The English department was rich with faculty accomplishments in the 2022-2023 academic year.
Dr. Erica Benson, interim director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and professor of English, and Anneli Williams, a 2016 UW-Eau Claire geography and German graduate, had their article “Crossing the line: Effect of border representation in perceptual dialectology” published in the Journal of Linguistic Geography, Vol. 10, issue 2, DOI link.
Dr. Erica Benson recently completed the Growth Mindset for Leaders program and earned the Chancellor’s Certificate.
Congratulations to Dr. Kelly Budruweit, visiting assistant professor in English, who recently completed Tier 3 of the EDI professional development program with her project “Transparent Design.”
Dr. Dorothy Chan, assistant professor of English, had her book “BABE” reviewed in the July 8 issue of the Asian Review of Books.
Dr. Chan will have her fourth poetry book, “Return of the Chinese Femme,” published by Deep Vellum Books in fall 2023 or spring 2024. This book was a finalist for both the Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize and the Saturnalia Alma Book Awards.
Dr. Chan reports that her 501(c)(3) literary arts organization, Honey Literary — a literary magazine run by all women and femmes of color — now has a new website, which is 100% accessible.
Dr. Chan had her third book of poetry, “BABE,” selected as a finalist for this year’s Sheila Margaret Motton Prize from the New England Poetry Club.
Dr. Chan has had two new prose poems published in the latest issue of The Gettysburg Review. Both are titled “Designer” and are part of a series in her forthcoming book, “Return of the Chinese Femme,” which will be published by Deep Vellum Books in fall 2023/spring 2024. In the same issue, Christina Pugh reviewed Chan’s “Revenge of the Asian Woman” (Diode Editions, 2019) and her triple sonnets in the article “Big Macs, Machines, and Other Unexpected Guests: American Sonnets in the Recent Twenty-First Century.”
Dr. Chan had her third book of poetry, “BABE,” named “The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed” by Sundress Publications. Chan’s poem “Triple Sonnet for Chinese Girls with No Humility,” from “BABE,” also was spotlighted.
Dr. Chan was a finalist for the 2023 Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize for her book “Revenge of the Asian Woman” (Diode Editions, 2019). The prize has been offered since 1968 on a triennial basis and is given for a book published in the previous three years that has made an important contribution to American poetry. Learn more about the award.
Dr. Chan shares that Issue 4 of Honey Literary has been published and includes Chan’s editor’s note. Chan’s poem “34D” was nominated by The Cincinnati Review for Sundress Publications’ Best of the Net. In addition, a few of Chan’s poems were spotlighted in Sundress Publications’ “The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed,” including “When I Tell Him About the First Girl Who Loved Me.” Chan also was interviewed by Saba Keramati about “BABE” for “Poet in the Mirror” from Frontier Poetry.
Dr. Chan read with Taneum Bambrick for “At Skylight: Taneum Bambrick presents ‘Intimacies, Received’ with Dorothy Chan” on Sept. 28. She also served as a judge for the 2022 Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellows program. Chan’s literary magazine/BIPOC-focused 501(c)(3), Honey Literary Inc., has published additional artist spotlights on its Sticky Fingers blog and recently hired new editors.
Dr. Chan read for the 2022 Nadine St. Louis Memorial Poetry Conversation of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival on Friday, Oct. 21, with Madison poet laureate Angie Trudell Vasquez. The reading, which took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eau Claire, was moderated by former Wisconsin poet laureate Max Garland, professor emeritus of English at UW-Eau Claire. The poetry reading honors Dr. Nadine St. Louis, a professor emeritus of English at UW-Eau Claire who passed away in 2010. Learn more about the event.
Dr. Chan had her piece “Triple Sonnet for My Mother’s Full-On Soap Opera Fantasy” published in Get Lit’s online anthology.
Dr. Chan gave a talk for the Wisconsin Writers Association on Thursday, Nov. 3, via Zoom. The talk, about the intersections of food and poetry, was based on Chan’s Poetry Foundation blog post, “What Does Food Have to Do With Poetry?”
Dr. Chan read for Ilanot Review’s “Want” issue launch on Monday, Nov. 7. She read with well-known poets such as Jose Hernandez Diaz and Kendra DeColo. The issue was curated by W. Todd Kaneko.
Dr. Chan was among the recipients of the 2022 Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People from the UW System. The awards are given each year to LGBTQ+ people or their allies who have helped to create a safer and more inclusive climate for LGBTQ+ people on UW System campuses. Chan read on behalf of Kundiman on Nov. 19 at the Southern California Poetry Festival at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, California. Chan had two new prose poems, “I Have an Asthma Attack in the Middle of the Night” and “At Dawn, After I Kiss a Girl for the First Time,” published in the new WANT issue of The Ilanot Review.
