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The Nine Windows <\/em>Anthology, written and edited by Dr.\u00a0Fran Simone with Jeanette Ahangardezfooli, Beth Campbell, Steve Cook, Lin Yisheng, Martha Mozingo, Pan Ying, Kathryn Santiago, Celene Seymour, and Gabriealla Williamson.<\/p>\n Williamson writes, for example, that the anthology grew out of a creative writing seminar taught by Simone in Spring 2008: “By the end of the semester we were left with a provocative glimpse into ‘nine windows’: the nine of us put together nine short stories that reflected our own challenges, interests, and talents, culminating in a book of our finished stories entitled Nine Windows<\/em>, published for the class by the Program. These stories reflect our diversity, our talents and our amazing journey into the realm of the creative process.”<\/p>\n To mark our 30th anniversary, students and faculty compiled a book of writings and other creative works by Graduate Humanities Program faculty and students involved in the Program over the past thirty years. The work, titled Constellations,<\/em>\u00a0and edited by\u00a0Kathryn Santiago (’09) in collaboration with Penna Design, was\u00a0printed by the University of Nebraska Press.<\/p>\n In her Preface, Santiago notes that as a creative work engendered by those living and working in the Appalachian mountains, the anthology challenges conventional notions of what constitutes the Appalachian arts: “Like many literary and artistic movements and styles, the Appalachian arts have had to fight for their place. Yet traditionally, many critics in and out of the region have narrowly defined Appalachian arts as rustic folk crafts. Consequently, to introduce innovative or modern techniques almost requires the art or the artist to lose the brand name ‘Appalachian.’ . . . The discussion of our region has historically taken place among those who have looked at it from outside with select information provided from residents. As this discussion transitioned from sensationalized writing to academic study, community involvement has deepened communication. For the past 30 years, the Marshall University Graduate Humanities Program has been a prime venue for this generations-long discussion through seminars and certificate programs for a diverse group of students and faculty.”<\/p>\n More about the December 2009 book launch is posted\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hard copies or electronic versions of the book are available for free upon request from the Program Director<\/a>.<\/p>\n What leads one to become an artist? What does a life in art look like? And what are the unique life trajectories of a life in art? What can we learn from art as lived, as loved?\u00a0 During the Spring 2011 semester, Mark Tobin Moore led a Graduate Humanities seminar that brought together students with numerous community partners to explore these and other questions about what it means to inhabit a life in art.\u00a0 Appropriately titled \u201cA Life in Art: Hank Keeling<\/a>,\u201d the seminar focused on the life and works of the late West Virginia artist and educator Henry C. Keeling (1924-2010), or \u201cHank,\u201d as he was known by most.\u00a0 The process engendered a traveling exhibit and this exhibit catalog, which features works by Keeling as well as research, testimonies, and reflections by students and others who helped bring the project to life. Dr Lassiter notes in the forward to the work that: “As Director of the Graduate Humanities Program, I am especially proud of the high quality work here presented by students and other contributors who, in addition their exhibit and catalog contributions, also provided their time, expertise, moral and financial support to make this happen. \u00a0I would be remiss, however, if I did not single out the hard work and dedication of Mark Tobin Moore, whose tireless efforts to promote the arts and humanities in West Virginia is an exceptional gift to us all.\u00a0 Indeed, Mark is a rare breed.\u00a0 He has taught many Graduate Humanities seminars such as this, all of which have led to similar results.\u00a0 As someone who has worked on comparable collaborative projects, I can attest that though the work is never easy\u2014it always presents numerous challenges and difficulties\u2014in the end what makes it worthwhile is how the collaborative process opens opportunities for connection with others, and importantly, affords personal growth and fulfillment.\u00a0 And this project has been no exception. Though such work may appear, on the surface, effortless, this is only so because Moore and his many collaborators have spent many days and nights working behind the scenes to provide the kind of experiential and product-based graduate education for which our Program is known.”<\/p>\nFall 2009<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Spring 2011<\/h3>\n
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