Visitors to Coe College: Salman Rushdie

Recently, Coe College was honored to have Salman Rushdie visit campus and give a speech.

Salman Rushdie was born in India in 1947, and used that nation as the setting for many of his early works. He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including a Knighthood in the United Kingdoms. 

During his speech, he made three comments in particular which stood out to me. The first is that a writer is a servant of their work, and they must use their talents to tell a story, not to make a point (though hopefully they should be able to do both). He also advised that writers write the books they have to write, rather than just writing books for money or prestige because "even if everyone stopped writing books today, there would still be too many books". 

Outside the bounds of writing though, he was asked about his thoughts on freedom of speech as it related to hate speech. He stated that, while he lived in the United Kingdoms, there were laws in place which punished those who committed acts of hate speech, and he thought them wise and fair. However, upon spending more time in America, he decided that banning hate speech was unwise, because if it is spoken it can be brought to the light and dealt with, rather than festering in the darkness.

(more information found on his Goodreads profile)

Author Spotlight

Toni Morrison (1931 -   )

Famous Works Include: The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, Paradise, Love, A Mercy, Jazz, I Sula, The Big Box, and The Book of Mean People.

Morrison is quite the character -- she wrote her thesis on suicide in the works of Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. Her works too are somewhat polarizing, with difficult, controversial subject matter. She is also quite out-spoken; she famously called Bill Clinton "the first black President," saying that "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas."

Her gregarious nature seems to have served her well, though, as she is the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Morrison has also won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988 for Beloved, which has been made into a movie starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.

Hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past from a 2008 edition of the WCWC!

- Anna H.

Visitors to Coe College: Debra Marquart

This week's author is Debra Marquart, who visited Coe College in 2001.

Debra Marquart spent some time as a traveling musician, an experience she drew on in writing a collection of short stories she later published. She is currently employeed at Iowa State University, where she teaches English and MFAs in Creative Writing. Her most recent book: The Horizontal World: Growing Up in the Middle of Nowhere: A Memoir discusses rural life and was published in 2006.

(information found on her Goodreads profile)

Weekly Wisdom

"Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

This quote reflects a lot about my past week. My attention was demanded in so many different directions that it was difficult to stay focused and actually get things done. College can be tough and sometimes you have more to do than time allows but all that means is that you need to figure out how to get your priorities straight. For me it helps to write out my schedule on a white board. It gives me motivation to get things done not only on time but early so that I have more “free” time. Balance your time wisely and free time, even for a college student, is possible. In the past I have been the queen of free time; I have found it quite possible to get all of my homework done, on time, and still make it to bed by 9 or 10 at night. Maybe this makes me abnormal, but I know quite a few people who are quite jealous of this ability of mine.

Despite my previous notion of “free” time, I did mention that this past week has been quite difficult. I must admit that I am becoming more and more like the typical college student. Studying late and becoming sleep deprived. I have a huge course load this semester and I am doing everything I can not to be an “octopus”.

This happens to be my recent “octopus” experience, but I have a feeling all of you have similar experiences. Whether it is academic or not, I suggest that keeping your eye on one thing at a time. No matter how many things you have to do, many places you have to be, many people you have to see; you can’t do it all at once so you might as well prioritize and tackle it one at a time. The semester seems to have only begun and yet it is already a quarter of the way complete. Stay calm. Stay focused. Make it to spring break!

-Margaret Gruhler

CWC Blog Instagram of the Week

Here is the first edition of our Instagram of the Week! This is a (very artsy and square-shaped) photo of the CWC Blog Team's very own Patrick Johnson hard at work!

Stay tuned for more!

-Jane L

Author Spotlight

Kenzaburō Ōe (1935 -    )

Famous Works Include: Prize Catch, Nip the Buds Shoot the Kids, Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness, The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away, and A Personal Matter.

Ōe is a Japanese author and major figure in Japanese literature and critical theory. His works tend to focus on political, social, and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, nuclear power, social non-conformism, and existentialism. He also pays close attention to the bombing of Hiroshima and his personal struggle with raising his mentally handicapped son. 

Ōe has been recognized both in Japan and internationally, winning a Nobel Prize in Literature (1994) for his work. He is also on record as the only person to refuse the Order of Culture, as awarded by the Emperor of Japan. 

In the words of Mr. Ōe, "I have always wanted to write about our country, our society, and feelings about the contemporary scene. But, there is a big difference between us and classic Japanese literature." If you've read the Tale of Genji, then you're probably well-versed in these differences.

Hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past from a 2008 edition of the WCWC!

- Anna H.

Staff Spotlight

This week our staff spotlight goes to Heather Job.  Heather is a lively and zealous sophomore with many interests.  Her scholarly passions are spent on a double major of creative writing and film studies. These passions go back to her childhood.  Heather grew up as an introvert who loved to read so she found comfort and solace in books.  Since books were such an important part of her childhood and life, she wants to provide that same solace to other people.  Besides books, she also enjoys movies and hopes that with her skills gained here she can go into screenwriting in the future.  Besides writing up some future Oscar-winning screenplays, Heather is involved in many other activities on campus.  She has another job in the Speaking Center where she talks to people so they can become better at talking.  She is a sister of the panda-loving and spunky Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.  She also owns a 1.5 liter mug perfect for tea that helps her stay awake while being an editor for the college newspaper The Cosmos.  Heather's enthusiasm is displayed through her involvement with all of these activities and within the writing center.  One thing Heather is really excited about is that she is going to Ireland this coming May.  It would come as no surprise if her experiences abroad end up being the next blockbuster.

