5 X Friday: Associate Professor Dan Philippon

In the last three years, Associate Professor Dan Philippon has researched and taught in Germany, Italy, and France, buoyed by a Fulbright and a fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center in Munich. The travel has widened his thinking about food writing and the sustainable food movement, subject of his current research. "Although my specialty will always be American environmental literature, I can't think in isolation anymore," reports Professor Philippon, who serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. "Now, when I think of American writers, it is always in a global context. And when I think of global processes, like climate change, I think of their effects on particular places and particular people--like the Italian rice grower I met, whose paddies depend on meltwater from the Alps." How does that book-in-progress involve Alice Waters, Wendell Berry . . . and a certain Italian rice grower? Read on.

5 X Friday: English major Marina Kuperman

As a freshman, Marina Kuperman didn't know that experiential learning in college boosts graduates' job prospects. Nevertheless, she chose an English class featuring community volunteer opportunities--and quickly discovered that she loved helping others develop literacy. Convinced now of both her major and her vocation, she applied as a sophomore to become a peer counselor for English majors, a job in which she excelled through her junior year and will continue this fall. Meanwhile, she enrolled in further experiential learning courses, while completing an independent research project on local education practices. An American Literature survey course left Kuperman a fan of Emerson, and these words of his seem appropriate here: "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." Why is literacy so important for Kuperman? Read on.

5th Annual English Undergrad Conference

On Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4, the Department of English is pleased to present the fifth iteration of a conference celebrating our undergraduates' creative and critical work. This year, there will be papers on everything from Shakespeare to the video game Mass Effect, along with poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Actor and BA alumna Naomi Ko, who has a featured role in the new independent film Dear White People, will speak at the top of a panel on fiction, identity, and desire Thursday evening at 7 pm. A panel of alumni discusses employment and the road out from English on Friday morning at 8:50 am. Plus much more! Free and open to University students, faculty, and friends.

5 X Friday: BA Alum May Lee-Yang

When May Lee-Yang (BA 2006) signed up for a class on Asian American drama from Professor Josephine Lee, "I didn't think of myself as a theater person," she says. Two years ago, she received a prestigious Bush Leadership Fellowship to begin planning the creation of a theater focusing on Hmong American stories. In between, she's written plays and performance art pieces produced at Mu Performing Arts, Intermedia Arts, and the Fringe Festival and was a two-time winner of the Playwright Center Many Voices Fellowship. She still thinks of herself as a "memoirist who makes a living doing theater." In the meantime, she's writing another play. What about? Read on. . . .

5 X Friday: English Major Matthew McGuire

Matthew McGuire is a senior English and Philosophy double major who will publish a short story in the new issue of Ivory Tower, celebrated with a launch party Wednesday, April 24, from 7-10 pm in the Whole Music Club. The U's undergraduate literary and art magazine, Ivory Tower is edited and produced by students in a year-long English class. McGuire was a fiction editor for Ivory Tower last year, and his story "Silence Is Sexy" was accepted through this year's blind submission process. How does he begin writing something? "I get most of my story ideas from conversations with friends or bits of speech I overhear in public," he reveals. "Most pieces start with a voice, and then I try to experiment until I find something that works." Interview by Natalia Petkovich, originally for the Ivory Tower website. More...



