The Inkwell Quarterly...Meg Cabot 10 Contemporary Author Updates & Award Winners 11 Senior Spotlights 12-13 Hamill’s Hunches 14 More Kuhar Thanks 15 Game 16 The Inkwell Quarterly

The Inkwell QuarterlyVolume 9 Issue 4 Spring 2015

In This Issue:

Sigma Tau Delta & Faculty Updates 2

Manuscript Unveiling 3

Dr. Kuhar, the Cornerstone (cont’d) 4-5

Insugent Review & Senior Capstones 6

Sound & Color Review 7

Dr. Farrell’s Sabbatical 8-9

Birdman Review & Meg Cabot 10

Contemporary Author Updates & Award Winners 11

Senior Spotlights 12-13

Hamill’s Hunches 14

More KuharThanks 15

Game 16

The Inkwell Quarterly Volume 9 Issue 4

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Dr. Kuhar, the Cornerstone: A Reflection of Thanks for the Past Ten Years of Chairshipby Kendra Kuhar and Dr. Marcia Farrell

Over the past ten years, Dr. Larry Kuhar served as chair of the Humanities Divi-sion and Department of English. During that time, the English program has undergone tremendous growth: Four tenure-track faculty members were hired after national search-es; six faculty members went up for and were granted tenure and promotion to associate professor; the department added two new student publications--The Kirby Canon and The Inkwell Quarterly; the English 190 experiential learning credits were added to the curriculum to support hands-on learning through student work on The Inkwell Quarterly, The Manuscript, and The Writing Mentor program; the Writers Series sponsored through the Allen Hamilton Dickson Fund was able to support readings and lectures by Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, National Book Award winner Phil Klay, and other writers including David Wyatt, Josh Weil, Lynn Emanuel, Matthew Huculak, Jim Daniels, and others; minors in Professional Writing and Creative Writing were added to the English curriculum; and the new concentration in Digital Humanities was created with the additional benefit of the transformation of Kirby 207 into the Department of English Digital Studio. Also, under Dr. Kuhar’s direction, the Department has added several adjunct faculty to its ranks while maintaining its close ties to Emeriti faculty; enjoyed moments of celebra-tion including the Fall and Spring picnics, senior capstones, and English 397 conference presentations; supported various field trips, outreach programs, and activities; continued its standard of excellence in program and course review; and added several new courses to the curriculum, including Eng 218: Writing Practicum, Eng 228: Professional and Work-place Writing, Eng 311: Technologies of the Book, Eng 337: Studies in American Romantic Literature, Eng 351: Studies in Postmodernism, Eng 353: Studies in Postcolonial Literature, and Eng 357: Studies in Gothic Literature. The program has graduated a number of majors and minors and seen many of them go on to accomplish great things, including completing graduate programs at Naropa University, the University of Tulsa, Arcadia University, Car-negie Mellon University, Dickinson Law School, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, launching careers in fields as diverse as marketing, insurance, coaching, law, politics, teach-ing, higher education, and social work.

Photo courtesy

of Kendra Kuhar.

Continued on pages 4 & 5.


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Faculty Updatesby Kendra Kuhar

Dr. Sean Kelly will be on sabbatical next spring to work on his book project, The Haunted Mind: Alterity in the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. He is currently working on the second chapter entitled, “A Shaming Sympathy: Hester Prynne’s Moral Evolution in The Scarlet Letter.” In addition to the book project, Dr. Kelly has submitted an article on the symbolism of illusion in Nathanael West’s novella Miss Lonelyhearts.

Dr. Mischelle Anthony was part of a panel discussion about campus victimization and violence that took place on Tuesday, April 21st. Furthermore, she wants to remind students that the deadline for poetry submissions are due to Poetry in Transit by April 30th. Submissions can be no more than six lines with the theme of River. Send poems to [email protected].

Dr. Marcia Farrell has a forthcoming review of Conspicuous Bodies for The James Joyce Quarterly. She will also be the keynote speaker at the Children’s and Adolescent Literature Conference hosted by the Education Department at Wilkes on May 9th.

In March, Dr. Helen Davis chaired a panel called “Decoding the Unnarratable” and presented a paper called “’More than words had power to express’: The Unnarratable in Brontë’s Jane Eyre” at the International Conference on Narrative in Chicago. Her article, “’I seemed to possess two wives’: The Professor’s Implied Narrative,” will appear in the Fall 2015 issue of JNT: The Journal of Narrative Theory. Dr. Davis also chaired four student panels and presented a paper at the Wilkes University/King’s College Women’s and Gender Studies Conference.

Sigma Tau Delta Inductionby Jason Klus

Faculty advisor Dr. Mischelle Anthony has announced this year’s Sigma Tau Delta induction ceremony. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 3, at 1:00 PM in the Kirby Hall Salon. This year’s speaker will be Dr. Mar-cia Farrell. Sigma Tau Delta is an international honors society for English students who show extended interest and success inside and outside of classroom settings. Dr. Anthony is pleased to announce eight new inductees into the University’s Alpha Gamma Alpha Chapter, listed to the left.

