Congratulations to Matt Brown, who has won an NEH/Library Congress of Philadelphia award for Spring 2009 for his project on The Novel and the Blank: Textual Instruments in the Age of Franklin. Matt will be combining this award, which involves research at the Library Company of Philadelphia, with a regular upcoming CDA research leave in Fall 2008.
Matt Brown writes:
Designer and novelist Chip Kidd will give the UI Center for the Book’s 2008 Mitchell Lecture, on Monday, March 31 at 7.30 pm in 116 Art Building West. Titled “A Number of People,” the talk will be a survey of recent projects, both realized and rejected, with a special surprise short film. Associate Art Director for Alfred A. Knopf, Kidd is an internationally recognized book designer and graphic designer. His first book, Batman Collected, was awarded the Design Distinction award from ID magazine. He is the editor-at-large for Pantheon, where he has overseen the publication of Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Dan Clowes's David Boring, and the definitive book of the art of Charles Schulz, Peanuts (designed, edited, and with commentary by Kidd). His first novel, The Cheese Monkeys (2001), was a national bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and his second novel, The Learners, is just out from Scribner’s. Redefining the genre, his jackets and other design work have been collected in Chip Kidd: Book One / Work: 1986-2006 (Rizzoli, 2005). More information about Kidd is available here. The Mitchell Lecture in the Arts of the Book is a UICB annual event in the spring, complemented by the Brownell Lecture in Book History presented each fall.
Visiting Assistant Professor Mike Chasar's essay "The Sounds of Black Laughter and the Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay, Sterling Brown, Langston Hughes" has been published in the March 2008 issue of American Literature. Two of Chasar's poems, "Farewell Fidel" and "'Lingerie Mayor' Vows to Stay in Office," appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on Feb 27 and Jan 28 respectively.
Patricia Foster has an essay forthcoming in Art & Letters Literary Journal.
On February 21, 2008, Mark Isham spoke to the Eastern Iowa Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and the Institute of Electrical andElectronic Engineers (IEEE) in Cedar Rapids about “Writing for Multiple Audiences” and “Common Writing Problems”. He also talked about his experiences giving seminars at Midwestern engineering firms. Along with Scott Coffel, Director of The Hanson Center for Technical Communication, he discussed the challenges of teaching writing and speaking to undergraduate engineers.
The African Studies Program will be screening "Fathers and their Childres in Contemporary Africa - Three Short Films from Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria" on April 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A. Marie Kruger will introduce the films. More information can be found here.
On February 18, 2008, fyi published an article about Steve Kuusisto and his new guide dog, Nira. Click here to read the article. Be sure to scroll down to the yellow box on the right to view the accompanying photos and audio slide show.