Over lunch today, I read one of my favourite columnists at the Globe & Mail and just felt the urge to engage in conversation with all of you out there. (Besides, when there is  first-year essay marking to do, procrastination permeates every cell.) In this Saturday’s edition, Johanna Schneller interviews Morgan Freeman about the just-released documentary Prom Night in Mississippi. Have you heard about this documentary? It sounds amazing, and unbelievable at the same time.

Set in the small town in Mississippi where Freeman lives, Canadian film maker Paul Saltzman and producer Patricia Aquino tell the story of a high school that has two proms: one black and one white. With the help of Freeman, the students work to bridge racial divides by combining the two proms. Even though some stubborn racist parents still organize the white-only prom, most of the students now go to the combined soiree.

In talking about his acting career, Schneller quotes Freeman as saying that “These days it’s all about gravitas, characters with authority and wisdom….” My big red Webster’s says that gravitas means “seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech”. The online version extends the definition to include “substance; weightiness”.

Including this quotation in her article is just one of the reasons I like reading Schneller. I think she sees the metaphor of the man in the story of his ideas.

Two different proms in 2009 (apparently there are several counties in the American south that still support this notion.)? Crazy. Unbelievable. Racism. So sad, this hate we have for one another. You think we’ve come so far and yet such blatant racism  reminds me how much work we have to do.

Over to you now. I have to get back to my marking/grading. What strikes you as gravitas  in your world?

I recently finished Canadian author Bonnie Burnard’s Suddenly, which was sent to me by the marketing folks over at HarperCollins Canada. I have not yet read Burnard’s prize-winning  A Good House, but have always heard good things about it, and in particular, about Burnard’s talent of intuitive simplicity. I didn’t know what that meant but was intrigued. After finishing this latest novel, I think I have a good idea.

Set in London, Ontario, which is a small university city two hours outside of Toronto for those of you not familiar with the Canadian landscape, Burnard tells the story of the friendship of three women who are in the later part of mid life. Seamlessly easing between contemporary scenes and  memories of the main characters, we the readers build ideas of who these women are as individuals and as unit. The characters are strong as a result, and the friendship seems realistic.

The over arching narrative of Suddenly is the death process of Sandra, the book’s main character. Using journals she’s kept throughout her adulthood,  readers get glimpses into cultural changes that have presented themselves over the past forty years. As Sandra’s disease progresses, the journal entries offer access points to Colleen and Jude, and the emotional reactions to the changes they live through.

The link to the book’s Browse Inside feature is available if you click here. Unfortunately, the first example of how I interpreted Burnard’s talent to tell so much using so few words is on page 93, but that page isn’t accessible from the feature. Instead, let me set this up for you. Sandra is reminiscing about a card game where the three women are discussing Colleen’s reaction to her husband Richard’s philandering.

And then she’d offered her best theory, which was that looking outside a marriage was about nothing more than sexual boredom, and that if someone did a survey, they would likely find that first marriages were vaginal and second marriages oral. Whether Colleen was grateful or appalled, she couldn’t tell.

“The vagina can lose some of its dark appeal,” she told her. “At least,” she said, “that’s Jack’s thinking.”

Jack who had sworn, having got in her both a first and a second wife, that he would never, ever be bored. Realpolitick, she’d called it, shrugging her shoulders. Or, if Colleen preferred, growing old together. …

Through crafty scenes that on the surface seem jejune, Bernard draws for us intimate details about the nature of friendships.

The characterization of the women themselves is as subtle as the portrayal of their relationships with one another and their partners and children. On page 98, I felt as if I really knew Sandra: Young women like her, without the easy appeal of prettiness, and with the confusion that must create, had to look at things a little differently if they were going to survive. Sandra had probably been looking at things a little differently all her life, or at least since she’d first noticed, when? at five? at six? that absence of pretty-girl appeal given back to her from other faces. If you were ever told growing up that you “have a nice personality”, you, too, know exactly what Sandra is all about.