Tara GiarratanoJames Jaskolka

Jason KlusNicole Kutos

Christie O’BrienSara Pisak

Victoria RendinaGabriella Romanelli


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Manuscript Unveilingby Sara Pisak

The Manuscript Society of Wilkes University’s English department invites you to their annual Manuscript unveiling on Tuesday, April 28th during club hours. Since 1947, The Manuscript Society has been continuously publishing their written and visual magazine. Those being featured in this year’s Manuscript will be present to read their pub-lished work as well as the artists, whose visual pieces are being highlighted.

Dr. Mischelle Anthony and Dr. Sean Kelly of the English department serve as faculty advisors for The Manu-script Society. The 2014-2015 student editorial board is comprised of Sarah Simonovich, Executive Editor, Victo-ria Rendina, Assistant Editor and Em Leonick, Copy/Layout Editor.

This year’s Manuscript features work from several student writers, and visual artists. Poet and Wilkes student, James Jaskolka is one of the students featured in this year’s Manuscript. James expressed his excitement not only towards his work but the Manuscript as a whole. James, exclaimed, “This is my second year being featured in it [the Man-uscript] and it’s great. It’s an awesome publication that really showcases a lot of the talent on campus.” James, who is Editor-in-Chief of The Beacon, experiences first-hand the type of effort and dedication needed to produce the journal. James goes onto praise The Manuscript Society staff stating, “I really admire all the work the staff puts in, as well.”

To be featured in the Manuscript, consideration is given to: students, alumni, faculty and staff. For those looking forward to submitting to The Manuscript Society next year, the staff accepts submissions of poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction and visual art pieces. More information can be found on The Manuscript Society’s website.

The Inkwell Quarterly Staff

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marcia FarrellEditor-in-Chief: Kendra Kuhar

Editor-in-Chief-in-Training: Tara GiarratanoLayout Editors: Jason Klus, Nicole Kutos

Staff Writers: Tara Giarratano, Kendra Kuhar, Sara Pisak, Sarah SimonovichLayout Assistant: Robert Kobilis

Faculty Contributor: Dr. Thomas A. Hamill

If you are interested in joining The Inkwell Quarterly Staff, please contact Dr. Marcia Farrell ([email protected]) or Tara Giarratano ([email protected]). We are currently looking for staff writers, copy editors, and other positions. Students

are also eligible to receieve 1 academic credit as participation in ENG 190.


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Yet, all of these accomplishments say nothing of the hours of mentoring and personal and intellectual sup-port that Dr. Kuhar has provided to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have entered Kirby Hall. Below are some of their stories and expressions of gratitude.

“Our first conversations were in the threshold of his third-floor office about Peter Falk’s postmodern char-acter of Columbo. We’ve had so many others, about so many things. Our talks have spanned this world,

inner and outer. In no way may they be encapsulated, except that they all came down to the same point--Here we are in this world. What a world, right?

Thank you, Larry, for being such a good listener, a profound thinker, an empowering English chair, for that half apple that was your lunch, and most of all,

for bringing so much meaning to working life.” – Dr. Mischelle Anthony

“I have so many fond memories of and such deep appreciation for Dr. Kuhar’s work as Chair (and as a friend) over the past ten years. I’ll try to somehow allegorize all of those recollections and gratitudes

into my Hunches from now on, in perpetuity (which is perhaps appropriate, as long-time readers already

know the deep debt Hamill’s Hunches owes to the in-fluence of ‘early’ Kuhar’s Korners). In the meantime,

and in real time, I want to thank Dr. Kuhar for the transformative and profoundly positive influence he’s had on shaping the values and culture of Kirby Hall, particularly in terms of unifying and empowering our

work as a team for what has been nearly the entire Wilkes career (to date) of every current full time

faculty member in the program. We are lucky for the foundations he’s helped us build—and for how well they prepare us for what’s ahead. Larry, I want to

thank you personally for your central role as a mentor and friend since I arrived at Wilkes. You’ve taught me so much about what it means to be an educator and a faculty leader, and you’ve done so, crucially,

by encouraging me to always affirm my own identity and values. I will never be able to adequately convey my gratitude, beyond simply trying to live up to the standard you have modeled. Thank you, brother.” –

Dr. Thomas A. Hamill

“When Dr. Kuhar joined the faculty in 1989, he very quickly became a good friend and a valued colleague. As a chairperson he has made a significant contribu-tion to the development and stability of the English Department through his competent and supportive

leadership. We members of the department are in his debt.” --

Benjamin F. Fiester, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor

“It is a very rare thing to find an MLA Convention interview pleasurable (the MLA is like an enormous dog show, with thousands of highly self-aware and

nervous dogs competing for maybe sixty or so ‘pretty good in show’ ribbons). Larry Kuhar made my MLA

interview a real pleasure. More important, since coming to Wilkes in 2005, and his granting me the

nickname ‘Husky’ because I came from the UConn, he has provided unflagging support, encouragement, and guidance. I literally don’t know where I would be

now without him.” -- Dr. Chad Stanley

“Congratulations, Larry, on the many successful years as chairman of the Humanities/ English Depart-

ment. You leave behind a legacy of accomplishment, strong leadership and a solid departmental program

for English majors. I wish you continued success and all the best in the future.” -- Walter Karpinich, Ph.D., Professor of Languages and Literatures

