Dear Colleagues,
Thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate a potential Common Book!
Earlier today we heard a baker’s dozen’s worth of excellent nominations. (And because these nominations were all so thoughtful, I am attaching a summary of them. They might suggest some excellent titles to consider for your future classes or pleasure reading.)
After initial discussions, five titles emerged with strongest support. These are listed below, with hyperlinks to websites that include excerpts and other information about each book.
During the next three weeks, I will be researching each of these titles and the ways in which each might work, if selected, with WSU curricula and programming. By next week, there will be a few copies of each book made available at Krueger Library (ask for the Common Book Reserve) and in the WSU Writing Center (Minné Hall 348).
• Kao Kalia Yang, The Late Homecomer (Coffee House Press, 2008, 296 pp., $15 paperback)
• Dave Eggers, What Is the What (Vintage, 2007, 560 pp., $16 paperback)
• Thomas Maltman, The Night Birds (Soho, 2008, 384 pp., $14 paperback)
• Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Penguin, 2007, 464 pp., $16 paperback)
• Nicole Helget, The Summer of Ordinary Ways (Borealis, 2007, 185 pp., $15 paperback)
The Common Book selection will be taught in a number of WSU classes across the curriculum, including many sections of English 111, College Reading and Writing, and related programming is likely to include visits, lectures, and/or workshops offered by the author (or another relevant invitee). As always, the selection and the project itself are contingent upon funding.
Please feel free to leave any comment regarding the nominations by using the “reply” feature (requires registration). And please consider attending the Common Book Selection Meeting, Tuesday, April 21, in the Minne 2nd Floor Lounge, from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon.
Best,
Paul
Dr. J Paul Johnson
Professor, English; Director, University Studies
317 Minné Hall, Winona State University
Winona, MN 55987-5838
507.457.5453 / pjohnson@winona.edu
5 Comments
April 2, 2009 at 4:04 pm
From Deb Cumberland, who nominated The Late Homecomer: This book is a wonderful tribute to a culture that is an important part of our own WSU community. It is a beautifully written, lyrical work, that would be challenging, engaging, teachable and interdisciplinary–students would learn about an important part of history and about the Hmong community. The author is very willing to work with students and as she lives in Minnesota would be quite accessible.
April 2, 2009 at 4:05 pm
From Gretchen Michlitsch, who nominated What is the What: I recommend this book at the behest of my English 111 students, and they are right. In the classroom, this book resonates in the way that Gang of One does. With What Is the What as our Common Book, Winona State University could undertake a project such as raising funds to build a school in southern Sudan. This would enable us to help others beyond campus even as our students read a good book that teaches them about lives beyond our region and our borders. There is already a Foundation in place, begun with proceeds from this book, that would support such a school-building effort. (All proceeds from the book go to aiding the Sudanese in America and Sudan.) We would do well to bring Valentino Achak Deng to campus; Eggers may well be too expensive. Either way, I suspect that if we were to commit to a project such as raising funds for a school, we might persuade one or both of them to come for a lower engagement fee. In addition, we have a handful of Sudanese students on campus, who would be excellent resources in teaching What Is the What as our Common Book.
April 2, 2009 at 4:06 pm
From Ethan Krase, who nominated The Night Birds: The Night Birds tells the story of the events leading up to and immediately following the Sioux Uprising of 1862, an event that took place near New Ulm, MN. Based on detailed research of the historical record, Maltman’s text offers readers a rich portrait of the conflict between European settlers and Native Americans. Ancillary themes include explorations of gender, race, class, nature v. progress, slavery v. abolition. Maltman lives in the general area, this is his first book, and he`s been to Winona once before for a reading at the Bookshelf. Finally, it may be germane to note that The Night Birds is this year`s selection for the Winona Reads book.
April 2, 2009 at 4:07 pm
From Jim Armstrong, who nominated The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Pollan`s writing is elegant and insightful; he would provide an excellent cross-curricular discussion. I can testify that I have taught his book A Botany of Desire in my English 111 classes with great success; he has the advantage of being both intellectually breathtaking and stylistically elegant. He also fits in perfectly with the University President’s Climate Commitment Committee’s year-long emphasis on sustainable food. (Johnson’s note: Pollan will be at WSU Sept. 24 as Lyceum speaker.)
April 2, 2009 at 4:08 pm
From Elizabeth Hayes, who nominated The Summer of Ordinary Ways: Helget recounts coming of age in a dysfunctional family in her memoir The Summer of Ordinary Ways. Her tale reveals a dark and even violent side of rural, small town Minnesota life. For example, in the opening chapter, she describes how her father once killed a cow with a pitchfork in a fit of rage. Although the book was renounced by her family, she stands by every word. Helget lives in Rochester and teaches at MSU-Mankato.