Author: Sara Dobosh

By Sarah Bookstein

Writer

The comic and mundane mingled with the humorous and the sad when visiting poet Mary Ruefle gave a reading of her poetry on Nov. 2 in Bucknell Hall.

In a poetry reading hosted by the Stadler Center for Poetry, Ruefle mixed comical elements with mundane ones, as in her piece “Mary’s Hot Dog,” which Ruefle described as “the earliest extant example of my writing.” The work was a recipe for preparing frozen hot dogs for dinner.

Ruefle read two poems about childhood entitled “Provenance” and “Middle School.” While some poets comment between readings, Ruefle joked that she likes to save all her banter for one shot. This made the poetry flow pleasantly and without disruption. Her poetry has a repetitive feel.

Ruefle also read from her more recent books, including poems “The Bunny Give us a Lesson in Eternity,” “Hold that Thought,” “The Day” and “Dodo.”

“Hearing Mary Ruefle read her poetry gave her works a unique, distinct voice,” Mary Coyne ’11 said.

Ruefle has published 10 books of poetry, one of prose and a comic book titled “Go Home and Go to Bed.” She has received many awards for her writing, including an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Whiting Writers’ Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Ruefle published her work in such magazines as “The American Poetry Review” and “Harper’s Magazine,” and in the anthologies “Best American Poetry” and “Great American Prose Poems,” among others.

Ruefle read from a “sample exam” for her students, inspired by a nineteenth-century penmanship workbook. Instead of rewriting the sample sentences, she followed them up with imaginary exam questions for her students. For the sentence, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” Ruefle wrote, “Think of exceptions to this statement, and write about them in an upbeat tone.”

She is known for her quirky style, as in her poem “The Estate of Single Blessedness,” written on the shell of an egg. She currently teaches in the MFA program at Vermont College.

“Ruefle was humorous, refreshing and creative. The way she ended the poetry reading showed the audience that she could work humor into her poetry as well as sadness and everyday events,” Elizabeth Macmillan ’12 said.

By Nicole Della-cava

Contributing Writer

Many University students and Lewisburg children got their versions of “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” signed by a popular author last Friday evening.

Marjorie Priceman, children’s book writer and illustrator, held a book signing at the Barnes & Noble at Bucknell University bookstore last week. Priceman, originally from Long Island, now lives in downtown Lewisburg.

“How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” features an array of colors, and the informative yet fun plot makes this children’s book enjoyable for all readers. A little girl travels around the world looking for ingredients to make an apple pie. On the inside cover, a printed map shows the destinations the little girl visits throughout her travels. Each destination shows the ingredient that is native to and available in that area.

Priceman has been illustrating children’s books for 20 years and is still in the business. Some of her other illustrated books include “Paris in the Spring with Picasso,” “Hot Air,” “Emeline at the Circus” and “The Brand New Kid.”

“Illustrating has a lot of freedom in it–the authors hand me a manuscript, then I use my imagination to draw the sketches,” Priceman said.

According to Priceman, the illustration process takes a long time; after Priceman sends the writers her illustrations, the authors send back the sketches with Post-It note comments. More and more illustrators are turning to the computer to save time in the work process, but Priceman draws her illustrations freehand.

Her hand sketches make the books look vibrant and robust. She thinks illustrations done on the computer look flatter.

The Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Bucknell University frequently holds book signings. On Family Weekend, the University welcomed two other authors.

By Laura Crowley

Writer

Since the Community College Scholars program began at the University in 2007, 83 students from local community colleges have come to campus.  This fall, 17 students were admitted to the program.

Kelly McKenna ’12 came to the University this fall in pursuit of a psychology and anthropology degree.  Prior to attending the University, McKenna worked a number of jobs in retail that she found unfulfilling.  As a massage therapist, she said she was simply “pampering someone’s life” when she really wanted to be a “champion for autonomy.”

McKenna realized that she could fulfill this desire by working with the disabled population as an occupational therapist. “As an occupational therapist, you really help to create a greater sense of self worth and self-reliance in your clients,” McKenna said.  She said that her education at the University is setting her down the path to fulfill this dream.