“Dr. Kuhar has been an outstanding mentor and great friend to junior faculty. One of his unique strengths as Chair of the department, I think, has

been his ability to shape a sense of community and self- awareness--both for professors and students-

-through his habitual use of concrete, utilitarian meta-phors (chopping wood, rowing together, etc.).” –

Dr. Sean Kelly

Continued from page 1.Article by Kendra Kuhar &

Dr. Marcia Farrell


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“One of the best qualities about Larry Kuhar’s lead-ership of the English program is that he is always supportive of new, creative ideas for the develop-

ment of our program and of our own professional and scholarly interests. When I started in the de-partment, the majority of the faculty were not yet

tenured, and colleagues at other schools had told me that untenured faculty were often overlooked. As

the most senior member of the English team, Larry never did that to us; whenever one of us had an idea,

Larry prompted us to write up a brief description or proposal that we could vet as a team so that we

immediately understood how those ideas contribute to our team’s core values and we work collaborative-

ly in terms of internal decision-making; these are practices that continue today even though now all of us are tenured. Because of Dr. Kuhar’s support and team-building efforts, we’ve been able to do some truly innovative activities and events while we have

matured as scholar-teachers.” -- Dr. Marcia Farrell

“There are some people who awaken things inside us, things that had been waiting to come alive. These

are the people we intuitively know will impact our lives. When I met Dr. Kuhar, I knew my course had changed in no small way—and I will be forever in-

debted to him for that. Dr. Kuhar brought a passion to the halls of Kirby; his enthusiasm for the material was infectious, a gift he was generous with inside his

classroom as well as in his advising role. I wouldn’t re-alize it until a few years later, but his greatest lessons

boiled down to this: do the work, and own your story, because this—all of this—is who we are (and there’s a little bit of magic in that). Dr. Kuhar, thank you for

informing my story. Congratulations on your own new chapter.” - Sara Crolick

“Dr. Kuhar is one of the top reasons why I’ve done so well at Wilkes. Since before I transferred, he was

extremely helpful and supportive. Over the past couple years I have worked extensively with him. He’s made me a better writer and a better thinker. Before taking Contemporary Fiction with him, I had no idea what Postmodernism was or who Thomas Pynchon was, but from that class he helped inspire me to pur-sue studies in postmodernism. He provided me with an amazing opportunity to do an independent study which I learned a lot from, both academically and

about myself. Without a doubt, he is one of the best professors I have ever had.” - Sarah Simonovich

“Larry Kuhar is one of the most memorable teachers under whom I’ve had the pleasure of studying. Also, I remember Dr Kuhar playing basketball games with us students and just generally being a fun, energetic, and talented force in this world. It was under Dr Kuhar that I first read Wallace Stevens. Dr Kuhar taught me to make things personal. As an example, he mentioned one day during a lecture that people should not be afraid to say things about themselves

in job interviews. Make a connection. Be memorable. About a year after college, after landing my first ‘real’ job, I wrote to Dr. Kuhar to thank him for sharing

that interview advice (which I think was just in con-versation, as an idea, and not as actual ‘advice’). In the

email, I updated him on how I was doing, and told him, somewhat jokingly, that that I had a plant on

my desk, and some natural light from a window near an adjacent cubicle. He responded to tell me that the plant was a metaphor, and to engage with the process of understanding how my relationship with that plant and its proximity to the window said something about

my journey. Because of Dr Kuhar, I am a stronger learner. I engage in a dialogue with, and a process of meaning-making, at every juncture. At least, I make efforts to have a mind for thought. And, as Wallace

Stevens wrote, to be ‘…[a] listener, who listens in the snow, / and, nothing himself, beholds / nothing that

is not there and the nothing that is.’” - Helene Caprari

“All that I am, after all I’ve seen, is a product of the Kuharian post-modern machine.” -

Todd Ankiewiczs

“I can still hear him say ‘This is who we are’… The greatest gift a professor could offer a student like myself and so many others was to impart the

sheer resolve required to state with the utmost sincer-ity, ‘This is who I want to become.’ Dr. Kuhar em-

powered me to follow through with that declaration, and I can never thank him enough.” -

Matthew Faraday Jones

Continued on page 15.


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Insurgent Reviewby Tara Giarratano

Insurgent, the second installment in the Divergent franchise’s adaptation of Veronica Roth’s young-adult dystopian trilogy was released on March 20, 2015. The film boasted a star-studded cast; with Shailene Woodley as the gritty heroine Tris Prior, Theo James as Tobias Eaton, her ally in combat and romantic interest, Ansel Elgort as her cowardly brother Caleb, and Kate Winslet as the piercingly cunning Jeannine Matthews. We are reunited with Tris & Tobias. in the Amity compound, where they are seeking refuge from Jeannine and the evil Erudite, but any semblance of peace or security is shattered when the hunt for all of the Divergent in hiding commences. Insurgent’s focus on the anarchy of post-apocalyptic Chicago is brimming with violence and packed with high speed chases and hand-to-hand combat. In extreme moments of inhuman acts of cruelty (for example, one scene depicts a lost little girl being senselessly shot in the head) it far surpasses its predecessor. So much so that the conflict shaking Tris’s core, the deaths of her parents, the loss of several friends (one of whom by her own hands), and the betrayal of her brother Caleb seem to be lost in the mix of endless ammunition-induced chaos. War-like violence was undoubtedly a the-matic layer explored in all three novels, but in the film it is unequivocally highlighted above all else. Tris’s emotional tribulations are only explored at the surface level, briefly acknowledged before an explosion or shoot-

