To Find a New Hero?

About a dozen of us attended Chris Abani's talk tonight at the conference. We laughed, wept, and found ourselves questioning the essentializing labels we toss around: refugee, citizen, writer, literature. Earlier in the day, I attended his question and answer session and had much the same reaction to him. His book, Song for Night, is this year's common reader, and I now regret profoundly that we didn't organize an activity around the novella. So I promise $5 for the marathon reading kitty when we get back home. Let's read this profound story of a child soldier as he reconnects with his essential humanity.

I can't even begin to describe all the wonderful things that Abani said, so I would like members to come back in and revise my posting. But the most marvelous thing that he said this morning was "Writers are the curators of our humanity."

--Felicia Steele

To "Meet me in St. Louis"?

March 18, 2010: The first full day of the annual Sigma Tau Delta Conference here in St. Louis, MO. Everyone arrived safely, and everyone successfully registered for the Conference and checked into the hotel. Our rooms overlook the Mississippi River and the Gateway Arch. TCNJ is the largest delegation here at the Convention,with 21 students, 2 faculty, and 29 scholarly essays to be presented.

The Conference registration site has a bulletin board with 9 "outstanding essays" on the Conference theme of "Storytellers," and I was delighted to discover that one of these outstanding essays was written by our own Nicole Pieri! Congrats, Nicole.

I've attended both the Chapter Sponsors session, and picked up some good ideas -- let's celebrate Banned Book week next September -- and my first paper session -- at which Kristen Casabona read a super Toni Morrison essay on Beloved. In addition to the sessions, students are also planning to take the tram to the top of the Gateway Arch and visit the fabulous St. Louis city zoo and the Budweiser Clydesdales (who live here by the Anheuser Busch brewery).

More later . . . Diane Steinberg

Not to talk about cake!

In celebration of Tim Burton's take on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland saga (I keep thinking that the film must adapt Through the Looking Glass instead), Sigma Tau Delta is hosting a "Happy Unbirthday" Thursday, March 4, at 11:30 am, in Bliss Hall lounge. But here's the catch: we can't hang flyers on campus because we're serving cake!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, because we secured a food waiver, so that we could save a little money and know that the cake would arrive in the right place at the right time (rather than using on-campus catering), we're not allowed to advertise the fact that we're having cake. Thus, we can't advertise the event, because our flyers won't be authorized, because we already volunteered that we're having cake.

So, DON'T TALK ABOUT CAKE! We're having an unbirthday party, where we will be serving "uncake," a newly minted confection made with a core of light and fluffy pastry lovingly drenched in sweet, creamy, unfrosting!

Revel in the absurdity, beware the jabberwock, and enjoy tea and uncake!

--Felicia Jean Steele --Photo courtesy of the British Library