Independent Study leads to Online Literary Magazine

Fledgling Literary Magazine is the brainchild of senior Bloomsburg University English major Sean Williams, who created the magazine as part of a Spring 2015 independent study under the direction of poet and creative writing professor Jerry Wemple.

According to Williams, the goal of the project is "to create an online workshopping experience for young/ aspiring writers, to provide a safe, no-cost, no-judgment outlet for them to publish their creative writing, and to give visitors of the site resources with which to improve their writing."

Williams, who studies English and creative writing with minors in professional writing and French, describes the process that led to Fledgling Literary Magazine as follows:

"To complete this independent study, I basically divided the project into two halves this semester. I devoted the first half of the semester to website creation--creating the elements, organizing, writing the content for pages, etc. The second half was devoted to publishing content and spreading visibility. That meant advertising on social media, spreading the word to different audiences, and actually having content up for people to see."

While he encourages participants to permit online publication of their work, Williams says, "I also welcome the opportunity to just read the pieces writers send me so that I can give feedback to them to the best of my ability. Sometimes the best thing a writer can do is ask someone to look at the piece with fresh eyes. I do that for no charge."

Visitors to the site can read published pieces and offer constructive criticism via moderated comments. Williams also offers writing tips, prompts, and links to external resources.

Storytelling – A student art exhibit blending together art and psychology

Senior Nicole Updegrove is currently showcasing work on the second floor of Centennial Hall from her Independent Study—Storytelling.  The project she did with guidance from Art professor Vera Viditz-Ward is a mix of her two loves, Art and Psychology.

Updegrove, a double major in both fields, visited Balanced Care Bloomsburg every Friday during the Spring 2015 semester and worked with speech therapist Carrie Vitko.  She had Updegrove bring in original narrative portraitures, simple images of people that could create a story.  The photographs were then shown to the elderly onset dementia patients at the assisted living center, where Vito would elicit the residents to talk.

Updegrove said the project helped the residents express themselves.

“The idea is to create a free flowing environment, instead of pulling out memories which can be painful,” she said.  “It also gets them out and makes them feel like they are contributing to something.”

She said when she arrived at the beginning of a session the residents would be quiet and uncomfortable, but after the hour-long class they would feel more confident around others and feel open to express themselves.

In the art exhibit, you will see the original photograph, a poem or story that was created directly from the residents’ reactions, and then a second photograph to represent what was seen by the storytellers.  The second photograph is a negative sandwich, a mixture of two different images, a medium Updegrove has enjoyed working with throughout her undergraduate career.  The photos are laid together, then the exposure of light blends them together when they are put to paper with the darkroom chemicals.  It’s not until the image is finalized that she would know what parts of an image would be visible in the finished photographic image.

Updegrove, a native of Carson City, Nevada, will be pursuing a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy at Drexel University in the fall.  Storytelling will be on display until Friday, May 8.

--Jackie Sadock, College of Liberal Arts

What We Did Over Summer "Break": Part 2

While many of the Bloomsburg University's College of Liberal Arts students had productive summer vacations, members of the faculty also managed to keep themselves busy as well. David Miller, assistant professor of Theatre in the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance filled his time away from the classroom by writing, producing, and directing three new plays and musicals.

courtesy of The Artful Conspirators

Sisters of the Eternal Knot is a new, original play that Miller wrote and worshopped over the course of a week with his New York City-based theater company The Artful Conspirators. The play revolves around warring nuns in Medieval France. As the leaders of abbeys Ciel Bleu and Rouge, the nuns' life-long antagonism with one another grows dangerous and the choices they make may result in the life or death of the nuns they serve.

"I don’t set out to communicate a message, per se, but when I reflect on my plays and how they reflect my values, I see that in many of my plays I am interested in the complicated role of leaders and teachers. There are good leaders and teachers and there are poor leaders and teachers. But it’s not as cut and dried as that. One of the questions I want to pose to audiences is 'What are the qualities of a good leader?' There’s something of that in this play, I think," said Miller in an interview with The Artful Conspirators.

courtesy of The New York Musical Theater Festival

Miller also directed the developmental reading of Alice Unraveled, a new rock/electronica musical about a young woman struggling to find her identity in the wake of traumatic experiences, at the New York Musical Theater Festival in July. 