1. Who are your favorite authors?
David Foster Wallace was my first exposure to difficult literature, and he remains my favorite. Ben Marcus, David Markson, Jena Osman, and Zachary Schomburg top my contemporary list. As far as the canon goes, I like William Gaddis, Ralph Ellison, Emily Bronté, Thomas Hardy, and Samuel Beckett. I think no one comes close to Kafka and the way his stories work. There's a British author, Stephen Gilbert, who wrote a brilliant book called The Ratman Notebooks.
2. Name a fictional character who you despise.
Walter Berglund from Freedom gets under my skin. He represents a lot of what I don't like in fiction: obvious social criticism, lack of genuine human relationships, misogyny masquerading as feminism.
3. "Silence is Sexy" has a unique style--it's all dialogue. What inspired you to write this story?
It came from a friend's complaint about his relationship. He claimed to have trouble sleeping next to another person because of the extra body heat. My goal with the story was to completely eliminate anything that could indicate character, gender, names, age, etc. What was surprising to me was when I showed the piece to some trusted readers, everyone agreed on the genders of the speakers.
4. You were a fiction editor for the 2012 edition of Ivory Tower. What did you learn by being in that class?
Working on Ivory Tower taught me a lot, mainly that I don't have what it takes to be an editor. It was extremely difficult for me to reject pieces without having the necessary space and time to explain why the pieces didn't work or fit with a certain theme. Thankfully, the other members of the staff helped me make the tough decisions.
5. You're stuck on a desert island. You get three books, two movies, and one iPod that can play only one song. What do you bring?
Books: a collection of Kafka stories, a condensed OED, and Infinite Jest. Movies: Melancholia and Salò. Song: "Nobody's Wounded" by Deine Lakaien or "Love Less" by New Order.

5 X Friday: English Major Ana Bichanich

As the president of the student group for English majors and minors, FUSE, Ana Bichanich continues a tradition of innovative programming that earned FUSE a Student Unions & Activities Tony Diggs Excellence Award. FUSE brings together undergraduate and graduate students in mentoring relationships and encourages students to learn more about their professors through informal lunches. More . . . .

English major Ana Bichanich is the president of FUSE, the Fellowship of Undergraduate Students in English, a student group started four years ago. A senior with a minor in French, Bichanich is interested in a career in the publishing industry. This year she was one of two English majors chosen for a two-semester, 10 hour/week internship at the University of Minnesota Press, where thus far she has tracked down photo permissions, formatted manuscripts, learned "castoff" and "transmittal"--and received the honor of an author's acknowledgements page mention.
1. What is FUSE about and why should students get involved?
FUSE is about building a community among English majors and minors, the Department of English, and English graduate students. Our various programs offer help with applying to graduate school, building writing and editing skills, and building relationships with faculty and professors, along with fun events and conversations with other English majors and minors. It is always interesting to talk to others who are passionate about the same things you are passionate about. Students should get involved for their own benefit!
2. What is your favorite FUSE event thus far? What's coming up this semester that you're excited about?
I really enjoyed the Roaring '20s themed party! Everyone dressed up in era-style clothing, listened to jazz, and read selections of literature about or written during this exciting period. This semester, I am looking forward to the Kick-Off Event Wednesday, February 6, 6:30-8 pm in Lind 207A which is always really fun and a great way to start the semester. Other events to watch for this semester are our "Lunches with Professors," as well as another themed event.
3. You also intern for the University of Minnesota Press, in a special English-sponsored internship that gives students experience in the editing department for one semester and in production/marketing the next. What has most surprised you about working inside this University press?
The biggest, and best, surprise was the atmosphere of the work place and the kindness of the staff. From the start, they treated me with a lot of respect and never made me make coffee or do menial tasks that one imagines an intern to do. They also made sure that I understood the purpose of the work I did and genuinely cared about my experience, not just the work I was doing for them. I really look forward to spending another semester there.
4. How does this internship experience relate to your studies in English? How has it affected your views of your post-graduation future?
In classes, we question who first wrote down Beowulf or if Homer was one person, and we often identify or define works by who wrote them. Through this internship, I have seen how much credit the publishing houses deserve for the books they publish. The authors decidedly have the most important contribution, but the editors can heavily influence the way the text is shaped or presented. It is similar to the way society focuses on the director of a movie as its sole creator instead of acknowledging all of the hard work other people put into the film.
I applied to this internship to gain an understanding of the world of publishing to see if it was something I wanted to pursue post-graduation. Even after only one semester, I am certain that this is what I want to do.
5. Last really good book you read?
Most recently, I read, and enjoyed, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
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5 X Friday: BA Alum Mark Baumgarten

Our series of 5 X Friday interviews with alums, faculty, and students this week features Mark Baumgarten (BA 2001). Baumgarten works as editor-at-large for City Arts, a monthly magazine and online publication that covers arts and culture in Seattle, Washington, and the surrounding Puget Sound area. He just published his first book, a nonfiction account of influential independent music label K Records, this past summer. More . . .

