Poet Laureate Kevin Stein Speaks at IPA April 1

Illinois Poet Laureate Kevin Stein will be the featured speaker at The Illinois Philological Association’s ninth annual conference April 1 and 2, at Richland Community College’s Shilling Center in Decatur.

Stein will speak at 7:00 p.m. on April 1 in an event free and open to the public, co-sponsored by Richland Community College. The IPA Conference sessions and dinner April 1 and 2 require registration.

In December 2003, Governor Blagojevich named Kevin Stein Illinois Poet Laureate, filling the position previously held by Gwendolyn Brooks, Carl Sandburg, and Howard Austin. Author of six poetry collections, three scholarly books, numerous published poems in prestigious journals and anthologies, Stein has received wide acclaim from reviewers.

His forthcoming collection American Ghost Roses will appear in April 2005. That book and his two recent collections, Chance Ransom and Bruised Paradise, appeared from University of Illinois Press. His poetry has been honored with the Frederick Bock Prize awarded by Poetry, the 1998 IndianaReview Poetry Prize , the Devins Award for Poetry for his collection A Circus of Want, and three Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards, the most recent in 2001. He is also co-editied with G.E. Murray Illinois Voices: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Poetyr, the first comprehensive anthology of Illinois poetry’s rich twentieth-century heritage. Stein is a professor of English and program director of creative writing at Bradley University.

The mission of the IPA and its conference is to promote fellowship and intellectual exchange among faculty and student members of departments of English, linguistics, communications, and foreign languages, as well as independent scholars and writers throughout Illinois.

IPA invites students, faculty, independent scholars and writers to submit original creative or scholarly works, or proposals for panel discussions for presentation at the conference. Abstracts (maximum 300 words) of proposed presentations or panels are being accepted through February 14 by the IPA, which was founded in 1996 by representatives from several Illinois colleges and universities.

Each submission should include a proposal topic summary of no more than 50 words. The maximum reading time for either creative writing selections or scholarly papers is 25 minutes. Sessions, panels, dramatic works, and performance pieces should be no longer than 90 minutes, including time for questions and discussion, if appropriate.

The IPA is awarding monetary prizes for the best creative student work and the best scholarly student paper. All presenters must register for the conference and be members of IPA, which is offering grants to cover the registration fee to student presenters. Proposals may be submitted by email as an attached file to: cass.barbara@uic.edu or by surface mail to: Barbara Cass, Executive Secretary, Illinois Philological Association, c/o English Program, UHB 3067, University of Illinois at Springfield, One University Plaza, MSUHB 3050, Springfield, IL 62703-5407. Email submissions are preferred.

For more information on the conference, submission requirements, and membership, visit the IPA website at www.illinoisphilological.com.

Travel/Study Trip to Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the most fascinating countries in Asia.  At a major crossroads for commerce and cultural exchange, Vietnam has been shaped for centuries by outside influences and religions.  Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity, the Chinese, Khmers, French, and Americans have all left their mark on Vietnam, and together have created the unique culture that exists today.  Modern Vietnam exhibits a vibrant contemporary energy, blended with the strong traditional culture of a proud and ancient past. 

Richland Community College’s travel study program to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, May 22- June 1, will introduce students to this rich cultural heritage, while experiencing hands-on the reality of present-day Vietnam through lectures, visits, and interaction with Vietnamese from different walks of life.

Leading the trip will be Richland professors Steven L. Austin and Joe Straka. Highlights will include Hanoi, Ho Chi Min City, and a dinner cruise along the Perfume River.  Participants will learn about the rich cultural history of Vietnam, the war, and present day society. 

The cost is $2,885 per person in double occupancy from St. Louis to Vietnam.  College credit is available. For more information, see http://www.richland.edu/staff/saustin/travel_study/index.php, or call 217-875-7211 ext. 392.

Author David Sedaris On Stage at Sangamon Auditorium

"Playwright, author, radio star, and retired elf David Sedaris may be the most brilliantly witty New Yorker since Dorothy Parker, " said New York Magazine. And he’s coming to the Sangamon Auditorium at UIS in Springfield April 17 at 7:00 p.m.

Sedaris made his comic debut recounting his strange-but-true experiences of his job as a Macy’s elf clad in green tights, reading his "Santa Land Diaries" on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Sedaris’ sardonic humor and incisive social critique have since made him one of NPR’s most popular and humorous commentators. But Sedaris isn’t "just a working Joe who happens to put out these perfectly constructed pieces of prose," as Ira Glass puts it. The great skill with which Sedaris slices through euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire.

Sedaris’s best-selling collections of stories and essays include Holidays on Ice, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. In 2001, Sedaris became the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He was named by Time magazine as "Humorist of the Year" in 2001.

Tickets are $35/33/30/27. For tickets, call (217) 206-6160 or (800)207-6960.

©2007 Illinois Humanities Council Central Illinois Regional Planning Committee
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