Using characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic novel in a contemporary world, Alice is a teenage girl struggling with the post-traumatic stress. Alice is pulled “down the rabbit hole” and into a nightmarish world in which she cannot separate reality from memory.

courtesy of The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival

Rounding out his summer "break," Miller directed the premiere of In The Early Dark, a 10-minute play about a close-knit family celebrating the first snowfall of winter as part of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival. The play was selected as a finalist and was one of thirty plays selected for performance selected out of more than 800 submitted.

Currently, Miller is directing the BU Player's fall production of Avenue Q which will run November 7-10. 

To see more of Miller's upcoming work, visit www.mrdavidamiller.com.

Bloomsburg Explores ... Community, Arts, and the 2011 Flood

From Dr. Christina Francis and Bloomsburg University's Institute for Culture and Society:

In conjunction with the BTE/BU Players upcoming “Pay What You Wish” performances of Flood Stories, Too, the Institute for Culture and Society (sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts) has organized a series of complementary talks and programs to take place March 8th through March 14th.  These programs will highlight some of the specific issues and people involved in the 2011 flood, as well as some perspectives on the value of art that responds to and includes its community in the creative process. Please join us! These events are free and open to the public.

Friday, March 8^th, 5:00 – 6:30 pm, McCormick 1303

Arlene Goldbard, nationally-recognized author/speaker/activist, presents “Tell It! How Shaping Our Stories Shapes Our Lives and Communities”

Saturday, March 9^th, 4:30 pm, Alvina Krause Theatre (AKT)

Arlene Goldbard, nationally-recognized author/speaker/activist, & Gerard Stropnicky, director/writer of BTE’s Flood Stories, Too., present

"What Happens When Communities Participate in Telling Their Own Stories"

Sunday, March 10^th, 12:30-2:00 pm, Moose Exchange, Grille Room

Gerard Stropnicky presents “Flood Stories, Too.: Context and Process”

Tuesday, March 12^th, 6:00 – 8:30 pm, Moose Exchange, Grille Room

Panel 1) Jennifer Whisner, PhD, Asst. Professor of Environmental, Geographical & Geological Sciences, presents “Climate Change and Flooding”

Panel 2) Rita Inklovich, Red Cross; Kathy Lowe, Agape; & Lee Sokoloski, Chief of Police, Bloomsburg, present “The Role of Response Services to the 2011 Flood”

Thursday, March 14^th, 6:30 – 7:45 pm, Hartline Rm 108 (Auditorium)

“Psychological Responses to Natural Disaster: Stress, Community, Resilience”

• James Dalton, PhD, Professor of Psychology
• William R. Harrar, PsyD, BU Director of Counseling
• Joseph G. Tloczynski, PhD, Professor of Psychology
• Jennifer M. Yarnell, MCAT, PhD, Instructor of Psychology & private practitioner
• Jodi Weiskerger, LSW, Private practitioner 
• Moderator: Nancy D. Giles, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Organized by the Institute for Culture and Society

Sponsored by the BU College of Liberal Arts

Taste of the Arts: BU Dance Minors prepare

BU Dance Minors: Legendary Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse is known for his quirky, witty, sizzlin' numbers.  From the popular Broadway musical Chicago, students Christina Davis and Amber Michael perform a dance reconstruction of Fosse's "Hot Honey Rag."

An afternoon of free entertainment, A Taste of the Arts, is planned for the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg, Saturday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. Sponsored by Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal Arts, the event is organized by the university’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which helps to promote the arts in the community. Join us!

A Taste of the Arts!

BU College of Liberal Arts hosts visual and performing arts showcase

BLOOMSBURG — An afternoon of free entertainment, A Taste of the Arts, is planned for the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg, Saturday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. Sponsored by Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal Arts, the event is organized by the university’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which helps to promote the arts in the community.