Majors Graduating with CESP Recognition

Three English undergraduates are graduating this spring with Community Engagement Scholars Program recognition: Kari Eloranta, Abdiasis Hirsi, and Anna Kraemer. This honor recognizes that the students have performed 400 hours of community engagement addressing social issues and community needs throughout their undergraduate careers at the University of Minnesota. They also have completed reflections on those volunteer experiences, as well as a seminar and final project. The students receive recognition on their official transcripts and at commencement. The Department of English honored these students at our annual Campus Community Colloquium on April 30. Eloranta in addition received a University of Minnesota Alumni Association Student Leadership Award later that evening at the President's Student Leadership and Service Awards Banquet. Congratulations!

Publishing Internships!

Interested in getting a handle on the publishing world? The Department of English sponsors annual internships with the University of Minnesota Press. Two English majors are chosen for year-long internships in which they work on editorial, marketing, and production functions and receive four credits each semester. Application deadline for next year is April 20: email cover letter, unofficial transcript, and 2-3 page purpose statement drawing connections between academic work, this internship, and career goals. Must be of junior standing and have completed EngL 3001 Textual Analysis and at least two additional "foundation requirements" in major.

Annual Campus-Community Colloquim

On Monday, April 30, the Annual English Department Campus-Community Colloquium takes place 12:45 - 2:15 pm in Lind Hall 207A. Students from Eric Daigre's year-long Community Learning Internships course will present about their literacy work in the K-12, nonprofit, and adult basic education worlds. Lively presentations, dialogues with community partners, and Q and A sessions. Food, beverages, and celebration!

Writer's Block Workshop with Juliet Patterson

Ivory Tower presents an opportunity to work on revising poems with local poet Juliet Patterson this Wednesday the 18th in Coffman 304 at 5:30 pm. Patterson is a poet, community activist, and teaching artist living in Minneapolis. Her first book, The Truant Lover, won the Nightboat Poetry Prize in 2004. Her forthcoming book, Threnody, speaks about ecological crisis and our "attempts to conceptualize nature and wilderness in the face of loss." If possible, PLEASE BRING 3-4 POEMS you'd like to take a fresh look at, but don't reread them before the workshop begins! Mesa pizza!

BA Alum Strayed in National Press

Cheryl Strayed (BA 1997) has been featured in Interview Magazine, Vogue Magazine, and the New York Times in the past month, after publishing the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Knopf). Strayed is the author of a 2005 novel, Torch. She also writes the advice column "Dear Sugar" in the online literary magazine Rumpus. She grew up in Minnesota and lives now in Portland, Oregon.

English Major Triumphs in Spoken Word

Last year, English undergraduate Michael Lee was named the 2011 Best Individual Poet at the national College Unions Poetry Slam, leading the University of Minnesota team to a fourth place finish. He also received a 2011 Verve Grant for Spoken Word Artists, the only spoken word grant in the country. And now, in collaboration with Runner Runner, a Minneapolis production company, he has made a stunning video of his elegiac spoken word poem "Pass On," which has been entered in the 2012 Vimeo online video awards. More . . .

President's Student Leadership & Service Awardees

Two English majors and one MFA candidate have been selected to receive a President's Student Leadership & Service Award this spring. English senior Kari Eloranta is actively involved with civic engagement and is the undergraduate Service-Learning Mentor for the English course, The Literature of Public Life (ENGL 1501W); she also coordinates the University YMCA's tutoring projects this year. English senior Echo Martin is the web editor for two English student publications, Ivory Tower and Parachute, and has been involved with service learning and the English major student group FUSE. Third-year MFA candidate Claire Stanford is involved with sustainable agriculture and youth farm work in the Frogtown neighborhood of Saint Paul. Only about 35 students--both undergraduate and graduate--are selected from across the University, approximately one-half of one percent of the student body, for exceptional leadership and service to the University of Minnesota and the surrounding community.

