| FCEA Spring 2000 Newsletter FLORIDA COLLEGE ENGLISH ASSOCIATION |
|
CONTENTS
* President's Message *
* Visions and Voices of the 21st Century *
* Defining the Florida Story *
* Keynote Speaker for FCEA Luncheon *
* Conference Program *
A student of mine, on hearing about this year’s conference, tossed out this comment: "A convention of English professors? Now that must be fun." I blurted out an eager response, telling him about how great it is to hear what people across the state are doing and thinking, before I realized that he was being facetious. I immediately thought of my favorite quote from Satchel Paige: "Some people, if they don’t know, you can’t tell ‘em." I couldn’t get this young man to understand the beauty of statewide colleagues from dramatically different colleges and universities coming together in one place to share a common bond. Those of us who belong to this organization do, however, understand the delights that come from such sharing.
Our 2000 conference is our Big Show. I encourage everyone to join us in Altamonte Springs—not only for the formal presentations, but also for the informal meetings outside the hotel’s presentation rooms. In short, we do know, and we can tell each other a great deal—but we need to be together for the magic to happen.
"Visions and Voices of the 21st
Century"
By Valerie Zimbaro, Vice-President, FCEA
Valencia Community College
vzimbaro@gwmail.valencia.cc.fl.us
Those of us who love language and literature are experiencing an extraordinary time in the history of education. At the beginning of this new century, we can see a world of possibilities in the faces of our students and hear the voices of those no longer separated by technological, economic, or geographic boundaries. This year’s FCEA Conference in Altamonte Springs will celebrate our growing interconnectedness and will reveal the powerful presence of such possibilities.
A number of this
year’s sessions will focus on personal experience as a catalyst for essays, poetry,
and fiction. Diversity in genre, variations in instructional style, and uses of technology
in the classroom will also be highlighted in this year’s conference. Native American
storyteller, Gabriel Horn, will provide an inspiring message, and what better place to
conduct the conference than in the "small world" located just outside of
Orlando?
This year’s conference participants should
surely enjoy the proximity of the hotel to the area’s most popular resort
destinations as well as countless restaurants and entertainment spots located within just
miles of the Holiday Inn. The variety of local eateries include the Kobe Steak House,
Cookers, Straub’s Seafood as well as the familiar fare of Red Lobster, Olive Garden,
Bennigan’s, and more. Those looking for entertainment will also find it nearby in
Gina’s on the Water, a grotto-bar featuring live jazz nightly. Participants seeking
convenience will appreciate the hotel’s own "WaterFall Café, with indoor and
outdoor patio service available in view of the facility’s 20 ft. waterfall and
Olympic sized swimming pool. Music lovers will especially love the hotel’s "Why
Not? Lounge," which offers Happy Hour and other drink specials as well as nightly
live entertainment. For those making a weekend of the event, Friday night’s
"Bonkers Comedy Show" will be the beginning of a perfect evening of
entertainment ending with a live band and a DJ playing from 9 p.m. until 2.
Participants in the conference will also have the
convenience of other hotel amenities such as a fully-equipped universal fitness center as
well as in-room refrigerators, microwaves, ironing boards/irons, hair dryers, coffee
makers, and voice mail/modem access. These and other features of the conference location
are reasons why guests have recognized the Holiday Inn at Altamonte Springs as
"Paradise Found - a business hotel with a resort feel." Call (407) 862-4455 to
make reservations, and plan to attend what promises to be an inspiring and enjoyable
conference.
excerpt from
100% Pure Florida Fiction*Brighter than a digital print-out,
100% Pure Florida Fiction provides a full-featured map of Florida's imaginative landscape at the stark turning of the millennial moment--with visions and aftershocks that linger in the mind long after reading.*--Joe David Bellamy, former publisher and editor, Fiction International Like W. H. Auden's idea of the
"finished" poem, this anthology is in one sense an "abandoned"
project; it couldn't possibly embrace everything that is Florida. Not that we didn't
assign a few boundaries. We restricted ourselves to stories whose Florida setting seemed
to us crucial--stories perhaps possible somewhere else, but not probable--and we confined
our search to work published or witten since 1985. We screened more than 600 stories by as
many authors. Our University of Central Floridagraduate assistant, Ashley Woods, scoured
short story indexes and swampedinterlibrary loan with requests for books. We advertised in
writers' journals. We searched the internet. We asked around, making nuisances of
ourselves to colleagues and friends.