Dr. Clickard rehearses the BU Jazz Ensemble

Students and faculty in the art and art history, English, and music, theatre and dance departments will showcase their talents in the Moose Exchange. While art exhibitions, theatrical productions, dance performances, recitals and other musical events, all open to the public, are held throughout the academic year, most of these events take place on campus.  A Taste of the Arts, now in its second year, brings students’ talents to a central venue for the community to enjoy, said James Brown, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

“We had a spectacular response last year,” Brown said. “There were more than 500 people in attendance, and the interaction with community members was wonderful. We hope to entertain even more local residents at this year’s Taste of the Arts.”

The idea behind the event is to offer a variety of arts experiences with new performances beginning every 10 minutes. A Taste of the Arts will feature music by the Jazz Ensemble and Husky Singers, dance and theatrical performances, and poetry readings, along with fine arts exhibitions, demonstrations and talks.

“Over the past year, the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts has hosted several programs at the Moose Exchange in an effort to reach out to the community,” Brown said. “A Taste of the Arts is a distinctive event and our students and faculty are looking forward to participating in it once again.”

Visitors may attend any portion of the three-hour program. Refreshments will be available. Details can be found on the CVPA website, www.bloomu.edu/cvpa.

For information, contact Nawal Bonomo, assistant to the dean, College of Liberal Arts, (570) 389-4725 or nbonomo@bloomu.edu.

This Wednesday: Piano Concert with Poetry, Live Drawing, and Dance

Charisse Baldoria

Multi-awarded pianist Dr. Charisse Baldoria is giving a concert on Wednesday, November 7, 7:30 p.m. at Carver Hall, Bloomsburg University.

To top it off, renowned fellow professors from the College of Liberal Arts are joining in with poetry, live drawing, and dance, creating subtle interactions with the music:  Performance artist Hunter Fine will recite works by Federico García Lorca and Rainer Maria Rilke.  Artist Lisa Corine von Koch will create a drawing onstage.  Dancer Julie Petry will perform to arresting rhythms and harmonies.  It would be the first ever collaboration of its kind.

Performing warhorses of the piano repertoire, Dr. Baldoria will play classical works inspired by the world’s varied musical traditions:  Spanish pieces from Albéniz’ monumental Iberia, two Scarlatti sonatas (one in fandango style), three Cuban pieces, and a set inspired by Southeast Asian gongs—featuring works by Debussy, Filipino composer Ramón Santos, and New Zealander Gareth Farr.

Julie Petry

In creating her programs, Dr. Baldoria taps into her complex Filipino identity.  She juxtaposes the indigenous with the colonial, performing music from and inspired by Southeast Asia and Spain, of which the Philippines was a colony for 333 years.  A seasoned performer, Charisse has performed in four continents and won awards in international competitions, including the San Antonio, Hilton Head Island, and Sydney international piano competitions.  She first came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar from the Philippines and got her masters and doctorate from the University of Michigan.  She directs the piano program at Bloomsburg University.

Julie Petry is a multi-Emmy nominated dancer-choreographer formerly based in the Chicago area.  She has worked with PBS/Heartsong Communications; Dance Chicago; and the Summer Palace, Centerlight, and Metropolis Performing Arts Center theatres, among others.  She earned her masters at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lisa Corine von Koch

Lisa Corine von Koch’s work features sculpture, performance and installation, incorporating ecological practices into art making, and expressing intersections between nature and culture.  She received her masters in Painting and Drawing from Arizona State University and has done numerous exhibitions around the western United States.




A performance artist and communication scholar, Dr. Hunter H. Fine has worked on solo and ensemble shows in the Marion Klineau Theater in Southern Illinois, the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, and the Marsh in San Francisco.  His recent scholarship has revolved around the performative constructions of everyday social and civic spaces.

     The concert is free and open to the public.

Arts in Autumn

Bloomsburg University's Center for Visual and Performing Arts is hosting a fundraising dinner on October 21, 2012 featuring a delectable menu as well as an art exhibit and literary, musical, theatrical, and dance performances featuring some of BU's most talented students. Seating is limited and by advance ticket only. Join us!