ing rampage snaps the focus away. Aside from a single and brief scene with Christina (played by Zoe Kravitz), the vast ensemble of Dauntless allies, each idiosyncratic in their influence on Tris throughout the novels, is written out of the movie entirely. Key plot points including Tobias’ reunion with his supposedly dead mother, Evelyn (played by Naomi Watts), Tris’s pushing of her psychological limits as a Divergent, and the eventual assassinationnof the evil Jeannine contribute to the film’s effecting of thrilling suspense. The minimalist conclusion foreshadows Tris and Tobias’s venture beyond the walls of Chicago, to be delivered in the next installment, Allegiant Part 1, set for release in March 2016.

Senior Capstone Presentationsby Jason Klus

On Tuesday, May 5, four graduating seniors will present their capstone projects in the Kirby Hall salon from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Kathryn Roshong is presenting on the importane of book covers and cover art and has been working with Dr. Chad Stanley as her advisor. Sierra Marsh has worked with Dr. Mischelle Anthony and will present a short collection of poetry. Fittingly, the duo of Sarah Simonovich and Victoria Rendina will be presenting two separately produced collections of short fiction and have both worked under Bill Black’s advisement. Lightrefreshments will follow the presentations.

Photo courtesy of IMDB


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A Genre Bending Space Odyssey:Sound & ColorBy Jason Klus

When southern alternative rockers Ala-bama Shakes debuted in 2012 with Boys & Girls, critics seemed to notice. Their debut effort combined traditional sounds of the 1960s and 1970s with a voice that engages you every time it calls out. Lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard capped off Boys & Girls by giving it a personal stamp of feeling with powerful vocals that bring us as the listener into the music. I was a bit hesitant to jump into the group’s music, but a perfor-mance on Saturday Night Live last year convinced me that there was something special and genuine about them. And – more importantly, maybe – something more than what was hanging on the surface. Howard’s emotionally charged performance and unusually fantastic vocals didn’t hurt their cause, either. There are always elements of jazz and soul that pervade the music and shine over the top of the traditional guitar riffs and earnest sound. Since then, Alabama Shakes has been reinvigorating their sound exploring new genres and musical epochs while simultaneously breaking notions of musical genres.

Sound & Color, the second album from the Athens, Alabama group, combines sci-fi soul grooves with hostile roll-er-disco anthems to produce something that tugs on our feelings and makes us think about what we’re doing in this life. The album’s title track emerges with resonant vibraphone chords and hums with rock organs as a subtle funk rhythm sneaks in, and Howard’s impeccable vocals are showcased through subtle lyrics that sound more like confessional poetry than alternative rock (“Try to keep yourself awake/This life ain’t like it was/I wanna touch a human being/I want to go back to sleep/Ain’t life just awful strange/I wish I never gave it all away”). The tracks that follow morph and twist into so many different colors that it is nearly impossible to nail down one description of Sound and Color’s genre: “The Greatest” is a garage-band punk experiment, “Gemini” is a psychedelic, futuris-tic trip of emotions and “a planet not so far away”, and “Over My Head” is meditation on gospel style with minor chords that seep in and muddy up the broken down shout chorus. “Don’t Wanna Fight” and “Gimme All Your Love” were the two lead-off singles for the album with good purpose; Howard’s voice soars and captures all of our emotions with sweltering contralto and eerie falsetto. We can hear what Howard feels, and it’s not because she’s laying it all out on the table either. Although she is credited for writing all of the album’s lyrics, they are at times painfully subtle and overly simple (“So, tell me what you wanna do?/You say the world it doesn’t fit with you”), but her performance truly captures something from within; we can tell by the end of each track that this is more about learning to understand an experience than poetic lyrics.

What does it do for the listeners when we are pulled in every direction, taken on numerous journeys, and left at the end to digest it all? I think it makes us appreciate the subtleties in the differences around us. It disintegrates bound-aries and makes music an experience, tearing down notions of genre and period and just letting the art stand as is. Sound & Color carefully tugs and toys with our feelings and makes sure we take it in as an artform, not as retro rock or alternative or anything – it’s an experience. Howard pleads in “This Feeling,” crooning in perfect falsetto: “Please don’t take this feeling/I have found at last”. There are surely some insecurities pulsating from the experimental forms of Alabama Shakes’s newest album, but we’re not “taking” the feeling, we’re just borrowing it. It is a wel-comed change. .

Photo courtesy of Jason Klus.


Fall 2014 Sabbatical: A Marcia Farrell Miracleby Tara Giarratano

Top Right: Dr. Farrell met author Maggie Sefton at the New York State Fiber Festival in Rhinebeck.

Middle Right: Dr. Farrell made some new friends while travelling. Bottom Right: These dresses aren’t real dresses, they’re quilts draped over the mannequins as part of the the 13th and final Airing of the Quilts in Tunkhannock, PA.

