and does a lot oftraveling to do so. He was a key-notespeaker at the ALA (American LiteratureAssociation) in Savannah, Georgia, this pastFall. He also was on a panel in Los Angelesfor the BEA (Book Expo of America) withcelebrities such as Magic Johnson, PhilippaGregory and Alec Baldwin. He’s involved inorganizations such as PEN America, Free-dom of America, Theater Arts Committeeand the Writing Scholarship Committeehere at UMass Lowell.

A celebrity in his own right, ProfessorDubus has much going for him. It is a won-der how he has time to sit down, let alonehave writing time and time with his wifeand three children. But he does it all and isquite the role model for students. He is akey member of the English Department hereat UMass Lowell and serves as an inspiringinfluence for me and many other studentshere on campus.

Update on Activities of Famous andLocal Author, Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III