With the price of higher education so high, McKenna said that “a financial elitism” is created.  “This scholarship is amazing because it allows [individuals to receive an education] who could never afford this caliber of higher education but who are beyond mentally capable to achieve their academic aspirations,” she said.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation selected the University in 2006 as one of 80 selective colleges in the Community College Scholars program.  The foundation has given the University $800,000 in the past four years to fund the program.  It offers full-tuition scholarships.

Students in the University’s program are recruited from five local community colleges: Lehigh Carbon Community College, Community College of Philadelphia, Garrett College in Maryland, Harrisburg Area Community College and Montgomery County Community College.

Admission into the program is competitive.  Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 at their community college.  Those admitted must first attend a six-week summer program to acclimate themselves to the demands of the University.  Of the 30 students enrolled in the summer program this year, only 17 were admitted to enroll full-time at the University.

Tricia Suveg ’12 graduated from beauty school in 2006 and enrolled in classes at Lehigh Carbon Community College after she became disinterested in the field of beauty.  One of her professors at LCCC suggested that she apply to the University’s scholarship program due to her high academic standing.  She is now a sociology major with a certification in education.

Suveg is thankful for her opportunity. “[The University] offers a broad education, enabling students to study a wide variety of subjects, rather than just one specialized field,” Suveg said. “[This education] is a gateway to be involved in almost anything you want as far as internships, organizations, research and so forth.”

Suveg hopes to attend graduate school to earn a Masters degree in Sociology.  “I see myself being an educator. I truly love to learn, and I think my passion for education will translate to students,” she said.

The Community College Scholars program benefits the University as well as its members. McKenna believes it brings diversity to our community.  “Even if you didn’t know my background, it comes out in the interactions I have in class and with fellow students,” she said.

The Community College Scholars program provides students like McKenna and Suveg the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. “Bucknell will open doors I could never have imagined,” Suveg said.

By Christina Oddo

Writer

Ghislaine McDayter is more than just a professor. She is also an author, a “Romantic,” a cook and a calligrapher.

McDayter, an associate profess of English who has been at the University for 14 years, was born in Toronto, Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, Victoria College. Seven months after McDayter graduated, she traveled to France, learned French and “perfected the art of living on bread and cheese—very good bread and cheese, it must be said,” McDayter said. She then studied Romanticism and earned her Ph.D. at Duke University.

Since then, McDayter has become a successful writer. Her last book, “Byromania and the Birth of Celebrity Culture,” was published by SUNY Press last year, and was awarded the Elma Dangerfield Prize for the best recent work on Byron by the International Byron’s Society. “It’s really about Byron’s poetic career and the origins of what we have now come to think of as celebrity culture,”  McDayter said.

McDayter is currently working on her next book, regarding flirtation in 19th century literature, entitled “Licentious Tyrants: Flirtation, Feminism and Nineteenth-Century Literature.” She will be teaching a seminar based on her research next semester.

“I wanted to come to a university where I knew that teaching was not something the professors did out of a painful sense of duty, but rather because they loved working with students,” McDayter said.  “I think the liberal arts education offered at institutions like the University remains the most productive and pedagogically exciting way to learn—both for the students and instructors.”

McDayter decided to become a professor very early on in her life. She thoroughly enjoys reading and writing, exchanging ideas about literature, and she especially loves analyzing literature, as it is like “working out a puzzle.”

McDayter likes to cook and do calligraphy when she has free time. She also enjoys yoga and hiking. If she is not teaching and collaborating with her students, she is spending time with her two children.

By Ashley Miller

Writer

Job searching is never fun, particularly in this economic climate. With the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania up to 8.9 percent according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, we college students need to search more than ever.

LinkedIn is one networking site that may help college students break into the work world. While other popular career sites including Monster, Careerbuilder and Careerlink each boast their own benefits, LinkedIn provides applicants with a place to help advance their careers.