All photos courtesy of Dr. Farrell.

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Dr. Marcia Farrell enjoyed a productive sabbatical during the Fall 2014 semester. Before diving into her scholarly research, she vacationed in Orlando, Florida where she explored much of Harry Potter World and the Kennedy Space Center. She spent the rest of the summer baking, gardening, spending time with her animals, and reading novels which related to her research project, which analyzes the relation between engaging with the fiber arts and processing or mediating a personal or social trauma as a contemporary literary trope. Her scholarly research and writing naturally grew out of reading so many novels (Dr. Farrell estimates well over one hundred) which contained themes relevant to her project. Though she initially anticipated her writing to take the shape of psychoanalytic or gender analysis, to her surprise the project evolved into an investigation of the novel’s impact on the material culture of fiber arts.

In addition to reading novels thematically relevant to her research, Dr. Farrell experimented with the fiber arts in a variety of ways. She assembled and stained her own spinning wheel and learned to spin wool, as well as successfully mastered several difficult knitting patterns, such as intarsia (which enables color-carrying), Fair Isle, and multiple lacework techniques.


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In September, Dr. Farrell set a goal of 1,167 words of academic writing a day, with the hopes of finishing a first draft of her manuscript by the month’s end. She ended up reaching 50,000 words in two and a half weeks, and finishing the 70,000 word draft in full at the end of the third week.

After a month-long break from writing, Dr. Farrell decided to embark on the National Novel Writing Month challenge (NaNoWriMo). In November, Dr. Farrell finished one complete novel, a paranormal knitting mystery, and wrote 60,000 words towards a second novel project loosely based on some memorable life experiences. In addition, she wrote a series of children’s books based on her dog, Maggie, and cats, photos of whom are included. They have been a great hit with Grace Hamill, who was pleased to title the most recent installment.

Dr. Farrell is excited to channel her academic and creative energies into teaching next fall’s senior seminar, Whodunnits & Harry Potter!

Top Right: Dr. Farrell finished her first queen-sized quilt over sabbatical.

Bottom Right: A view from her trip to Harry Potter World.


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Meg Cabot Anniversary Releasesby Tara Giarratano

Metafiction in Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)by Kendra Kuhar

Above: Book covers for the new Meg Cabot novels.

After a five year break from the blockbuster Princess Diaries series, Meg Cabot has announced plans to publish two new installments in the series in celebration of the first novel’s fifteenth year publication anniversary. Over the past decade and a half, the epistolary series following ordinary teenager Mia Thermopolis’s humorous navigation of life as a newly discovered princess of fictional European principality Genovia has been translated into dozens of languages, sold millions of copies, and been adapted for two blockbuster Walt Disney movies, in which Anne Hathaway played Princess Mia. William Morrow will publish the newest installment, Princess Diaries XI: Royal Wedding in June 2015. Mia’s next royal tribulation is the interruption of her nuptials to longtime love Michael Moscovitz after her long-lost younger sister is discovered and a resultant scheme to usurp her father’s throne plunges Genovia into chaos. Cabot has stated she plans to pick up Mia’s journey with the adult division of Harper Collins because her original young adult audience has also aged with the story. As a companion piece, Macmillan will publish in May 2015 a children’s book, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, written and illustrated by Cabot which focuses on Mia’s half-sister Olivia Grace and invokes the epistolary tradition of the series.

Twenty years after leaving a movie franchise centered around superhero Birdman, Riggan Thomson enters the realm of Broadway by adapting, directing and starring in Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Riggan’s struggle to acquire the most fitting actor for the leading role of his play increases after a stage accident, and leads to actor Mike Shiner’s entrance into the spotlight. Film viewers witness an interesting and metafictional dynamic transpire between the two main characters.

Metafiction is defined as writing which “self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in oder to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. Such writings explore the possible fictionality of the world outside the literary fictional text.” The term is a main component in Birdman, appearing most frequently when the adaptation is being performed. Birdman explores the idea in Riggan’s attempt to bring Carver’s play to life on the stage through adjusting stage action.

A scene from the film shows Riggan, played by Michael Keaton, interacting with Mike, played by Edward Norton, on the stage during a rehearsal of the play. Dialogue between the two is playful as they move back and forth between their characters in the film and their characters in the play. At certain points, it is difficult to discern between which character they are playing. Flickers of metafiction through both single and multiple layers appear the most during this scene and are present in the entire film. Parallels between the reality of Keaton and Norton’s acting careers and their characters in Birdman form another constituent. Ironically, Keaton played Batman in 1989 and Norton played The Incredible Hulk in 2008. Forms of metafiction in the film are absorbing, to say the least, and bring a unique perspective to the conversation in which literary elements are brought to life.

Game Answers: 1. G 2. J 3. H 4.K 5. D 6. F 7. I 8. B 9. C 10. E 11. A


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Contemporary Author Updatesby Sara Pisak

Publisher W. W. Norton & Company announces the release of Sandra Beasley’s collection of poetry Count the Waves. W.W. Norton & Company states, “Assembled over ten years and thousands of miles, these poems illuminate how intimacy is lost and gained during our travels. Decisive, funny, and as compassionate as she is merciless, Beasley is a reckoning force on the page.” Count the Waves employs a spirited voice to showcases love and life through travel. Beasley’s style of poetry has garnered her comparisons to poetry greats such as Sylvia Plath and Dorothy Parker.

