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Education - Up For Discussion
Beginning in January 2008, the public has had an opportunity
to hear from and interact with Coastal Carolina University English Department
faculty in the intimate setting of the Art Museum. The series, entitled
Up for Discussion, features one evening each
month devoted to a particular author, book, short story or other genre.
Up for Discussion events are free and open to the public. Space is limited at the Art Museum so reservations are needed. Call 843.238.2510 to save your seat. Parking is free and the Museum is fully accessible.
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Tuesday, October 14, 6-7:30pm
Joe Oestreich, Assistant Professor of English, will read his essay, "The Low Season," which was published in The Cimarron Review. The author describes the piece as a short memoir about a two-month vacation he and his wife, Kate, spent in Mexico, financed by going on timeshare sales pitches. "In a sense we became professional timeshare presentation attendees," he adds.
Oestreich joined the Coastal Carolina University faculty in 2008. A creative nonfiction specialist, his essays have appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Ninth Letter, Fourth Genre, and many other magazines and journals. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, noted in The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and honored in The Atlantic Monthly. Before coming to CCU – where he serves as the nonfiction editor of Waccamaw, Coastal's online literary journal – he taught creative writing at Ohio State and at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA.
When not teaching and writing, Joe is a singer, songwriter and bass player for a rock band called Watershed. He's working on a book about the band's twenty-year stretch in the music business' minor leagues.
- Wednesday, September 24, 6-7:30pm
“Who Dat Gullah?" presented by Veronica Davis Gerald deals with some of the more frequently asked questions about Gullah culture. Veronica Davis Gerald, an English professor at Coastal Carolina University since 1980, has received numerous awards for her work in the preservation of Gullah culture, including the South Carolina Governor's Award in Humanities and the 1999 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award. As part of Coastal's Public Engagement Directed Studies program, she has worked with area chambers of commerce to incorporate information about African American history and culture into their marketing efforts.
Gerald is also co-author of The Ultimate Gullah Cookbook: A Taste of Food, History and Culture from the Gullah People, and is owner of an online arts and crafts shop, UltimateGullah.com.
- Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 7-8:30pm
Dr. Dan Albergotti, poet and professor, will read and discuss his poetry from his first full-length collection, The Boatloads, chosen by Edward Hirsch as the winner of the 2007 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared in several journals, including Mid-American Review, Shenandoah, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. He has been a scholar at the Sewanee and Bread Loaf writers' conferences. The reading will be followed by a brief question-and-answer session and book signing.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 7-8:30pm
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway will be the topic when Dr. Peter Lecouras will lead the discussion on Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel published in 1929. Told through the point of view of Lt. Frederic Henry, the novel focuses on World War I and is still well read today. Peter teaches Hemingway in his American literature and Literary Theory courses and has published “Hemingway in Constantinople” in The Midwest Quarterly.
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Wednesday, March 5, 6-7:30pm
Jill McCorkle makes an appearance. The author will read one of her short stories, followed by a question-and-answer period and book signing. Light refreshments will be available. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Chapin Memorial Library.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008, 7-8:30pm
Dr. Jill Sessoms, professor of English, will discuss the life and works of Southern author Jill McCorkle. The topic is timely since McCorkle will visit the CCU campus in March when she will be reading from her fiction; the public is also invited. Dr. Sessoms teaches courses in Southern Women Writers, African-American literature, and Multicultural literature.
The title of her presentation is “Southern Illusions, Southern Realities: The Novels and Short Stories of Jill McCorkle.” These include novels The Cheer Leader, July 7th, Tending to Virginia, Ferris Beach, and Carolina Moon. She has also written two collections of short stories, titled Crash Diet and Final Vinyl Days.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 7-8:30pm
Dr. Jason Ockert will read “Echo,” his original story that won the Atlantic Monthly National Fiction contest. Jason has won several national fiction awards and is the author of the short story collection, Rabbit Punches. His stories have appeared in several journals, including The Oxford American, Black Warrior Review, Indiana Review, Mid-American Review, and McSweeney's. Jason's work is included in the 2007 anthologies of New Stories from the South and Best American Mystery Stories. He will be available to autograph copies of his works.
Schedule
subject to change
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum
3100 South Ocean Boulevard
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
phone 843.238.2510
fax 843.238.2910
artmuseum@sc.rr.com