There are more dog-eared passages that I could share, but this post is already a bit too long. Suffice it to say that I would recommend this book, but I want to warn you, it’s emotionally exhausting to read it. Death always is.

Carol Shields wrote about A Good House that “Its grace, its generosity, its humanity are present on each of its pages.” The same could be said about Suddenly. And, like Shields’ The Stone Diaries provided, access to women’s lives outside our own is a great gift.

Last weekend, we celebrated the first graduating class of our masters of public relations program. While small–there were only three students–the energy and excitement was palpable at the wine and cheese reception, and the next day at the graduation ceremonies where Tracey, Denise and Jolinne cleaned house on winning awards. The entire weekend, including the days spent in preparation, caused me to reflect on my work as a professor. Seeing students graduate has to be one of the top rewards for the work we do in the academy. It is for me, at least.

Jolinne and I, celebrating her accomplishment

Margo Husby Scheelar has written that “our students are the greatest gift we will ever get. Publications may burn. Research will become dated. The lives we touch with compassion, with strength, with belief in potential and assistance in reaching that potential will make more of a difference than anything we do to bolster our own professional egos and status.” I think the immediate satisfaction we get from connecting to our students is why Husby Scheelar might have prioritized the student-professor relationship. Certainly, I get great joy in doing research, and especially because I have a fantastic research partner and I meet people who believe in books and reading. I mean really, how great is that?! But the satisfaction that comes from seeing three women walk across a stage and later thank you for your role in that is intensely validating.

I’ve often come across people who think that being a professor is easy, that my time is my own and that I must make a lot of money. Let this be known: that’s all crap. The pay is fair, but an average work week for me and my colleagues is 60-70 hours. In addition to teaching duties, we have to do research and publish and we have administrative duties.Those of us who value teaching, have to work extra hours to make our courses relevant, timely and fun. If we love research and want our work to add to new knowledge (and if we want to be promoted), we have to work on weekends and at night because course prep, teaching and marking take up all of our regular work week hours. And, let’s not forget the committee work, the advising, etc. etc. that counts as 1/3 of our responsibilities. While our work might be considered wise work, it’s a challenge to work wisely.

In preparation for the graduation weekend activities, I had to contact two of my colleagues who have retired. Marie and Judith were instrumental in convincing me to move to Atlantic Canada, and were supportive of me and my work since the day I arrived eight years ago. Over the years that we worked together, I saw how dedicated they were to our program and to our students. They, too, toiled in the intellectual trenches to try to prepare students with skills and foundational knowledge that would guide them through the next phase of their lives all-the-while trying to run the program and do a little bit of research on the side. Now that they’re retired, they seem to be just as busy with their own lives, doing their own things. Marie is writing a book while taking breaks to go on cycling trips. Judith, too, is writing and is doing it in between riding and working with her ponies. They tell me they barely think about working at the university and have a hard time remembering what that work was like because they’re so busy with other activities.

Judith and her pony, Bert

Seeing Judith and Marie, in preparation to watch Jolinne, Tracey and Denise walk across the stage, caused me to reflect on why I have dedicated my life to this profession. I really cannot think of a better job, but I need to somehow work more wisely so that I can see better the other side of the fence. I take great pride in my role–albeit very small–in getting a master’s degree into three brilliant women’s hands. But I need to remind myself two things: 1) that if I don’t work wisely, I’ll get sick and I will not be around to help others, and 2) it’s just a job.

Thank you Judith and Marie for your wise council. And, congratulations to Denise, Tracey and Jolinne!

It’s just a job, yes, but it’s a great one.

Thank you to the students, employers and colleagues who attended my presentation today. I apologise for the hiccups. Here is the slide presentation if you’d like to follow through to the various links.

Thank you to the co-op team, but especially to Scott and Kirsten, who worked very hard to make today a success.