Perhaps the most anticipated fiction release of the year is the newly rediscovered text, Go Set a Watchman written by literary great Harper Lee. The manuscript which Lee assumed to have been lost was revived in 2014 after its origi-nal composition date in the 1950s. Go Set a Watchman will also follow Scout, Lee’s famous character from her Pulit-zer Prize-winning classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. Go Set a Watchman is shaping-up to be one the biggest novel releases in years as publisher Harper Collins boasts, “An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee.”

Lovers of history will definitely enjoy Kate Andersen Brower’s new release, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, which is also published by Harper Collins. The 320 page text details the lives of the service staff of the White House beginning with the Kennedy administration and ending with the current Presidential family, the Obamas. The Residence contains intimate, first-hand accounts, anecdotes and interviews with members of the White House staff. Brower works to shine a light on the details of the unsung heroes of the White House from their day-to-day work and to the tumultuous times of Nixon’s registration.

Academy Award-nominated actress Mariel Hemingway releases her newest memoir, Out Came the Sun published by Regan Arts. Mariel is the granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway. Mariel’s memoir recounts her family’s struggles with mental illness beginning with her grandfather Ernest’s suicide days before her birth. Mariel informs the reader of Ernest’s brothers’ suicides, her parents’ alcoholism and her sisters’ respective struggles with depression and schizophrenia. Out Came the Sun is a book of triumph as it recounts how Mariel broke “The Hemingway Curse,” while the memoir’s candor inspires others experiencing or caring for those suffering from mental related illnesses.

English Department Award Winnersby Jason Klus

On behalf of the English department, Dr. Larry Kuhar has announced the students who have been selected to receive awards for the 2014/2015 academic year. Congratulations to these students, listed below:

Annette Evans Award: Kendra Kuhar

Taft Achilles Rosenberg Naparsteck Award: Nicole Kutos

Frank J.J. Davies Award: Lit track: Cierra Humphrey Writing track: Jordan Ramirez DH track: Sarah Simonovich Teacher Ed. Track: Hayley Dutka


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Senior Spotlightsby Sarah Simonovich

Sarah Simonovich and Victoria Rendina

Sarah Simonovich and Victoria Rendina are perhaps best known for always being in Kirby Hall together (particularly the DH lab). Collectively their hobbies include David Bowie, Kurt Vonnegut, redecorating Dr. Hamill’s door, and creative writing. Neither member of the “Dynamic Duo,” (as they were once referred by Dr. Kuhar) is fluent in Russian, nor do either of them enjoy math.

Sarah, the tallest of the two, is an English Writing and Literature major from Dallas, Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Sarah is the executive editor of Manuscript, the vice president of Sigma Tau Delta, and an extensive doodler. She is likely best known for her dog Skylar and her love of postmodernism. One time she wrote an unfinished paper on postmodern circular narratives, but if you asked her what that means, she couldn’t tell you. She also has a Thomas Pynchon tattoo on her foot.

Victoria Rendina, the smaller one, is an English Writing major from Larksville, Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Victoria is the assistant editor of Manuscript, a member of Alpha Chi, and a record store frequenter. She is likely best known for her love of cats, Kurt Vonnegut, and the occasional recitation of Latin verse. One time she made a David Bowie reference in Dr. Hamill’s Chaucer course, and life hasn’t been the same since.

Sarah and Victoria own many of the same things, including sharpie pens and articles of clothing. Both also have minors in Creative Writing and Women and Gender Studies. Coincidentally, Sarah and Victoria both transferred to Wilkes in Spring 2013, but didn’t become friends until much later. They would like to give a special shout out to Bill Black, Dr. Kuhar, and Dr. Hamill for being the best professors they ever had.

Photo courtesy

of Jacquie DeLucca.


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Sierra Marsh

Sierra Marsh is an English Writing major with minors in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies. She has been involved on campus with the Center of Global Education and Diversity as a work study student and the E-mentor program as a First Year Student Mentor. While at Wilkes, Sierra has also held positions in the Wilkes University Christian Fellowship Club as Co-President and the Wilkes University Programming Board as Community Service Chair. Outside of Wilkes, Sierra considers herself a hardcore thrifter and mug collector. She is perhaps best known for her serious relationship with pizza and her love of cats. Future plans include becoming a cat and/or cat lady.

Kendra Kuhar

Kendra Kuhar is an English Writing and Literature major from Moscow, Pennsylvania. After graduating, Kendra is planning on taking a year off and applying to graduate school for Fall 2016. While she enjoyed and benefitted from every English class she took, Kendra’s favorite class was Dr. Anthony’s 18th Century Literature course from Fall 2012 because that is when everything clicked for her and she learned how to push herself to write better.

Kendra has been editor-in-chief for Inkwell for the past 2 years, participated in Manuscript for one year, and is currently president of Sigma Tau Delta. Outside of Kirby hall, Kendra also did research in biology for Dr. Michael Steele over the course of two summers. Friends consider Kendra to be a world traveller and perhaps just slightly obsessed with her dog Sydney. Her favorite colors are blue and green, but people tend not to know that about her.