While still fairly new, its membership of already 80 million is on the rise. Similar to the classic job search sites, LinkedIn provides applicants with a place to help advance their careers. Users can search for jobs in a specific industry or area. They also create profiles, list their accomplishments and work experience, add contacts and interact with a community through user groups and messages.

“I had a LinkedIn account in high school to network for music opportunities,” said Kim Rich ’14, who plays piano for parties and banquets. “I was actually surprised to get a few jobs just from posting videos of me playing (piano) on LinkedIn,” she said.

Twitter and LinkedIn recently came to a deal that allows tweets to be shared over the LinkedIn site. The incorporation of Twitter into the site allows job seekers and other professionals to share and receive career-related news, such as job openings and other useful tidbits, nearly instantly.

LinkedIn also provides the chance to get information from experts in a field. Got a professional question? Finding the answer is simpler than a Google search. LinkedIn members can get advice from people all over the country.

The typical profile on LinkedIn is more than just a résumé, although it consists of many of the same elements. It lists work experience and education, as well as interests and objectives. The more you include, the more likely you are to come up in searches so the more likely people are to find you. You also can have recommendations in the form of comments on your profile from other users.

Another useful tool is company pages. LinkedIn has hundreds of them. They show which members of your network work or have worked for this company, including who was recently hired or who has recently left. This can be advantageous if you are looking for a job with a certain company. You can “follow” a company you are interested in and receive updates about it. You can also see typical career paths of people who worked for that company, such as where they worked previously and where they went to work next.

LinkedIn may be especially helpful for college seniors preparing to enter the career world.

“I set up my LinkedIn profile just under a year ago. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a professional online presence,” Gar Waterman ’11 said. “From the perspective of someone currently searching for a job, you never know when [an employer] might happen to come across [your profile].”

By Carolyn Williams

Writer

Ke$ha and B.o.B. fans turned out in droves for the concert last Friday at the Gerhard Fieldhouse. It seemed like most of the student body was in attendance, as were a number of local high school students, families from the greater Lewisburg community and many other local fans.

The excitement was palpable at the field house, where the line of excited concert-goers wrapped around Sojka Pavilion. Many emulated Ke$ha’s distinctive style, proudly sporting “Party Like It’s 1846” neon pink or yellow ball caps. The cold night air was only a mild annoyance in light of the anticipation to see the show.

When Ke$ha finally appeared on stage, the crowd went wild. She opened the concert with “Blah, Blah, Blah” to the screams of happy fans. The excitement continued with some of her other popular hits, mostly off her electro-pop dance album “Animal.” The audience danced to hits like “Stephen,” “Dinosaur,” “Animal,” “Take it off” and “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” before ending her performance with her best-known song “Tik Tok.” Ke$ha’s performance undeniably carried her signature of sloppy craziness. Particularly notable were her costume changes, including her panda headdress. Her theatricality, though immediately entertaining, was not enough to cover her weak vocals. Often called a lesser emulator of Lady Gaga, many students felt her overall live performance was lackluster. “Ke$ha was mediocre, but B.O.B. was off the hook,” Spenser Frieri ’14 said.

Many audience members left the concert during the lengthy intermission between Ke$ha and B.o.B.’s performances, but the remainder of the crowd was as enthusiastic as ever to see B.o.B. finish his American tour for his album “The Adventures of Bobby Ray.” The wait was well worth the while, as evidenced by B.o.B.’s significantly more put-together and polished act. The singer’s alternative hip-hop songs were a huge hit with the crowd, as people screamed along to each song. “Bet I,”“Magic” and “Don’t Let Me Fall” were particularly well-followed. He also sang renditions of songs by MGMT and Vampire Weekend. The fans reacted especially enthuastically to the hits “Nothin’ on You” and “Airplanes.” His singing was also noticeably better than Ke$ha’s, and the crowd was captivated from start to finish.

Overall impressions of this year’s fall concert were generally favorable. Caroline Confort ’14 gave it her full approval. “The concert was insane and I had the time of my life,” she said. With such big names as Ke$ha and B.o.B., students are beginning to wonder what surprises they can anticipate for next semester’s spring concert.