Ecocriticism, and it's coming to Eugene!

[eve_prime]

Well, I am very excited! Months ago, I'd made a note to myself to look up a UO class on ecocriticism that would be offered this fall through the English dept., probably to find out what it was about and what they'd be reading, so a few days ago I did that, and through the related links I learned that there are several faculty interested in the topic... and then today I learned that there's a professional group called The Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (ASLE)... and then I learned that their next conference, in June, will be right here in Eugene, and guest speakers will include Ursula LeGuin, Gary Snyder, and Kathleen Dean Moore! So now I have until February 1 to decide if I feel bold enough to try to present at the conference, or if I'd just like to attend. Meanwhile, I have lots of great links to explore to learn all about this new field of "ecocriticism."

We went out to dinner this evening with my step-brothers and their significant others and my mom, at Mazzi's. This was D's first experience in a real restaurant, being asked to sit still without squirming or complaining or being loud or roaring like a dinosaur for more than two hours, and we were astonished and so proud, because he actually did it.