Happy 30 years!

This is the latest book sent to me for review from HarperCollins Canada. It’s by far the most difficult book to review of all those I’ve done.  Not only am I an untrained reviewer, but I’m also not certain what I think about the book.

I chose this title because Rebecca Gowers is an author from Oxford. Because I’ve got a love affair with England going on, I thought I’d really enjoy it. Besides, the jacket copy says that The Twisted Heart is “Sharp, acute, comic and true to life; admirable and enjoyable.” And the marketing bumf says that Gowers is a “stunning wordsmith.”

I don’t know whose life the book is true to, but then again, I grew up in a trailer court and teach at a small university in Nova Scotia. And while I’ve got friends who have gone to or teach at Oxford, I still don’t think the emotions are true to life. I do, however, think that Gowers’ writing is “sharp and accute” but not “stunning.” Overall, the narrative style and dialogue–both internal and external– is engaging. Sometimes, I wondered if the editor missed something, or if this is Gowers’ style. Case in point: “She affected to be unable to decide. The truth was, she didn’t want to do either.” Blach. Not stunning.

Still, I’m going to check out her other two titles. I’m intrigued.

If you like books that contain parallel narratives and quirky characters who tell the story of real life historical events, you’ll like this short novel.

The story follows two Oxford characters–Kit and Joe–as they begin a new relationship. Meeting at a dance class, they go through the difficulties of learning about one another while carrying out individual duties. Joe has to keep his druggie brother alive and Kit has to keep plugging on her PhD dissertation. The storyline about Joe and Humpty, his brother, is supposed to be serious and stark, but it falls flat. On the other hand, Kit’s investigation of a real life prostitute murder and the parallels of Nancy’s murder in Dickens’ ‘Bleak House’ is incredible. The involved details that Gowers provides caused me to have my first nightmare in more than 10 years.

Readers of The Twisted Heart will sometimes love Kit: “As she skimmed down the Bodleian stairs, she recalled the frame of mind she’d been in coming up them and thought, this is a silly existence I’m leading–which was fine so long as she didn’t care.” Sometimes, she’ll make you yell out, “oh, plueeze. Grow up.” During most of the book, you’ll envy her ability to walk down the street to the Bodlien, or to catch a train to London. You’ll also be thankful that her creator, Rebecca Gowers, knows how to bring real research to the masses.

Ok, I guess I’ve worked out what I think about the book. Thank you for helping me out.

I just love when the stars line up in my world. It’s been an exciting week with our graduate program orientation yesterday afternoon and the Joint Master of Arts in Women & Gender Studies orientation in the morning. I love seeing all of the eager faces, and hearing about the educational dreams of the students. Tomorrow will see my new term begin, with Communication Theory courses–two first year and a graduate level one, too. Teaching and learning from all of these interesting humans is one of the great pleasures of my job, so when CC Chapman blogged (or podded?) about Derek Siver’s Hell Yeah! post, I had the distinct feeling of all of my stars coming in line. Have a look at the post and decide if what you’re doing right now–this very moment– is a Hell Yeah effort, or if you’d rather be doing something else. Right now, I’m feeling pretty Hell Yeah! about the next four months! Hope you are, too.

I’ve read several books over the last month or so, but I don’t have time to write full responses to them. I am in a big rush to finish a chapter I’m writing and to put the final touches on my fall syllabi. Please, if you’re interested or need ideas for your next pick, check out the “My Reading” page.

All set to test the Canning extension loop

Well, we did it. While it might not seem like such a big deal to many of you, I am quite chuffed with the idea that my legs will take me 125k (77.67 miles) in two days. My friends, Oliva and Linda, trained with me for two months. We began with short rides of 20k or so and ended up with a 40k ride last week. That one almost did us in because riding on the Rails to Trails path in the pouring down rain can be a tough slog. I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to do the entire route for the tour. But, I did, thanks to the mula spirit of Olivia and my own stubbornness.