These final selections are varied in
setting--from Alligator Alley to the Panhandle, from Key West to Jacksonville, from
Canaveral Seashores to Redington Beach. Of the twenty-one stories, arranged alphabetically
by author, eleven have male narrators and ten female (we didn't plan that even-ness; it
just happened) and they are diverse in ethnicity, gender, and class. Their subject matter
ranges from love to death and back again, including such topical concerns as homophobia
and child abuse, and such timeless ones as loyalty and responsibility. It's certainly
likely that we've missed some excellent Florida stories, but we think the group assembled
here is both representative and impressive. The stories showcase authors who are already
well-known (such as Frederick Barthelme, Alison Lurie, Jill McCorkle, Peter Meinke, and
Joy Williams) and they introduce others just beginning their writing careers.
Looking down on Florida from the sky, as
astronauts (and those of us who watch the NASA cable channel) do, you're struck not so
much by the land as by the water--the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf waters that define
this familar peninsula. Coming closer, you notice lakes--not only prominent Okeechobee,
but thousands of others--that punctuate the green land. Closer yet, you see countless
turquoise swimming pools scattered through suburban neighborhoods. More than any other
element, water appears to define Florida, and it isn't surprising that in many of the
stories offered here, water is a major character.
Nature in general is abundantly present in
these stories, in rural and urban settings alike. While the traditional Southern story may
feature plantations (often as a symbol of decay) or characters who embody the grotesque,
the Florida story is richly embellished with exotic flora or fauna. Sometimes the flora
and fauna are faintly sinister, as in Karen Loeb's "Fauna in Florida". A woman
opens her door to retrieve the morning paper and...almost lost her wedding ring and charm
bracelet which she never took off...because there was what looked like to her a real-life
gray-green four-footed slimy-mouthed alligator waiting for a meal. His two front feet were
on the plastic wrapper of the paper....Alligators, like homeless people, are often treated
as mere nuisances in contemporary Florida--intrusions in a culture that increasingly
encloses itself to create an illusion of safety from such threats, each enclosure only
enhancing the problem.
From these stories, a thoughtful reader might
conclude that contemporary Florida is a place where Nature and society conspire to make
the everyday world surreal. Unlike the New England story, haunted by rich colonial history
and bound by tradition in its land use, architecture, and customs, or the classic Southern
story whose roots lie in a miasma of past glory and whose present celebrates eccentricity,
the Florida story tends to be more brash yet more uncertain. Retirees, snowbirds,
natives--all are at odds with the alligators and the heat. Strip malls, not post offices,
libraries, or courthouses, are the landmarks of our communities; abundant fast-food
outlets, trailer parks, and pawn shops reinforce an overall sense of transience. Gated
residential "communities" are bordered by the ghettos of the poor.
The theme of many a Florida story is nostalgia:
longing for a past that never was, regret for what might have been, discovery not of the
Fountain of Youth but of a paradise lost. Yet nostalgia is sweet as well as bitter, and
the voices in these stories convey humor and optimism as much as regret. 100% Pure
Florida Fiction is a fine literary companion for Florida travels, armchair and
actual, from the Panhandle to Key West and a dozen places in between. It travels well,
won't wrinkle, and never complains if you get lost.
About the editors:
*reprinted by permission of University Press of Florida
Keynote Speaker for the FCEA Luncheon
Echoing the ancient sounds of the
Native American oral tradition, wisdom keeper Gabriel Horn (White Deer of Autumn), will be
the featured luncheon speaker on Friday, Feb. 4th at the FCEA 2000 Conference.
