AEOLIAN HARPINGS
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January 19, 2011
Department of English
Volume XLIV Number 2
Baylor University
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Dr. William V. Davis’s poems, “Thought” and “A Morning Like This” have been published in
the Hawaii Review, Issue 72, Vol. 32-1 (Spring, 2010), 121-122.
In a gathering of poets, Dr. William V. Davis was “Featured Poet” at the Emily Dickinson
Birthday Celebration held at the Montgomery County Library in Montgomery, Texas, December
16, 2010. He read both Dickinson’s poetry and his own. (The “Featured Critic” for this
celebration was Brenda Wineapple, author of White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson
and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the recent dual biography of Dickinson and Higginson.)
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Dr. Beth Coggin Womack’s article, “A Pledge out of Time: Redemption and the Literary
Pawnshop,” has been accepted for publication by Victorian Literature and Culture, which is
published by Cambridge University Press.
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In October, Dr. Greg Garrett’s book One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter was
published by Baylor University Press (in the United States), and by Darton, Longman, and Todd
(in the United Kingdom). One Fine Potion was chosen as a “Best Theological Book” by the
Association of Theological Booksellers for Fall/Winter 2010. Dr. Garrett also published
theological and homiletical essays in Feasting on the Word, an award-winning multi-volume
lectionary Bible commentary published by Westminster John Knox.
In October, Dr. Garrett began writing a weekly column on faith and politics, “Greg Garrett:
Faithful Citizenship,” for the online magazine Patheos (patheos.com). His essay “Would Jesus
Work on Christmas?” appeared in the Christian Science Monitor; “Nine Years after 9/11: Islam,
Glenn Beck, and a Nation Divided” and “Understanding Greed” appeared in Huffington Post;
“Going Down? Why Evangelicalism Could Be Declining” appeared in Ethics Daily. He
continues to publish essays in his Christian Century featured blog The Other Jesus; these essays
are cross-posted at Ethics Daily and Religion and Science Today.
This fall, Dr. Garrett taught a four-session fiction-writing class for the Writers’ League of Texas,
at the Austin headquarters of the League, and an introductory course in theological writing and
research for ordination-track seminarians at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the
Southwest. September 8, 15, 22, and 29, Dr. Garrett taught a class on Harry Potter and theology
at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Waco. September 19 and 26, Dr. Garrett taught a class on Harry
Potter and theology at St. Julian’s Episcopal Church in Austin. On October 4, Dr. Garrett spoke
to all three sessions of Baylor Chapel/Forum. October 6, 13, and 27, Dr. Garrett taught a class on
Harry Potter and theology at First Baptist Church, Austin. On October 10, Dr. Garrett preached
at the 11:15 service at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin. On October 16, he discussed and
signed One Fine Potion at Bookpeople in Austin. On October 20, he delivered a lecture entitled
“The Deeper Meaning of Harry Potter” at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, and on
October 21, Dr. Garrett led a full-day practicum on narrative and grief for hospital chaplains,
social workers, and clergy in Hays, Kansas, sponsored by the Hays Medical Center. October 2921, Dr. Garrett led a parish retreat drawn from his books on religion and culture for Grace
Episcopal Church, Georgetown, at Camp Allen, Texas, and preached at the Sunday morning
Eucharist.
On November 13, Dr. Garrett signed books at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the
Southwest in Austin, and on November 18, Dr. Garrett discussed and signed One Fine Potion at
The Front Porch in Austin. On November 21, Dr. Garrett spoke and signed books at Central
Presbyterian Church in Austin; the topic was his book We Get to Carry Each Other, which was
the fall book study for Central Presbyterian. December 9th, he was the guest at “Lunch with the
Author” at Seton Cove Spirituality Center in Austin; Dr. Garrett spoke on his work on religion
and culture and signed books. December 22-29, he had a writing residency at Ghost Ranch in
Abiquiu, New Mexico, where he completed a novel and worked on nonfiction projects.
