Après jeudi, le déluge. That is what I would be inclined to say if I knew a little French.
Today promises to be a kindly one, as my most onerous obligation will consist of sitting in the Strosacker Room on campus and listening to McNair Scholars describe their summer projects. In the Book o’ the Bald [...]
Archive for April, 2009
Mister Congeniality
Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Cue the Montage
Posted in book-larnin' on April 24, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Yesterday I received about 90 pages worth of revised essays; today I’ll get the second half of a set of 30 research essays, which will total at least 210 pages. On Monday I’ll collect a set of close readings, this batch totalling about 250 pages. Then I get a miniature “vacation,” a wee hiatus before [...]
The Tao of Bill (Part 2 of 216)
Posted in Uncategorized on April 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today I was asked to explain in brief the relationship between the three primary kinds of writing I like to do. I improvised a figure that came out roughly right:
Literary criticism comes from my head. Fiction comes from my heart. And poetry comes from my spine.
Breath/Breadth
Posted in fear the narwhal!, good gnus!, jazz hands! on April 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This weekend promises to be leisurely and liminal, as it represents (for me, at least) that last great breath before the dive down to semester’s end. In front of me I have the second half of Johnson’s Rasselas, Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, and a few award-winning bits of short fiction. On the horizon I can [...]
Sex and the Single Professor VI; or, The Divided Mind
Posted in Uncategorized on April 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Let’s see if I can manage a smidgen of coherence today; I’m knee-deep in odd projects, the miscellany that descends upon all professorial folk at semester’s end, and my caffeine threshold is seriously out of whack. I think that the last week of April will find me pumping bonobo adrenalin directly into my forebrain. I [...]
The Academic Job Market: English Search Addendum
Posted in Uncategorized on April 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As promised, I’d like to touch briefly on the wiggedy little thread posted o’er at The Chronicle. As The Unknown Adjunct has noted, the reasoning, such as it is, has taken on a peculiar complexion. There are some intimations that job seekers still searching in the spring must be damaged goods; there are other indications [...]
The Gooey Kablooey
Posted in Uncategorized on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
My plan for the day originally did not involve posting. I can’t say for sure what it might have otherwise involved, but circa 6 o’clock posting was not on the docket. Right now, however, following a mid-morning fire alarm that sent me scurrying home, I find myself more disoriented than usual. And that, I think, [...]
Storytime with Uncle Bobo
Posted in Uncategorized on April 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Below you’ll find the text of my short story, “Revival,” which I’ve decided to yank from circulation and retire. I’m not in the habit of public postage, but in this case I reckon it’s the right move.
“Revival” may have its merits–I’m no fit judge of such things–but I know full well that it is utterly conventional. I don’t believe [...]
Revival
Posted in Uncategorized on April 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Solomon Riddle closed his eyes and moaned with pleasure. “Have I died? Am I in Heaven?” he asked.
Mindy snickered and topped off his coffee. “Mr. Riddle, if they open up the Pearly Gates and you find yourself in Ragland, Alabama, I’d go straight to Saint Peter and ask for your money back.” She [...]
OhNoWriMo
Posted in Uncategorized on April 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yes, I’m sure someone’s used that adorable acronym before, but I would rather commit to a subject line and post than dwell and mull and dither all morning. Like the good book says, expediency is the mother of half-cooked invention. And by the “good book” I mean my microwave manual.
I’m feeling a little Heaney this [...]
