New English Major at SUU and Poetry Stuff

It's so very exciting that the Board of Regents passed the vote for a new English major at SUU. The English department now offers something similar to a double major, but with slightly fewer credits. It is a Creative Writing/English Education Emphasis. It's a little bit of creative writing, a little bit of English education, and a little bit of literature.

My college professor/friend mentioned it to me last year and I was interested but didn't know how soon it would be available. It will officially be in the catalog for the 2010-2011 school year. So, I'll have to change my major, again, but not departments. :)

A friend of mine was teasing me about how many times I changed my major (technically, I just went back and forth a few times) and she said the reason why I had changed so many times is because they had not created my major yet! Makes perfect sense to me.

Saturday, January 30 is the last day of the Parowan Gap exhibit, so if you haven't had a chance to see it, well, you should get your fanny over there and do so. It was such a neat experience. Especially when fellow students and I were asked by my professor to come to her Intro to Creative Writing class and read our poetry. It was so surreal. I just remember how much I wanted a poem of mine to be on those walls, and it was! It was a very rewarding experience, and it truly helped solidify the knowledge that I'm in the right major/department/area, whatever you'd like to call it. And I have to say it's about time I feel that way!

p.s. It's truly creepy how much what I'm learning in critical theory is coming into poetry. One of the essayists has mentioned three of the philosophers or theorists we have been or will be studying. And these theory ideas have come up several times in YA literature. I am really beginning to love my major! Now, if only my friends at school would stop acting like high schoolers life would be good.

Spring Semester 2010

These first couple of weeks have been like an intermittent tornado - I keep getting put up and down and up and down until I don't know which way is which. I think the three-day weekend (Hallelujah!) helped me get my schoolwork, housework, churchwork, in order...at least for the time being.

I figured I'd stick with tradition and give you all a run down of my classes.

Critical Literature & Theory - The name alone gives me the heebee jeebees. (I love the way that is spelled! Just looking at it made me giggle!) I like the professor. She is really appreciative of class discussion and never makes anyone feel (OK, I never feel) inferior with their comments. I worry about that because I think I never know as much as I should. Sometimes we talk in circles in that class. Like right now, I'm supposed to be reading Kant, some dead guy who is talking, or I would say babbling, about the "Sublime." I can't even go down that path right now or my post would be ridiculously long. Suffice it to say I really don't care what some dead guy said about defining the sublime. And that's why I'm posting instead of reading his...manure. Sorry Kant lovers.

Educational Psychology - You know, I really love psychology. I find the behavior of the human mind and the reason and chemistry behind our behaviors fascinating. I do NOT in any way, shape, or form find this class fascinating. The other day my status on facebook said something to the effect of why professors who teach education are really terrible educators. It was this teacher. Oi vay! Let's just say I get a lot of homework done in that class.

Advanced Poetry - It's good. We workshop our poetry on Thursdays. I love getting feedback from my friends and fellow students about my work, so I love Thursdays. Tuesdays we respond to the reading we were assigned. Each student will take a day to lead the discussion. I dread my turn. I'm not a deep reader. I'll have to read my section several times in order to generate questions. But the writing is good. A lot of writing, but it's all good. Well, it's not always good or all good, but you know what I mean.

Young Adult Literature - The best class and definitely one of the best teachers I've ever had. Seriously, we get to read 10 YA novels and discuss them. This class also gives each student the chance to lead. We're all assigned a certain portion from one of the books for the semester and then we take 20 to 30 minutes to present and teach the class according to our need. Elementary Ed, Secondary Ed, College, Creative Writing. It's great. I'm nervous for my turn, but I get to teach an excerpt from The Hobbit. Yay! Any questions you have about Creative Writing? Especially about The Hobbit?

I also was asked to be a grader for my poetry professor. Seriously, I get paid to read and respond to the Intro to Creative Writing students' work. Nice. :)

My (sort of) First Publication

Last year at this time I was enrolled in Creative Writing, and we began the semester with a unit on poetry. I was fairly unfamiliar with poetry - the closest I had come to poetry in a long time was Shel Silverstein.

At that time the Braithwaite Art Gallery was hosting an exhibit called "Zion: A Creative Response." Students and faculty from from the Art and English departments at SUU traveled to Zion to express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences of Zion.

My professor took our Intro to Creative Writing class down to the exhibit for class one day. Most of the students who had their poetry on display in the exhibit were there that day to read their poetry. I was in awe of what they had done. Especially because Zion is something I'm so familiar with. I remember thinking, "I would love to have my poetry on that wall!" Little did I know...

Last semester a group of SUU students and faculty once again collaborated with the Braithwaite Art Gallery to put together an exhibit for this semester entitled "Parowan Gap - God's Own House." To fill one of the requirements for my Intermediate Poetry course, I had the option of visiting the Parowan Gap and writing an additional poem about my experiences there. I knew I wanted to work toward getting my poetry on that wall, and so I chose to write an additional poem about the Gap.

I worked like a maniac at that poem. It went through several drafts, several conferences, and several moments of insanity. Although the moments of insanity might not have much to do with the poem, but more to do with genetic inheritance. Either way, it was a crazy time.

Tonight was the opening reception for the exhibit, which will run now through January 30. I'm proud to say my poem is hanging there among amazing poems written by some fantastic poets, who just happen to be my fellow classmates!

It's truly such a surreal thing to have worked on something like that. I've known for a year that I wanted to have a poem with my name to it hanging on the wall. And it was just fantastic to see it there, and to watch people quietly, respectfully, milling around, reading and enjoying art and poetry.

Because my poem is hanging in the exhibit it also qualifies to be in the Kolob Canyon Review. KCR is a peer reviewed journal that showcases art, photography, poetry, prose, etc. from SUU students, faculty, and alumni. I'm proud to say come Aprilish, the newest edition of the KCR will be out and my poem will be in there!

So go check it out! Here's the link for the info on the Braithwaite Art Gallery.