This fall, Dr. Garrett was interviewed by or his work reviewed by The New Yorker, Christian
Science Monitor (twice), Church Times (UK), Beliefnet, Patheos, Read the Spirit, ChristianWeek
(Canada), Cross Rhythms (UK; twice), Third Way (UK), United Methodist Reporter, Baptist
Standard, The Mennonite, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, The Waco Tribune Herald, The
Baylor Lariat, CRN Radio Network, AZTV (Prescott, AZ), KUT (Austin, TX), WJR (Detroit,
MI), WTN (Nashville, TN), WCHE (Pittsburgh, PA). WTVN (Columbus, OH), Point of View
radio (Dallas, TX), WSPD (Toledo, OH), KLPW (Washington, MO), WERC (Birmingham, AL),
KIXZ (Amarillo, TX), KUHL (Santa Maria, CA), WLEA/WCKR (Hornell, NY; twice), WSAU
(Wausau, WI), KZIM (Cape Girardeau, MO), WOCA (Ocala, FL), KWKY (Norwalk, IA),
WIZM (LaCrosse, WI), The Dove radio (Medford, OR).
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Dr. Lisa Shaver’s essay “’Serpents,’ ‘Fiends,’ and ‘Libertines’: Inscribing an Evangelical
Rhetoric of Rage in the Advocate of Moral Reform,” was published in the January (2011) issue
of Rhetoric Review.
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Adrienne Akins had an essay entitled “‘Put Banner on the map!’: Knowledge, Power, and
Colonialism in Welty’s Losing Battles” accepted for publication in Eudora Welty Review.
Adrienne Akins also presented a paper entitled “‘If you know how to read it’: Oral and Written
Literacy in Losing Battles” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference in
Atlanta on November 6.
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Joshua Boyd’s essay “The Impulse Toward Beauty in ‘Prufrock,’ The Waste Land, and Four
Quartets: T. S. Eliot’s Aesthetic Response to Spiritual Collapse” was printed in the
Spring/Summer issue of Yeats Eliot Review.
CONFERENCES—CALLS FOR PAPERS
Information has been received from Sudden Storm Entertainment concerning their Adapt to Film
2011 Writing Competition. Students are encouraged to submit “Underlying Material” from a
novel, play, short story or other original piece of literature published before 1960 that they
wished to see adapted to a film. Those interested should submit a two-sentence “log line”
summarizing the story/piece and the publication information; a two-paragraph synopsis of the
piece as it is written in its original form; a one-page document detailing why you feel this piece
would make an adaptation of the material. The person whose submission is selected will receive
a $750.00 CDN cash, plus the chance to become the “Development Executive” on the project
should the production company decide to develop it. All submissions should be sent no later than
March 1, 2011 by email to adaptfilm@suddenstorm.ca. For more information, please visit their
website at www.suddenstorm.ca, or see the flier on file in CS 106.
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Information has been received from The University of Tulsa concerning their 6th Annual English
Graduate Student Conference, March 24-March 26, 2011. The conference means to explore the
intersection of literature and media that complicates, alters, or further enriches literary
scholarship and communication. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Elizabeth Abel, Professor of
English at the University of California, Berkeley. Interested students can submit proposals
related, but not limited, to pedagogical approaches; approaches to digital studies; periodicals and
databases; film/television adaptations; and social networking sites and the academy. Abstracts of
no more than 300 words for papers not exceeding 20 minutes should be submitted by February 7,
2011 to the organizers at tulsagradconf@gmail.com, or by mail to: EGSA Conference
Committee, English Dept. Zink Hall, The University of Tulsa, 800 S. Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK
74104. Please include the title of your paper, name, contact information, institutional affiliation,
and any AV requirements you may have. A $20.00 registration fee for all presenters is also
required. For more information, please email the conference co-directors Melissa Antonucci or
Kate Williams at Melissa-antonucci@utulsa.edu and kate-williams@utulsa.edu, or see the flier
on file in CS 106.
FURTHER STUDIES
Information has been received from the University of Denver concerning their 36th Annual
Publishing Institute. The institute is designed to help recent college graduates and career
changers seeking careers in book publishing. Admission is selective and competitive, with
enrollment limited to 95 students. Applications must be postmarked by March 22, 2011, and
accompanied by two letters of recommendation, a personal statement, resume, transcripts and a
nonrefundable fee of $50.00. Forms may be obtained by contacting the Publishing Institute at
303-871-2570, or downloaded at www.du.edu/publishinginstitute. For more information, please
visit their website at www.du.edu/pusblishinginstitute, or see the flier on file in CS 106.
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Echoes of the Aeolian Harp
“Stifling the Truth: The Current Assault on Morals, Letters, and Humane Society,” an article by
Dr. James E. Barcus, appeared in the November issue of Mission Journal.
From Aeolian Harpings 31:18 (16 December 1981)