Literary Matters THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ASSOCIatION OF LITERARY SCHOLARS, CRITICS, AND WRITERS Aut nuntiarea aut delectare FROM THE EDITOR VOLUME 5.4 SPECIAL ISSUE Dear readers, Inside This Issue It has not been long since last we were in touch, though as is typical, much has transpired that 1 Letter from the Editor merits notice. For many, a new semester has started; for others, there have been books and 3 President’s Column articles published; and at the Association, local 6 Donor Profile: Stephen J. Meringoff events have come and gone, and more are in the offing. Without question, if these first months 9 Fiction Award Portraits are indicative of how the year will progress, 2013 12 Poetry Award Portraits promises to be an engaging and productive period for us all. The goal of this particular issue is to 15 Nonfiction Award Portraits showcase some of the exciting developments in the recent past and those in the near future: You 20 High School Essay Award Portraits will have a chance to learn more about those who 23 2013 Conference Program made the Meringoff Literary Awards possible, and make the metaphoric acquaintance of those 28 2013 Membership Form upon whom these honors were conferred. You will 29 2013 Conference Registration Form also get a glimpse of what the upcoming ALSCW Annual Conference has in store, a gathering that will be illuminating and will provide us all with a chance to be exposed to literary topics with which Must Flee: On Wordsworth’s ‘Surprised by Joy’ ”—in we are unfamiliar by experts in those arenas. which she provides readers with a detailed account of the ways in which the sounds, structure, and One of the greatest privileges of being an editor word selection in this poem create a multifaceted is having the opportunity to work with talented and deep portrait of Wordsworth’s grief—earned writers, be they poets, scholars, prose writers, or her this honor. Battelle’s essay demonstrates not students. Interacting with literati of the highest only incisive textural analysis, but also evinces caliber affords me the good fortune to learn not her empathy towards the emotional spectrum only from what they place at my disposal, but also offered up by the poet, which strengthens the from engaging with them. In this regard, producing conviction of her interpretation of the sonnet. the current issue was no different from any other. I had the pleasure of corresponding with and Rather than making broad, sweeping observations reading the work of these recently decorated about the mood of the poem or seeking only to writers, and what is more, a chance to glimpse place it in the context of Wordsworth’s composing the people behind these accomplished essays, career, Battelle takes us line by line, often word stories, and poems. It is my hope that this issue by word, to illuminate the poem in a manner that provides you with the same satisfaction that is as meticulous as it is mature, as scholarly as preparing it has for me. Over the coming months, it is sincere. Her take on the stages of grief that you will have the chance to read these award- Wordsworth has encountered as he attempts to winning pieces—some are due out in forthcoming carry on in the wake of his daughter’s death— issues of Literary Imagination, while others the cruelty and complexity of mourning and its will find themselves nestled in future issue of aftermath—illustrates how carefully she considers Literary Matters—but these personal statements the turns this poem takes. Further, she shows from the honorees may serve as apéritifs to a clear recognition that truly understanding a stimulate your anticipation of their arrival. poem requires that one investigate well beyond initial impressions, adjusting the analysis and Ms. Nora Battelle is the winner of the High School accounting for aspects of the composition, even if Essay Award, whose compelling paper, “And Joy it means allowing one’s vision of the work to evolve. LITERARY MATTERS | VOLUME 5.4 | SPECIAL ISSUE 1 Ms. Chana Bloch received the Poetry Award for her art and information, Nelson argues that O’Connor varied array of stunning ekphrastic poems and and several like-minded writers bemoaned the pieces that focus on inventive conceits, all of limitations of film and television as forms of art and which benefit from the potency of her perspective. entertainment, viewing them as a means for people Her work exhibits a degree of confidence in her to shirk creative involvement in their pursuits. compositions that allows her to travel through time, visiting Rembrandt as he paints a self portrait in The dire concerns O’Connor had about humanity’s 1665 and transporting us to the initiation of life relationship with art indicate that the writer was on earth, while