Writer's Block with Guante Nov 15

The Writer's Block Workshop Series, sponsored by FUSE and Voices Merging, presents Guante, hip hop artist, two-time National Poetry Slam champion, social justice activist and educator. Eat a free dinner and get writing advice and exercises on Tuesday, November 15 from 5:30-7:30 pm in Coffman 324.

Alumna Monica Nassif Wins Carlson Honor

Monica Nassif (BA 1982) was named 2011 University of Minnesota Entrepreneur of the Year at a McNamara Alumni Center reception September 8. Nassif is the founder of Caldrea, a luxury cleaning products line, and its offshoot the Mrs. Meyers' Clean Day brand. Her success, she says in an interview, grew out of an internship with Dayton-Hudson which her English adviser helped her acquire. After almost two decades as a brand-builder for prominent retailers and consumer product firms, she started a marketing communications business in Minneapolis, then initiated Caldrea in 1999.

Alumnus Reports from Japan

English alumnus Nate Olson (BA 2010), who has been teaching English in Japan with the JET program, weathered the March earthquake in Hanamaki in the Iwate prefecture, 50 miles away from some of the worst tsunami damage. "A couple days prior to the quake," he writes us, "there was a magnitude 5 tremor which was the biggest earthquake I'd ever experienced. Everyone else at my school hardly batted an eye. . . . Then the big quake came [a magnitude 9]. The walls and light fixtures shook violently, books toppled off the shelves, and I said ten 'Hail Marys' and five 'Our Fathers' while waiting for the floor to collapse beneath me." The quake lasted six minutes. Olson marveled at the Japanese people's selfless and ordered response, observing that the teachers at his school visited each of their students' homes ("on spring vacation, no less!") to check on their well-being. "As an outsider, I was completely taken aback by the care I received from neighbors, coworkers, and even complete strangers following the quake."

Olson works as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) at two high schools, teaching a class ("Oral Communication") to 10th graders with little to no experience speaking English. At one high school, his students are university-bound with an "encyclopedic" understanding of English grammar; at the other, they know very little about the language. The difference in comprehension can be daunting: "In a given week," he describes, "I am by turns a fully-fledged teacher expected to design lesson plans around the intricacies of native English speech, and a glorified human tape recorder expected to entertain students with my 'foreignness.'" Yet the community spirit he witnessed after the quake and tsunami inspired him, and he plans to continue in the JET program, his teaching augmented with such activities as running an English club and helping a student prepare for a national English speech contest. Meanwhile, the ground shakes: amid the aftershocks was a magnitude 7 that knocked him out of bed. His thoughts are for those who have lost everything and still must stand on unsteady ground "constantly reminded of the cause of their misfortune."

Minnesota Daily Hiring Writers

The Daily is the student-run newspaper of the University of Minnesota. The Daily needs students interested in news, sports, opinion and arts and entertainment writing, photography, video, copy editing, and design. Non-journalism majors are encouraged. Fall positions will be open Aug. 1-15. Apply at mndaily.com/jobs and include any writing samples you may have. Questions? Contact Taryn Wobbema, editor in chief: twobbema@mndaily.com.

Ivory Tower 2011

Copies of the 2011 Ivory Tower, the University of Minnesota's undergraduate literary arts magazine, flew out the door back in May. However, you can still view the journal, created by students in a year-long English class, online. Thanks to student initiative, the 2011, 2010, and 2009 issues are now also available via a free app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch!

English Major Wins CLA Birkelo Scholarship

English and Journalism double major Carrie Krueger has won a 2011-12 Selmer Birkelo Scholarship, given to 15 College of Liberal Arts students annually. The Birkelo Scholarship is worth up to $4000 according to need. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, with particular attention paid to depth of study in the major, general breadth of coursework, and clarity of academic purpose. Congratulations, Carrie!