Dr. Chan is a member of the Wisconsin Writers Association board of directors. Chan is incredibly honored to join this board.
Dr. Chan has had a new prose poem, titled “The One,” published in Diode Poetry Journal, Issue 15.3.
Dr. Chan had her poem “I’m the Sad Girl in the Anime Masturbating” published in the latest issue of Washington Square Review, issue 47/48, winter 2022-23. In addition, as co-editor of book reviews for Pleiades Magazine, Chan published Joan Kwon Glass’ review of Su Cho’s “The Symmetry of Fish.” The piece is titled “How to Say Water (물): Ghosts & Fallen Fruit in Su Cho’s ‘The Symmetry of Fish.’”
Dr. Chan had her prose poem “Straight Sex is Boring” published in the fall 2022 edition of The Florida Review, Vol. 46.2.
Dr. Chan had her poem “Ode to Chinese Superstitions, Haircuts, and Being a Girl” selected as Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day on Lunar New Year, Jan. 22.
Dr. Chan had her BIPOC-focused literary magazine and 501(c)(3), Honey Literary, featured as one of “5 Lit Mags Under 5 Years Old” in the Jan. 16-29 issue of New York Magazine and in Vulture online. The listing reads, “Honey Literary est. 2020.: BIPOC-centered with a little bit of everything.”
Dr. Chan shares that the latest issue of Honey Literary was published in time for Valentine’s Day. View Chan’s editor’s note, “A Triple Sonnet for Valentine’s Day.”
Dr. Chan read and presented at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference March 8-11 in Seattle. On March 9, Chan will read for Diode Editions and also will sign books at the Diode Editions booth during the conference. On March 10, Chan hosted “Honey Literary at Gay City,” a reading followed by book signings.
Dr. Chan has been selected as a featured reader for Louisiana State University’s Delta Mouth Literary Festival, which will take place from April 21-23.
Dr. Chan was the judge for New Delta Review’s 11th Annual Chapbook Contest. Chan selected Aerik Francis’ “MISEDUCATION” as the winner. See Chan’s review of the award-winning chapbook.
Dr. Chan who serves as co-editor of book reviews for Pleiades, published a book review by Namrata Verghese, titled “The Mothers: Poems in Conversation and a Conversation by Dorianne Laux and Leila Chatti.”
Dr. Chan will serve as emcee and will read during the Wisconsin Writers Association’s celebration of National Poetry Month. The event will include a virtual reading and Q&A from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25. Other featured poets will be Dr. José Felipe Alvergue, associate professor of English; UW-Eau Claire alum Aja St. Germaine; Dr. Rita Mookerjee; Rosebud-Ben Oni; and Gustavo Barahona-López. The event also was previewed in the April 5 Volume One article “It’s National Poetry Month: Several Eau Clairians part of Wisconsin Writers event.” Learn more and register.
Dr. Chan has been selected as a featured reader for Louisiana State University’s Delta Mouth Literary Festival, which took place from April 21-23. Chan will read at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at the Center for River Studies in Baton Rouge. See full schedule.
Dr. Stephanie Farrar, associate professor of English, had her article “The Other Dickinson Sister: Lavinia’s Experimental Poetry” published in Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers, Vol. 38, Nos. 1-2, 2021, pages 26-66. The essay introduces a little-known 1898 typescript of poetry written by Emily Dickinson’s sister and identifies it as a source of significant aesthetic experiment that deserves recognition.
Amy Fleury, adjunct lecturer in English, chaired and presented on the panel “Love Set You Going: Poems on Mothering and Being Mothered” at the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference Nov. 5 at the University of Central Arkansas. Her poem “Elegy for My Uterus” was been published in the winter 2022 issue of Rust & Moth. Fleury also gave an invited reading, along with fiction writer Adam Johnson, Sept. 15 at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.
Max Garland, professor emeritus of English, had his piece “Intensive Care” published in the Jan. 26 issue of Volume One.
Max Garland, professor emeritus of English and former poet laureate of Wisconsin, had his work featured in the March 1 Volume One article “Worlds apart: Garland’s new volume of poetry explores territory near and far,” which was written by B.J. Hollars, professor of English.