Most importantly, together we raised more than $3000 in the fight to find a cure for MS.

There were more than 450 cyclists on the ride, which helped to get the adrenaline flowing. Seeing that many folks dedicated at least in part to help people who suffer from the stinking disease was motivational. There were kids as young as 12 riding, and I even saw some cyclists who looked to be in their 80s. Fat ones, thin ones, everyone was out to see what their bodies were made of. The scenery was fantastic, with rolling hills covered in lush green vegetation and growing fruit on the vines. Everyone who knows me knows my heart belongs to British Columbia, but this weekend, I felt fortunate to be able to take in the unique beauty of the Nova Scotia valley.

My hats off to the NS MS Society. The staff and the volunteers really worked hard to make this event a fun one. Thank you all. This is one for the memory book.

And thank you to Olivia and Linda, you make riding more fun than it already is. I can hardly wait to tackle the province with you!

Looking a bit surprised that the first day is finished

I recently came across a notice for Penguin USA’s new interactive website, and I must say, it looks good. However, I think they might have missed the point. Dubbed “From the Publisher’s Office,” the website includes vid/podcasts and “looks insides”, meaning a reader can read a few chapters of highlighted books. There’s only one problem— there’s no space for community building, for readers (customers) to interact with the publisher and with each other. There’s a spot for contacting someone via email, and as is becoming the norm, they feature live chats with authors. I know other publishers are trying to utilize various new media to help them promote themselves and their authors, but I don’t think that is all social media is about. At minimum, it’s a bout communicating. Using it as another promotional tool is a big waste of money and a lost opportunity to create relationships with readers.  Harper Collins Canada, for example, has a FaceBook group with more than 1,000 members. I’m one of them. And, while I don’t think the forum is super active, the folks behind the scenes are always sending out messages and are often responding to readers. Virago, in the UK, also has a fantastic website–and a fabulous list–but has so far limited itself to more traditional communication tools, such as a forum and email. I think it’s working.

I’m happy that publishers are able to reach audiences this way, but I also worry for the smaller presses who would have neither the money nor the people power to utilize social media in the way it should be managed. I think the smaller houses again lose out. The solution? I’m not certain, but if I worked in a small press, I’d be certain to write into my next grant application at least a part time new media position. The duties would include interaction with readers and book sellers, not only a web site developer.

Our Beyond the Book research concludes (or confirms earlier work) that readers seek and enjoy contact with authors. The data also shows that readers turn first to trusted others–friends and family– to choose the books they want to read. I think new media helps facilitate that process.

I just finished another book to review for Random House (US), this time for a book from first-time novelist Julie Buxbaum. This is another one to add to your summer reading list. I wouldn’t recommend it for your reading group unless said group is comprised of women under the age of 35 and comprised of members who find it important to identify with characters. I say this not because I think the book is a “fluff” book–it’s not nor do I think young reading groups read fluff books–but because the characters in this book are strong and demand some analysis that comes best from people who are in the very prime of their careers and love lives. That, I think, is always done best over a glass or two of wine amongst good women reading friends.

You’ll fall in love with Emily, the main character in Opposite, and Ruth, her mentor. Both women work/ed in law. Emily is just beginning her career and learning that sometimes values get in the way of making money if you let them. Ruth, a retired judge, not only is a mean poker player, but she shows Emily that love and work are best approached by paying attention to both your head and your heart.

I felt as if I was in NYC while reading this book. Buxbaum paints the scenes vividly, which will come in handy for the screen writer who will (or has?) been commissioned to carry the book from print to screen. (I see that Twentith Century Fox has bought the movie rights.) The characters are well developed, from Grandpa Jack to the prodigal father, and extending to the shrink who dresses in wanna-be yoga guru chic. Edited well, the story flows nicely taking the reader from a few planned pages before bedtime to the middle of the night’s “damn, I’ve got to get up in a few hours!”