Visitors to Coe College: jessica Care moore

This week’s excerpt comes courtesy of jessica Care moore, who visited Coe College in 2001.

 

 

In 1997, she founded her own published company: Moore Black Press. Using this company, she has published two books (“The Words Don’t Fit In My Mouth” and “The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto”), as well as the books of several other notable writers and celebrities. In addition to these literary pursuits, she has spent a great deal of effort helping in the fight against AIDS and been involved in a number of films—both as an actress and as a playwright.

 

(information found on mooreblackpress.com/jessica2.html)

Poem of the Week

This semester we are lucky to have the lovely Felicia Owens as our staff Magnetic Poet!  She will be crafting poems out of whatever words happen to be laying around the writing center.  Check out the first creation:

Check back for more next week!

 Kelci de Haas

Weekly Wisdom

“If opportunity doesn't knock...build a door.” - Milton Berle

You cannot just sit around and expect great things to happen to you. You have to get out of your chair and do something. I am in college because I built a door of opportunity. Yes I was expected to go to college, but if I never filled out the applications I would never be here at Coe. If there is something in your life that you want more than anything, then do something about it. Every opportunity has a door, but many of the doors need your work and effort to open: you have to fill out the applications, do the homework, meet new people, help someone in need, etc. There are so many opportunities out there that you pass up every day. I say that you need to do something about that. Don’t let another opportunity slip you by, because what do you expect to become if you do nothing?

Consultant of the Week

This week's consultant of the week is Peter Madsen for "maintaining an unprecedented level of professionalism.  PROPS."  When not at Coe, this sophomore resides in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  He is currently majoring in American Studies and French and has a knack for dancing.

 - Jon Ameling

Author Spotlight

Aeschylus (525 bce - 456 bce)

Famous Works Include: The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides), and Prometheus Bound.

He is considered the father of the tragic genre as well as the first playwright to present some of his work as a trilogy. Aeschylus was also the first to add a second actor -- previously only one actor had interacted with the chorus at a time. 

Today, only seven of an estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived. Much of what is still available to us is from Aeschylus' stint as a competitive playwright, during which he wrote thirteen prize-winning plays for the City Dionysia theater festival in ancient Greece. Some of Aeschylus' material is semi-autobiographical; his play The Persians is based in part on his experience in the Greek army during the Persian War. Ironically, Aeschylus was more well known in his day for his soldiering than his writing. While his plays were popular at the urban theater festivals, both he and his brother were famous for their roles in the defense of Athens against the Persian kings, Darius I and Xerxes, at Marathon and, later, Salamis.  

Hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past from a 2008 edition of the WCWC (Writing Center Water Closet, a monthly newsletter produced by the CWC)!

- Anna H.

Visitors to Coe College: Ted Kooser

 The Writing Center has a long tradition of collecting quotes and excerpts from the various writers of prose and poetry who visit Coe College and hanging them in the Writing Center. One such excerpt—November 22—comes from Ted Kooser.

Ted Kooser is a native Iowan, and before his visit to Coe College he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress for two years (2004-2006). In 2006, he also received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his poetry collection entitled Delights & Shadows. He is a relatively prolific poet, and for any interested in entering the realm of poetry, he has a book entitled The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets which may be of use.

(Information found on Ted Kooser’s author profile on Goodreads)

Weekly Wisdom

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” - Jim Rohn

                I hope this quote can inspire many of you to learn something new not just today but every day. It is a new semester which means that you have a clean slate, you can do the things you wished you would have stuck with last year, or you can pursue something you have always been afraid to in the past. New beginnings bring forth opportunity—opportunities that all begin by learning something new. It can be learning that the Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel or it can be learning how to begin a lifelong goal. Learning can be both tangible and intangible, but the key is that you learn something.

                Along with learning something new, it is also beneficial that you share what you have learned. If nothing else, your sharing can teach something new to someone else. That being said, this week (next week, next month, or whenever you read this post) add a comment with something you have learned, and maybe I will also learn something new!

-Margaret Gruhler

Check out our Facebook page!

Did you know the Writing Center has a Facebook page? It's new and improved with fun photos, news from the front lines, and (coming soon) video tours of the new (ish) location!


Click this link to check it out; we hope you like it!

- Anna H. & the Blog Team

Author Spotlight

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888)

Famous Works Include: Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys, Rose in Bloom, Under the Lilacs

Her first book was Flower Fables (1854), which was a collection of tales originally written for Ellen Emerson, the daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson.  She is less well known for the passionate, fiery novels and stories she wrote under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard. These works, such as A Long Fatal Love Chase and Pauline's Passion and Punishment, were known in the Victorian Era as "potboilers" or "blood-and-thunder tales."

In her later life, Alcott became an advocate of women's suffrage and was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts in a school board election.

Hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past from a 2008 edition of the WCWC (Writing Center Water Closet, a monthly newsletter produced by the CWC)!

- Anna H.

A Note from the Blog Team

Happy New Year and a happy Spring term to all!

This semester, we've got a brand new blog team and, boy, have we got ideas. Look for weekly posts on  the Poem of the Week, an Author Spotlight, Quotes from the CWC, and the continuation of posts like the Consultant of the Week and Weekly Wisdom.

In addition to our weekly posts, we'll occasionally highlight special events in the CWC and on Coe's campus. We'll feature special guests at Tuesday Tea and staff meetings, events hosted by the Writing Center, and support our staffers in their extracurricular events!

We hope you enjoy these upcoming posts; remember, reading our blog is a great way to stay indoors and out of the cold!

- Anna H. & the CWC Blog Team