Kathryn Roshong

Kathryn Roshong is an English Literature major from Dumont, New Jersey with minors in Studio Art and Women and Gender Studies. Kathryn has been the Public Relations Chair on Programming Board for 3 years, and E-Mentor for fall 2013 and 2014, and First Year Resident Assistant in Schiowitz Hall. After graduating, she would like to study student affairs in grad school and work in student activities or Residence Life. Fun fact: Kathryn knows American Sign Language and her 10-15 year goal is to work in affairs at Gallaudet University, an all deaf school in Washington D.C.

Photo courtesy of Sierra Marsh.

Photo courtesy of Kendra Kuhar.

Photo courtesy of KathrynRoshong.


14

Hamill’s Hunchesby Dr. Thomas A. Hamill

Photo courtesy of Dr. Hamill.

My initial plan for these Hunches was to write a Top Ten list (in no particular order) of favorite quotes from Kuhar’s Korners. But I feel compelled to start by telling you about the astonishing and recent case of the two stolen Wycliffite Bibles, both of which were taken from the Morgan Library in NYC by an unidentified group of bibliographic radicals perhaps as early as January but no later than mid April of 2015. The breech has heretofore remained relatively low profile, particularly given all the buzz surrounding the New York Mets just-ended 11-game winning streak and the understated by nonetheless resonant first-round-play-off-series victory of the New York Rangers over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Indeed, the news-cycle silence surrounding the thieving incident echoes strikingly (and ironically) another “theft” of history—the subtle

occlusion from master narratives of happy-meal history of the very work that Johnny W. and the Lollards were up to with their project, as if they were merely holding the door for Martin Luther’s pending (if not belated) arrival some 130 years later. The case took on an even more curious parabolic arc when reports “surfaced” that the stolen (and in some eyes, forgotten) manuscripts had been absconded (after mutilation) into the bindings of all 49 recensions of Thomas Pynchon’s long-rumored and now apparently forthcoming Godzilla novel, which, according to some of the less reputable Pynchon Wiki sites, now includes a chapter wherein the beast is de-radiated, accidentally, by members of the Brooklyn Borough Palimpsest Society engaged in the (always) tricky alchemy of “repurposing” gold-leaf illuminations of odd-number historiated initials (consonants only) in 14th century manuscripts, some of which may (or may not) have been Wycliffite Bibles. The “official” Pynchon Wiki has refused to comment on this purported content; however, they have confirmed that the novel does include an extended treatment of Game 2 of the 1973 National League Championship Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets. Believed by some Pynchon enthusiasts to have been the inspiration for Don DeLillo’s “Pafko at the Wall” (which would later become “The Triumph of Death,” the opening chapter of Underworld), the extended sequence focuses loosely on the fifth-inning fight between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose and the bench-clearing brawl (and game-delaying quasi fan riot in the stands) that ensued. But the force of the chapter apparently centers on (and emerges from) the post-game “reconciliation” between Harrelson and Rose effected by Pittsburgh Pirates legend and Mets icon Ralph Kiner on the set of his landmark show Kiner’s Corner. In Pynchon’s account (told from the point of view of then National League President Chub Feeney, who eventually abandons his Front Office career to become a worker of wood, specializing in read “cardboard” miniature canoe replicas), Harrelson and Rose marvel (and make peace) over Kiner’s ambling anecdotes about the joys of Eggo Waffles (and their “butter-splattered goodness”), his first meal in the Big Leagues (pierogies from the local church Bizzare a few blocks from Forbes Field), and his 74th career home-run (which he recalls hitting into “Greenburg’s Gardens” even as it was being Christened “Kiner’s Korner”) at the close of the 1947 season. Just as Kiner remebers his self-consciousness over the “renaming” (and even as he clearly revels in its connections to the show’s institutionalization), he begins to take phone calls from the listening audience (a gesture Pynchon’s Feeney correctly notes was, at the time, a broadcasting innovation). The first caller takes Kiner by surprise (and the conversation that unfolds, allegedly, shapes what one source has described as “the proleptic asymptotes of the novel’s strained narrative ‘ends’”). A young man from Eynon, PA who has, it seems, convinced his grandmother to allow him to stay home from school so that he could watch the game and advance the hope and myth of The Big Red Machine. Kiner, leaked excerpts of the passage suggest, smiles nostalgically at the boy’s temerity and faith before patiently fielding his two questions, one about how he too might become a Big-Leaguer and the other about his back up plan of becoming (“not unlike you, Mr. Kiner”) a journalist. At this Kiner offers wonderfully sagacious (and perhaps also Pynchonian) advice: “Don’t let the geometric teleologies of corners limit your sense for the knowable world and its infinite landscapes. Indeed, while I may have my one ‘Korner,’ I trust that my life and work, in these terms, even as mediated along the analogue tape of archival history, will always (and of necessity) be proliferating, multitu-dinous. Not unlike, I suppose, “any of a million flatnesses which should catch thereafter part of the brute sun’s spectrum” along the sea’s surface at the close of my favorite novel. Speaking of which…. Do you like to read? I’m sure you do—in fact, I get the sense that you know the truth: Reading is fun. “Anyway, since you’re playing hooky from school today, I’ve got an assignment for you. A couple of assignments, actually. First, about your baseball career. It may work out for you; it may not (as your providential Plan B anticipates). But don’t worry; even if it turns out that baseball’s not in your cards, you’ll always have softball. And there’s big myth there too. You’ll see. So remember that. Mark it down. Write (and always read) that myth. “And, finally, there’s a book I’d like you to explore—and, I want you to read it deeply. My favorite novelist. Just been released, in fact. It’s been out for only few months now but is already creating quite the stir I’m told. Encyclopedic and daunting and brilliant and true. Perfect, I think, for you. It’s called Gravity’s Rainbow. I’ll send it to you now. What’s your address out there in Enyon?” Reports are conflicted as to how the novel closes, but I think we all have a sense now for how and where that young man’s story goes from there. And, for that, we are lucky. So I’ll start and end my appreciation with two words Kuhar’s Korner has long spoken so well: Thank you. Thank you, Kuhar’s Corners. Thank you, Dr. Kuhar. Thank you. Thank you.


