Vocke & Summer Migrant Programs

Karen Vocke is spending time this summer in Hartford, Michigan, as a consultant for the district's summer migrant program. She has worked with program director Cheryl Boothby and the district for more than three years in a research collaboration which resulted in Vocke's book, Where Do I Go From Here? Meeting the Unique Educational Needs of Migrant Students, published by Heinemann. Vocke will work with the teachers on writing pedagogy for English Language Learners. Additionally, she will coordinate evening literacy workshops for migrant parents. Vocke also works with educators in the Eau Claire summer migrant program.

English Faculty Recognized at Luncheon for Tenure/Promotion

On Friday, June 13, WMU honored faculty who received tenure and/or promotion with a luncheon at the Bernhard Center. English Department attendees included Drs. Jon Adams and Karen Vocke (tenure and promotion to Associate Professor), Dr. Jana Schulman (promotion to Professor), and Chair Richard Utz. President Dunn congratulated our faculty after the luncheon.

New Issues Press: Two Titles Receive Recognition

ForeWord magazine announced the winners of its tenth annual Book of the Year Awards and Undid in the Land of Undone by Lee Upton was given a silver medal in the poetry category. Undid in the Land of Undone is Lee Upton’s fifth book of poetry. She is the author of four books of literary criticism, most recently Defensive Measures. A native of Michigan, she is a professor of English and the Writer in Residence at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. For a complete list of winners, visit their website www.forewordmagazine.com.

The Boys I Borrow by Heather Sellers has been named one of four finalists for the 2007 Balcones Poetry Prize. Heather Sellers is the author of two previous volumes of poetry, the short story collection Georgia Under Water, a children’s book, and a series of books on the practice of writing. She teaches at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

The 2007 Balcones Poetry Prize, awarded to an outstanding book of poetry published during the year, was given to Aimee Nezhukumatathil's At the Drive-in Volcano. The three other finalists included Bob Hicok, Laura Kasischke, and Ron Padgett. Judges for the 2007 prize were Carrie Fountain, Elizabeth McKetta, and Scott Pierce. For more information on the Balcones Poetry Prize, visit their website: www.austincc.edu/crw/balcones_prize.html.

Both titles were published as part of the Inland Seas Poetry Series. Inland Seas titles are supported by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and feature work by authors with strong Michigan connections.

Walker Receives WMU Assessment Grant

Joyce Walker is the recipient of a 2008-2009 WMU Faculty Assessment Grant for her project, "Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in English 1050" (Thought & Writing).

Norton Author Don Lee Joins Department

The Department is proud to announce its most recent hire, fiction writer Don Lee. Lee received his B.A. in English Literature from University of California, Los Angeles, graduating summa cum laude, and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Literature from Emerson College. He most recently served as Associate Professor at Macalester College, and has also served as a Visiting Writer at Emerson College, Queens University, University of Michigan, and Bennington College.
Don is the author of three books, Yellow, a collection of short stories which won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction; Country of Origin, a novel which won the American Book Award; and his latest novel, Wrack and Ruin, which was released from W.W. Norton this spring and was recently featured on National Public Radio. His stories have received an O. Henry Award and a Pushcart Prize, and have been published in GQ, The Kenyon Review, American Short Fiction, The Gettysburg Review, and The North American Review. Don is the recipient of the fiction fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the St. Botolph Club Foundation, and was named as a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction. He is the inaugural recipient of the Fred R. Brown Literary Award for emerging novelists from the University of Pittsburgh. For full biographical information, please check: http://www.don-lee.com/

Don also served as the editor of Ploughshares, one of best-known literary journals in the United States, reading, critiquing, and editing the work of hundreds of writers.