always bringing the reader back to fanatically invested in recognizing and promoting the the contemporary, whether by acknowledging that view that things are not so clean and uncomplicated it is a present-day reception of a work of art or a as a simple designation of good or evil, dark or trip to a museum that is her conduit into the past, light. She felt that it is in unanswered questions or by hinting the return with a subtle shift in tense. that the richness of art is truly manifested, because it is there that the reader gets to find Several of the poems convey deep emotions and insight rather than having meaning handed to him. the struggle to reconcile certain major life events with the ways in which they sometimes defeat and Ms. Lisa Perkins, whose short story, “I’m Dying sometimes align with expectations. For example, Here,” earned her the Fiction Award, portrays a rich one poem focuses on a mother’s memory of telling and conflicting dynamic between a father, Nathan, her young son about the dangers posed by strangers, and his daughter, Olivia, through Nathan’s vivid then touches on how she regards him at the time internal monologue and reflections, as well as in of his wedding, before ultimately tying her initial scenes of dialogue between the two. Occurring counsel for caution and her son’s response to it to in a unique timescape that is grounded in the the fall from Eden. Her language is commanding but present yet takes readers through the history not cocky, at times playful to counter the poignancy leading up to the period in which the primary of her subjects—what comes immediately to mind action of the story takes place, “I’m Dying Here” is her use of the word “fall” in the poem mentioned offers up well-developed characters with lively and just above, which she employs in a manner not complex personalities. We see an unlikely overlap, having to do with The Fall, in spite of its occurrence given the strain that exists between them, of the amid imagery and other diction aimed directly interests of Nathan and those of his daughter. at alluding to this symbolic and sacred scene. And we are exposed to the uncertainty Nathan feels Ms. Cassandra Nelson, one of the two recipients about how it came to be that he and his daughter, who of the Nonfiction Award, offers up “Manichaeism were once so close—and who still are in proximity, and the Movies: Flannery O’Connor and the Roman who share a common interest in the theater and Catholic Response to Film and Television at the performing arts, and who have relied so much Midcentury,” the introduction to her dissertation, on one another’s presence after the death of his which draws from the personal correspondence, wife, her mother—now experience this perceptible public commentary, and fiction of Flannery O’Connor distance, which promises to become palpable as to demonstrate the classic Southern writer’s Olivia prepares to move out of the house following conflicting feelings toward film and television. her graduation from college. In spite of Nathan’s Finding herself able to enjoy these media, and intimations that he is unaware of what has caused yet keenly disturbed by the dangers she felt they the rift between himself and Olivia, a reader is able posed with respect to the public’s reception of to infer how it has come to pass that Olivia is prone (continued on page 4) LITERARY MATTERS Literary Matters is published and distributed quarterly by the The Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, Editor Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers (ALSCW), and Writers (ALSCW) promotes excellence in Samantha R. Madway 650 Beacon Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02215. Tel: 617- 358-1990; fax: 617-358-1995; [email protected]; www.alscw. literary criticism and scholarship, and works to org. ensure that literature thrives in both scholarly Design and Layout Samantha R. Madway Literary Matters is provided to all ALSCW members. Member- and creative environments. We encourage ship dues start at $45 for the first year and are charged on the reading and writing of literature, criticism, a graduated scale thereafter. Premium Memberships are also and scholarship, as well as wide-ranging available. discussions among those committed to the No part of this newsletter may be copied or reproduced without reading and study of literary works. permission from the ALSCW. 2 LITERARY MATTERS | VOLUME 5.4 | SPECIAL ISSUE PRESIDENT'S COLUMN BY SARAH SPENCE The Nineteenth Annual Conference of the ALSCW will be held April 5–7 at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, with readings and a reception co-sponsored by the Georgia Review on the evening of April 4. Sessions will reflect the setting, known for its rich literary and musical heritage.