It's National Poetry Month

Jerry Wemple, professor of English, has four new poems in the recent issue of the literary Fledgling Rag. The work is from “The Artemas Poems,” a series that is part of a manuscript-in-progress. Wemple is the author of two poetry collections and co-editor of the anthology Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania. He has won several awards from his writing, including the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award and a Fellowship in Literature from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Here is a poem from among those published:

Happy as the day

Happy as the day is long, Artemas

begins his stroll each a.m., a’ nine ‘xact,

he claims when asked, though few do. Who would?

Those about know wastrels, and his stale act.

Artemas is the finest fellow in all

downtown. He knows all the old, long-gone stores,

and where each brick used to lie. Still keeps tokens

from the defunct bridge, ready in a drawer.

A broken bird in flight, a stain against

the night sky, that’s what Artemas sure sees

and falls from his perch. He walks until woods

thicken. Notices fences even here. Why? asks he.

Information about National Poetry Month can be found at Poets.org, the website of the Academy of American Poets. 

The Valuable English Degree

Allison Hardy

What can you do with a degree in English? Four English Department alumni returned to Bloomsburg April 9 to share their experiences with current students. All say their English degrees are valuable in their careers.

Allison Hardy, a 2007 graduate, is an annual giving officer at the Mercy Health Foundation in Baltimore. Hardy notes a strong correlation between what she learned at Bloomsburg University and her professional life.

Marisa Peterson

"As an English undergrad, I spent most of my time reading, writing, and researching,” she said. “As a fundraiser, I spend most of my time reading, writing, and researching. Just the topics are different. From Shakespeare and Austen to donors and capital projects, the skill set remains the same. The flexibility of an English degree speaks to the importance of good communicators and clear writers.”

Likewise, Marisa Peterson, a 2010 graduate who works for the Jackson Hewitt corporate offices in New Jersey, credits the research and writing skills she learned as an English major as a key reason she was hired from the company’s temp pool. “As English majors, we are trained to view and interpret the world in a very different way,” Peterson said. “These skills set me apart from other young temps.”

Shawn Rosler

Panelist Shawn Rosler earned two Bloomsburg University degrees: a BS in Secondary Education/English in 2000 and an MS in Instructional Technology in 2002. Rosler is the lead analyst/project manager for the EHR Computer-Based Training Development Team at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. 

Grant Clauser

The fourth panelist was Grant Clauser, a 1991 BU alum who earned an MFA in English from Bowling Green State University. Clauser taught writing at several colleges, then moved to the publishing business as the editor of several magazines about technology. Currently, he is the technology editor of Electronic House magazine and the web site editor of www.electronichouse.com. Clauser also has a new poetry collection, The Trouble with Rivers. 

Author Stephen Elliott Visits Bloomsburg University

The following was written by Stasi Golembiewski, a sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Creative Writing. 

Acclaimed author Stephen Elliott recently visited Bloomsburg University. Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books, including the award winning novel Happy Baby and the widely acclaimed memoir The Adderall Diaries. In addition, Elliott is a film director, and he founded and edits the cultural and literary website The Rumpus. He came to campus on March 27 and 28.

Elliott’s visit kicked off with a small screening of his new movie, Cherry, which he directed and co-wrote. The audience, which consisted mainly of students from upper-level creative writing nonfiction and seminar classes, was surprised by the announcement that only about one hundred people in the US have seen the movie so far. The film stars James Franco, Heather Graham, Dev Patel, Lily Taylor, and newcomer Ashley Hinshaw. It debuted at the Berlin Film Festival in Germany last month and will have its US premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival later this month. Elliott told the audience that IFC Films recently picked up the North American distribution rights for the movie.

After the screening Elliott, a few professors and I headed to Marley’s downtown for a late dinner. Elliott’s humanity is startling considering his fame. He was soft spoken and listened intently to what everyone had to say. He jotted down a few thoughts to remember. He twitched every so often. He ordered soda water and ate someone’s left over mozzarella sticks. The only real difference between him and anyone else at the table was his collection of awards and, perhaps, his persistence.