15

“My first class with Dr. Kuhar may have boiled down to a quote not unlike this:

‘[This work] appears to be a critique of if not an endorsement of (?) a concept or awareness involving moving beyond the real/lived life and into another

sphere of experience’ (Kuhar Email).The (?) is not mine. It represents a fully Kuharian

action. A slight gesture of the hands, a quick turn of the chin. A ponderation in the form of a micro-sized gesture. It represents the unknown. The notion that

we’re all in the same boat, trying to figure out the same things. The impossible leveling of the playing

field. And more.That (?), to an unsure student, was everything. It let

us know that it was okay to let go of those ideas. The dangerous ones. Even though they nearly punctured a hole in my stomach, sheerly from anxious antici-pation of that one redeeming chance to speak out, Dr. Kuhar helped me realize that these ideas were

so much better off with more room to age graceful-ly: bouncing around the high ceilings of Kirby Hall instead of on the backs of butterflies in my gut. He taught me to have confidence in my diffidence: that it’s ok to have big questions. Still, most unforgetta-

bly, he taught me to be sure to never expect a simple answer.” -- Jordan Ramirez

“Oddly, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Dr. Larry Kuhar, is the clock in that Kirby

Hall room under the stairs, with its second hand twitching eternally, freezing time at just a little before our class period of ENG 351 Studies in Postmodern-ism was over. That class upended my understanding of the world and, quite frankly, my role and purpose in it, at least until I learned to reconcile Poststructur-alism with daily life. There and in the many conversa-tions in his office and spontaneously across campus

that were meant to take a few minutes and easily turned into an hour, Dr. Kuhar taught be to embrace

ambiguity, both in literature and later also in life. I reread some of my writing for Dr. Kuhar’s classes

and remember how much his classes gave me a voice that grew more confident over the years, but also how much he pushed me to get and be better. Even if that

only meant finally answering “well” to his question “how are you doing?” on the staircase. We were al-

ways “chopping wood,” reading challenging literature and often even more difficult theory, but Dr. Kuhar somehow always got us through because he is seri-

ous about learning and his students and put so much effort into every single one. We are our stories.

I always felt at home in Kirby Hall, and he was a huge part of that. I don’t think I ever properly said ‘thank you’ (I know a letter I had written somehow got lost

in the end-of-things-as-I-knew-them atmosphere that happens when you graduate), but I hope that

he knows how much I (and so many other students) appreciate him.” - Felixa Wingen

Continued from pages 4 & 5.Article compiled by Kendra Kuhar &

Dr. Marcia Farrell

The Inkwell Quarterly Staff would like to express our gratitude and best wishes for our outgoing Editor-in-Chief Kendra Kuhar. Kendra’s hard work and dedication contributed greatly to the quality of The Inkwell Quarterly during her time at Wilkes. Her consistently-kind disposition and ability to foster a low-stress

and teamwork-oriented environment have made our experiences working on the Inkwell great. We are indebted to her example

and wish her the very best in all of her future endeavors!

Photo courtesy of Kendra Kuhar


16

Summer Reading Match UpBy Nicole Kutos

We asked the Inkwell staff and some of the English professors what is on their reading list for the summer. Match the book to the individual. Answers on page 10.

1. Kendra Kuhar2. Tara Giarratano3. Nicole Kutos4. Nicole Kutos and

Jason Klus5. Jason Klus6. Sara Pisak7. Dr. Kuhar8. Dr. Farrell9. Dr. Anthony10. Dr. Hamill11. Dr. Kelly

A. God Help the Child Toni Morrison

B. The Drowning Tree Carol Goodman

C. The Debt to Pleasure John Lanchester

D. Lolita Vladimir Nabokov

H. Candide Voltaire

I. Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace

J. Saint Anything Sarah Dessen

K. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides

E. Falling Man Don DeLillo

F. Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks John Curran

G. Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn

Documents

The Inkwell Quarterly...Meg Cabot 10 Contemporary Author Updates & Award Winners 11 Senior Spotlights 12-13 Hamill’s Hunches 14 More Kuhar Thanks 15 Game 16 The Inkwell Quarterly