Horn is a both a short story and creative
non-fiction writer and professor of English at St. Petersburg Junior College. During the
conference, he will deliver a message that reflects his own affinity for the splendor of
Florida’s natural beauty as well as his praise of the "primal" or
uncivilized mind. He will encourage listeners who grapple with the complexities of
contemporary society to embrace the sacred by seeking a deeper understanding of the
inter-connectedness of all life.
Horn, one of the original American Indian
Movement teachers who helped establish the AIM Survival Schools in the 1970s, lectures
nationwide on the topics of the environment and creative writing. As the author of
numerous books, including Contemplations of a Primal Mind, Native Heart: An American
Indian Odyssey, and his forthcoming publication, The Book of Ceremonies, Horn
has also won national acclaim for his children’s book entitled Ceremony in the
Circle of Life.
As cited in a Booklist review,
Horn’s writing "poignantly shows . . . how difficult but rewarding it is to
live, moment by shining moment, in a primal relationship with the world." Thus,
Horn’s presentation for the FCEA luncheon should inspire others to live more
authentic lives as they hear his stories, share his experiences, and recognize his
literary reflections as universal truths.
VISIONS AND VOICES OF THE 21st CENTURY
FCEA 2000 Annual Conference Program
Altamonte Springs, Florida
Thursday, February 3
8:30-4:00 Registration and Member/Publisher Displays
(Holiday Inn Lobby)9:00-10:00 Welcome and Continental Breakfast (Compliments of FCEA) (Regal and Majestic Rooms
10:00-10:45 SESSION 1
1-A Literary Analysis and Criticism (Regal Room)
"The Cowboy and the Machine: Heroism in a Culture of Submission," Roderick Hofer, (IRCC)
"Reading Literature Against Itself," Jerome Donnelly (UCF)
1-B Composition Pedagogy (Majestic Room)
"Demystifying the ‘Research’ Paper," Stephanie K. Freuler, (VCC)
"Composition as Communication: An Approach to Harmonizing
Diverse Writing Tasks and Dissonant
Pedagogies," Robert Saba, (FIU)
1-C Issues in Multicultural Classrooms (Regency Room)
"Cross-Cultural Communication," Elisabeth Sommer (UCF)
"Program Models for Non-Native Speakers in English Classes," Douglas Magrath (ERAU)
1-D Personal Narrative as Research (Imperial Room)
"Travel Writers and Travel Writing: Some Problems in David Livingstone," Steve Glassman (ERAU)
"Narrative, Humberto Maturana, and the Formation of Individual and Cultural Identity," Jill M. Reed (Barry University)
11:00-11:45 SESSION 2
2-A Reflective Teaching and Writing (Regal Room)
"Are We Afraid to Simplify English Grammar?: Teaching the
Subjective and Objective Pronoun Cases,"
Rhonney W. Grant (VCC)
"Reimagining Academic Literaci(es): Constructed Literacies in the English Classroom," Christopher Schroeder (Flagler College)
2-B Film as Literature (Majestic Room)
"Using Film for Literary Instruction," Linda L. Griffin (ECC)
"Mars and Christ: Religion in Four Representative American War Movies," Arden Jensen (GCCC)
2-C Floridiana Panel Discussion (Regency Room)
"Visions and Voices of Miami in the University of Miami
Composition Curriculum," Dorinda Dawn Fox,
Malvina Engelberg, Thom Satterle, and Steve Luscher (UM)
2-D "Liquid" Compositions: Achieving Fluidity in the Writing Classroom (Imperial Room)
"Writing Like a Mountain: Sensing a More Fluid Approach to Composition," Christopher J. Keller (UF)