Wednesday’s events began with an afternoon talk held in Kehr Union, focusing on writing in the new media. Around fifty wide-eyed students and professors sat in an intimate setting and listened to Elliott reveal the secrets to his success. His main point was that the current media world is fractured. Having a fractured media was beneficial, he said, because authors now had many different forms to write in and could really own how their words could be delivered. To explain, he told the audience that “where once everyone used to read a book together, now there is a smaller audience, but it's more intimate and more specialized.”

At 7 that evening, Elliott read from The Adderall Diaries in 1303 McCormick. He broke his reading into sections, with short questions and answer sessions between each reading. The audience sat in silence as the soft-spoken Elliott read his memoir, and aspiring writers asked questions about his writing. What made the reading special was the content of his book. The feeling of excitement was palpable among the member of the audience, most never having been this close to someone as acclaimed and involved in big media as Elliott.

There was another dinner following the reading, where eight students and three professors repaired to Rose Marie’s to talk with Elliott in a more intimate setting. He offered advice to a student who was struggling with her writing. The student knew that her experiences in the world would make good content for a memoir, but she was aware of the personal nature of her experiences. Elliott’s advice was to write what she knew would make a good piece, regardless that it was not the most polite of topics. When the evening ended, everyone paid for their meal, the students got their copies of The Adderall Diaries signed, and I watched Stephen Elliott drive away in the back seat of a small, black car.

Special thanks must be given to Professor Jerry Wemple, Dr. Claire Lawrence and the College of Liberal Arts for orchestrating such a memorable event.

CoLA Notes

Remember Hannah Karena Jones? The May 2011 graduate just announced on her blog that she has signed her first book deal--with Arcadia Publishing. The book, Byberry State Hospital, will be part of their popular Images of America series. Congratulations, Hannah!

***

On March 11, 2012, Dr. Mark Jelinek, professor in the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, conducted the Southwest Symphony Orchestra's performance of works by Alexander Borodin and Johannes Brahms in his hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico. Dr. Jelinek has served as artistic director of the Southwest Symphony for seventeen seasons; he also conducts the Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra and the Bloomsburg University Chamber Orchestra.

The orchestra's performance featured violinist Lisa Liu, daughter of our respected former dean, Dr. Hsien-Tung Liu.

***

Featured on BU's Internship web page is History and Political Science major Matt Albertson, who recently completed an internship at the National Museum of the United State Navy. The internship was offered under the auspices of the The Washington Center. He writes, "My tasks in the education department at the U.S. Navy Museum showed me how exciting and fulfilling a job at a museum may be."

Reading to Feature Regional Poets

Melanie Simms, a senior Creative Writing major, and Jerry Wemple, Professor of English, will help the central Susquehanna Valley kick off National Poetry Month with a reading at the Degenstein Community Library in Sunbury on April 2.

Simms, a Sunbury resident, will read her poem “Sunbury,” which highlights the history of the town located at the confluence of the North and West branches of the Susquehanna River. The poem was published in a recent issue of Susquehanna Life magazine. Simms also read it during an interview on WKOK, a regional radio station, and at A Taste of the Arts, sponsored by BU's Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

Simms is an award-winning poet with over 150 poetry publications in magazines, literary journals, and newspapers. She formerly served as Poet Laureate of Perry County. Among her awards are a Vermont Studio Writers Scholarship and the Sophie Award for Poetic Excellence.

Wemple is the author of two poetry collections and co-edited the poetry anthology Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (PSU Press). He also edits Watershed: The Journal of the Susquehanna. A regional native who graduated from Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, Wemple’s work often focuses on the people and places of the Susquehanna Valley. Among his awards are The Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, the Word Journal Chapbook Prize, a Fellowship in the Arts from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Pushcart Prize nominations for poetry and creative nonfiction.

The reading takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, April 2 in the Degenstein Community Library, 40 S. Fifth Street, Sunbury. An open mic follow the featured readers. The event is free and open to the public.