B.J. Hollars had his “Sawdust Stories” piece “Coaching the way to victory” published in the Aug. 4 Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
B.J. Hollars had his piece “Sawdust Stories: Quest for the Holy Sweatshirt” published in the Aug. 26 Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
Congratulations to B.J. Hollars who completed Tier 3 of the EDI professional development program by successfully completing a transparent design project.
B.J. Hollars had his prose piece “The Wild Horses of Tybee Island” published in the Local Lit section of the Oct. 11 issue of Volume One.
B.J. Hollars had his column “The gift that keeps on giving,” highlighting UW-Eau Claire alum Dalton Hessel, published in the Dec. 20 issue of Volume One.
B.J. Hollars received a grant award from the Wisconsin Humanities Major Grants Program for a documentary project titled “When Rubber Hit the Road: The Loss and Legacy of Uniroyal.”
B.J. Hollars had his story “Leaving a lasting legacy,” about Mildred Larson, who taught French at UW-Eau Claire, published in the March 4 issue of The Country Today.
B.J. Hollars had his article “Passing the puck through generations,” about former UW-Eau Claire hockey coach Wally Akervik and his family, published in the April 14 Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
John Hildebrand, professor emeritus of English, has had his most recent book, “Long Way Round: Through the Heartland by River,” issued in paperback by the University of Wisconsin Press.
Dr. Theresa D. Kemp, professor of critical studies in English, is one of 51 educators to receive funding from a new grant program launched by online learning platform Course Hero. Kemp’s project focuses on improving digital literacy instruction in the Blugold Seminar by having students make more intentional choices of digital media to create their final projects.
Dr. Sarita Jayanty Mizin, assistant professor of English and an affiliate in the race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality studies program, competed in women’s foil at the Third Coast Cup Regional Open tournament March 11-12 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They placed in the top eight and have qualified for USA Fencing’s Division 1 Summer Nationals to be held June 30-July 9 in Phoenix, Arizona.
UW-Eau Claire’s Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) was well represented at the International Writing Center Association conference Oct. 26-29 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Jonathan Rylander, associate professor of English and director of the CWE, presented as part of the panel “Invisibly Here: The Future of Life Writing and Writing Centers” with students and CWE interns Grace Schutte, Thomas DeLapp and Carlee Shimek. Rylander also presented on the panel “Queering the Curriculum: Engaging Writing Centers as Catalysts for Social Change in Writing Enriched Curriculum Movements” with Dr. Kaia Simon, associate professor of English and director of the Blugold Seminar Writing Program. Students and CWE interns Anna Hagel, Shantel Brown and Anna Wendorff presented the panel “Envisioning a Movement-Based Alternative to Traditional Writing Center Sessions.”
Congratulations to the following UW-Eau Claire educators who recently were named University Fellows, a new donor-supported initiative that aims to recognize and celebrate high-achieving faculty and instructional staff members: Dr. Kaia Simon, associate professor of English and race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality studies, and director of the Blugold Seminar Writing Program, and Dr. Asha Sen, professor of English.
Dr. David Shih, professor of English, sold his manuscript, titled “Chinese Prodigal,” a memoir-in-essays about the construction of Asian American identity within a racially stratified nation, at auction, to editor Amy Hundley at Grove Atlantic. The sale was facilitated by Laura Usselman at Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency for publication in 2023.
Dr. Shih gave a keynote address, titled “Envisioning Justice in Higher Education Amid Systemic Racism,” at the Harper College 2022 Diversity Symposium Oct. 21 in Palatine, Illinois. He also led the breakout session ”Understanding Anti-Blackness” at the symposium, whose theme was “Understanding Systemic Racism: Past, Present and Making it Personal.”
Dr. Shih led a professional development training, titled “Intergenerational Family Dynamics in Asian American Literary Memoir,” Feb. 1 for the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board.
Dr. Shih gave the presentation “Writing a Memoir in Essays: A Reading from Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments” for UW-Eau Claire’s Faculty/Academic Staff Forum Feb. 15. The presentation was hosted by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning on campus.
Dr. Kaia Simon, associate professor of English and director of the Blugold Seminar Writing Program, presented “Finding Hope in Translanguaging at Work: Agency Matters” at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Feb. 15-18 in Chicago. She also served as vice chair of the CCCC Standing Group for Untenured and Alt-Ac Writing Program Administrators and will serve as chair of the group for next year’s convention.
The campus community sent a Thank a Blugold email to: Kate Worzala, English, UW-Eau Claire – Barron County, and Dr. Jan Stirm, English.
Bruce Taylor, professor emeritus of English, was selected as a finalist in the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters’ 2022 Fiction & Poetry Contest for his poem “Full Disclosure.”
