You're invited!

[eldritchhobbit]

Happy birthday to artwhisperer, and best wishes for many happy returns of the day!

* You're invited: I will be giving the keynote address ("Pushing the Boundaries of English Studies: From Middle-earth to Hogwarts") at this year's English Studies Symposium at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee on March 21, 2009. The event will include a full day of presentations made by graduate students and faculty from universities all over the Southeast. The bad news is that there is a fee to attend, but the good news is that there's also a fully catered deli lunch at no extra cost. If you're in/near the area, I hope you'll stop by and say hello. It would be great to see you there!

* My most recent "History of the Genre" segment (this one is about Emilie Flygare-Carlén, the first professional Swedish novelist, and her contribution to speculative fiction) is available in the latest episode of StarShipSofa: The Science Fiction Audio Magazine, "Aural Delights No. 69." You can download it here, listen to it streaming here, or get it via iTunes under "StarShipSofa." A list of my other podcast commentaries, interviews, and unabridged dramatic readings is available here with links. To those of you listening, many thanks indeed! I hope you enjoy it.

*
Rest in peace, Bill Buchanan. Augh! I will miss you very much!


"Lovely nightingales used to come and sing to me, but since World War II, I have heard none near home. Is anything as beautiful for anyone now?!!!"
- Hilary Tolkien, Black and White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien

Comments

[estellye.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. *Ponders a quick jaunt to Tennessee*

Let me see if I can budget it in, it will be tight with gas and hotel, etc.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for considering it! It would be so great to see you there. :)

[elmwood.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great address. I wish I could attend, but Canada is just a little far away from Tennessee.

On a different subject entirely. I am starting to work my way through some of the dystopian novels you listed and am very engaged by the different approaches. The Marcus Sedewick book is one I am particularly enjoying having lived for many years in Norwich.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I appreciate your encouragement. (And yes, I think Canada is a bit far for a quick visit. I'm still waiting for transporter technology, any day now!)

I'm so glad the list is proving useful to you! I'd love to know what you think of the books. I agree with you; it's fascinating how the different authors approach their dystopian visions in such different and thought-provoking ways. I'm trying to work through the list right now, myself; I've just finished The Sky Inside and I'm starting The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

[emerdavid.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it will be an interesting symposium. Wish I could be there.

Knock 'em dead, kiddo!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it.

[savageseraph.livejournal.com]

I cried this week while watching 24. :(

And...much icon love.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I cried, too! First Bill's brave death (no, Bill, no!), and then wounded Aaron talking about Martha... augh!

Thanks for the icon love. It's by azuremonkey. I fell in love with it. *passes the Kleenax*

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Ahhh!!! Too much stuff on the 21st! :P Very well, I shall counter your invitation with one to come up to Nashville that evening and join the Smial for their discussion of the second half of the Hobbit :P You should be getting the emails from the group still, right? They have all the details.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, I would love to join you! (Yes, I do still get the emails - thanks!) Unfortunately, I have to head back after my address, so I can make it home by that evening. It's my husband's birthday!

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Ah, then well understood for the need to rush back over the mountains. Its a long haul. Oh well... can't say I didn't try to get you up here :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks for understanding! It's one of those "turning a new decade milestone birthdays" too, so I want to be there at least part of the day to help him celebrate. :) I would absolutely love to get together with the group one of these days, though. And I am still totally psyched that you'll be coming to ConCarolinas. Should be great fun!

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the keynote! And, OMG, Bill? He's so integral. I haven't watched since S5 but it's unimaginable that they'd kill him off.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

Bill is one of my very favorite characters on the show. He's really become the moral center, I think, and even with the disbanding of CTU, he's been invaluable to the action. His death was suitably heroic (and made Jack cry), but oh, I was so sad to see him go!

[travisprinzi.livejournal.com]

Bill's death was a killer for me. Definitely one of my favorite characters ever. When he showed up this season a couple episodes in, I literally jumped up from the couch and cheered.

Still, if they were going to kill him, they gave him a good death.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I did the same thing: I cheered out loud! He represented such character and moral centeredness and calm at the center of the storm (and, let's be honest, he was very easy to look at!), and it seems he anchored Jack in a vital way. I'm glad they gave him such a heroic death, but it still grieves me that he won't be there. I read that there was supposed to be mention of his marriage (still there, still strong) to Karen Hayes, and they had to cut it for time considerations. Augh! I wish that could have been included. They were a fascinating pair.

At least Aaron Pierce is still alive. For now, anyway! The two of them are two of my very favorites of all time. *dives for Kleenax*

[ankh-hpl.livejournal.com]

Your latest "History of the Genre" segment, as ever, introduced me to something new -- and I had a whole semester course on Gothic novels, once! These features are one of the "chewiest" and most worthwhile parts of the StarShipSofa podcasts. Please keep going with them.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this! You've absolutely made my day. I had great fun with this segment, so I'm really glad to know it worked for you. I was particularly happy to hear another of your poems, by the way, and proud to appear in the same show as your work! I hope you'll continue to share your writing with SSS. Your poetry is so lyrical it really lends itself to the audio format, I think, and it raises the "Aural Delights" shows to a new level.

[ankh-hpl.livejournal.com]

Glad you're enjoying my poems! Tony has two more of mine in his file, & I'm hoping he'll choose to use them. Not sure about how "lyrical" my work is, but most of what I supplied is formal verse --something I haven't noticed much of on the podcast.