Faculty News
Creative Writing Professor Honored by the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival
Valerie Nieman, associate professor of English, was one of nine poets named as winners of the 2013 Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival
Nâzım Hikmet Ran was a Turkish poet, playwright, and novelist. He was recognized as the first and foremost modern Turkish poet, and regarded throughout the world as one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century for the "lyrical flow of his statements.” His poetry has been translated into more than fifty languages. The idea of a festival as a tribute to this preeminent poet emerged among friends in the NC Turkish community who appreciated his work and ideals of his life. The event includes an annual poetry competition - in this, its fifth year, the competition received over 816 poems from 272 poets. A quarter of the poems were submitted by international poets who lived outside the USA.
Writing Center Director Has Chapter Published
The director of the University Writing Center, Robert Randolph, has had a chapter published entitled: "Wanderlust, Hysteria and Insurrection: (Re)presenting the 'Beloved' Sweet Home Men" in the book Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films and African American Literature, Edited by Tara Green; Palgrave/MaMLillan Publishers, 2013.
English Professor Active in the Community
Africana Symposium Focuses on Politics
The second Africana Fall Symposium, "Advancing African and African Diaspora Causes: The Role of Politics in the United States," was hosted by Professor Bryon Turman on Nov. 7 in the General Classroom Building Auditorium. A panel of presenters, comprising the Hon. Earl Jones and Dr. Steve Ferguson, discussed issues relating to politics and the 2012 presidential elections. About a hundred people attended.
The event began with greetings from the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr Beverly Grier, and opening remarks by the chair of the English Department, Dr. Faye Maor. Dr. Pauline Uwakweh (English), chair of the Africana Committee, in her concluding remarks announced that the 2013 fall symposium will focus on education: "Advancing African and African Diaspora Causes: The Role of Education in the United States." She emphasized the importance of students’ and faculty engagement in Africana symposia, and added that the Africana Committee will continue to sustain its vision and mission initiatives by creating such intellectually stimulating opportunities for the NCA & T and Greensboro community.
Essays on Theory Used in GM ClassesTwo of Dr. Greg Meyerson's essays on critical race theory--Rethinking Black Marxism and Post Marxism as Compromise Formation - are being taught (Fall, 2012) in CULT (Cultural Studies) 860, Contemporary Marxism, a graduate course in the Ph.D program in Cultural Studies at George Mason University. The professor teaching the course is critical theorist Paul Smith.
For information on George Mason's program, one of the nation's premier Cultural Studies Programs, see http://culturalstudies.gmu.edu/ For the Smith's complete syllabus, see http://osf1.gmu.edu/%7epsmith5/860Fall2012.htm
Professor's Novel Is Finalist for Gardner Prize
Blood Clay, a novel by associate professor Valerie Nieman, was named a finalist for the prestigious John Gardner Fiction Book Prize 2012. The book, published by Press 53, also received the Eric Hoffer Award for General Fiction. The Hoffer Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer. Titles in this category are non-genre specific fiction, including literary, short story, and mainstream. The judges wrote: "Touching on themes of loneliness, belonging, and racism, this book will haunt the reader."
Dr. Meyerson's Articles Reprinted
Dr. Gregory Meyerson's essay "Aunt Sue's Mistake: False Consciousness in Bright and Morning Star," first published in Reconstruction 8.4, has been reprinted in the book Falling Gods and Angels: 20th Century African American Writers and the Left. This is the third article authored/coauthored by Meyerson that has been reprinted in the past year. One was "Pulp Fiction: the Aesthetics of Anti-Radicalism in Light in August," first printed in Science and Society (coauthored with Jim Neilson) January 2008, reprinted in their Science and Society Reader, 2011; and (coauthored with Michael Roberto, Jamey Essex and Jeffrey Noonan) "Moment of Transition: Structural Crisis and the Case for a Democratic Socialist Party," published January 2011 in Cultural Logic and reprinted in the journal Works and Days, Vol. 30, 2012, pp. 51-119. He also coauthored with physicist Bill Sacks "The Nuclear Energy Solution," to be found at climate scientist Barry Brook's blog bravenewclimate.