"The Pelagic Writer: Toward a Discourse of Fluidity," Sidney I. Dobrin (UF)
"The Closed Fist and the Open Palm" Zeno, Pedagogy, and the Process Model," Dion Cautrell (UF)
12:15-1:30 Lunch on Your Own (Meals Available in the Waterfall Café)
FADE Luncheon –FADE members only (Monarch Room)
1:30-2:00 FCEA All-Member Meeting (Regal Room)
2:15-3:00 SESSION 3
3-A Composition Pedagogy (Regal Room)
"Beyond the Writing Process: Writing as a Way of Knowing," James M. Reynolds (USF)
"The Promise of Self-Motivation in the Writing Classroom," Peter Schreffler (Florida Southern University)
3-B Uses of Technology in the Classroom (Majestic Room)
"Feeding the Literary Senses: Literature and Technology," Dawn E. Reno (LCCC)
"Hearing Students’ Voices in the 21st Century: The Use of Web Boards in Literature Classes," Deidre Holmes DuBois (VCC)
3-C Florida Writers/Writing Florida (Regency Room)
"Laughing to Keep from Dying," Sarah Fogle (ERAU)
"What Hath Fidel Wrought?" Ellen Smith, (Stetson University)
3-D Concerns of "Gypsy" Academics (Imperial Room)
"Blue M&M, Red Herring, and the Great Scapegoat Hunt,"
Richard McKee (Ringling School of Art and
Design)
3:15-4:00 SESSION 4
4-A Creating a Positive Classroom Environment (Majestic Room)
"Politics of Difference: Using Myers-Briggs Type in the Classroom," Nancy Eliot Parker (ERAU)
"Leveling the Hierarchy in Humanities Classrooms," Donna J. Barbie (ERAU)
4-B Author vs. Screenwriter in Florida Film-Making (Regency Room)
"From The Golden Days to The First of May: From Book to Film," Gail Radley (Stetson University)
4-C Teaching as Transformation (Regal Room)
5:00-6:30 FCEA All Member Reception (Waterfall Café)
9:00 Evening Reading (Regency Room)
Friday, February 4
7:30-8:45 FCEA Executive Board Meeting (Monarch Room)
7:30-9:00 Conference Registration (Holiday Inn Lobby)
9:00-9:45 SESSION 5
5-A FADE Meeting (Regal Room): The Florida Association of Departments of English will meet to discuss issues facing English departments. Everyone is welcome. Facilitator: Dr. Louis Hill Pratt (President, Florida A & M College)
5-B Studies in Shakespeare (Majestic Room)
"Shakespearean Ambivalence in Selected Sonnets and Henry V"
The Sonnets, Lois Fennelly (Bethune-Cookman College)
Henry V, Samuel J. Goldstein, (DBCC)
10:00-10:45 SESSION 6
6-A Literary Analysis/Criticism Panel (Regal Room)
"Greeds and Garbage: Post-Natural Poetry," "Nicholson
Baker: The Language of the Particular" Rudolph W.
Stoeckel, Panel Chair/Presenter, Alan Rosiene, and Robert Shearer (FIT)
6-C Film as Literature Panel (Majestic Room)
"Comparative Studies in Film and Literary Text," Lynn Wallace (GCCC)
"Teaching the Film-Based Research Paper," Kathia Miller (ECC)
11:00-11:45 SESSION 7
7-A The Politics of Gender (Regal Room)
"Trashed: Women’s Writing and the Poetics of
Survival," Susan E. Jones (PBAC) and Kathleen Anderson
(PBAC)
"Sincerity and Women’s Voices in Postmodern Poetry," Marcia Denius (FIT)
7-B "New Woman" Literature (Imperial Room)
"Anne Bronte: ‘New Woman’ Ahead of Her Time: A Comparison of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Sarah Grand’s The Heavenly Twins," Laura B. Eberle Evers (UCF)
12:15-2:15 Closing Luncheon with Special Guest, Gabriel Horn (White Deer of Autumn), award-winning writer, teacher, and storyteller, with traditional Native American musical accompaniment by Dennis Harrison
FCEA
© 2000 Florida College English Association