WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:40.439 A:middle L:90% 2 00:00:41.439 --> 00:01:02.240 A:middle L:90% 3 00:01:08.870 --> 00:01:12.430 A:middle L:90% Good evening everybody, thank you for coming. Really 4 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:17.299 A:middle L:90% appreciate your time, hope you're enjoying the drinks and 5 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:21.200 A:middle L:90% the snacks and the food, Spending some time this 6 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:23.819 A:middle L:90% evening with us. Really appreciate this is our 11th 7 00:01:23.819 --> 00:01:27.269 A:middle L:90% annual Virginia Tech authors recognition reception. So again, 8 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:30.519 A:middle L:90% thanks for coming. And this is what we do 9 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:33.849 A:middle L:90% here. This is really celebrating authors, researchers and 10 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:37.439 A:middle L:90% and those who produce creative works uh, during the 11 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:42.719 A:middle L:90% year for Virginia Tech faculty and two get material out 12 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:46.430 A:middle L:90% to the, to the globe and produce their publications 13 00:01:46.430 --> 00:01:48.159 A:middle L:90% . We really appreciate the work that they do. 14 00:01:48.170 --> 00:01:51.480 A:middle L:90% And that's, that's what this reception is for This 15 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:53.810 A:middle L:90% year. We have 88 books that are published from 16 00:01:53.810 --> 00:01:57.609 A:middle L:90% 77 authors. Lots of questions about how come there's 17 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:01.390 A:middle L:90% that kind of differential between 77 authors and 888 books 18 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:02.829 A:middle L:90% . Of course, there are some people who published 19 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:05.870 A:middle L:90% more than one. That's rare, but it happens 20 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:07.120 A:middle L:90% and there's a lot of multi authors of course as 21 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:10.699 A:middle L:90% well. This isn't just books, this is books 22 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:14.300 A:middle L:90% , print books, e books, this is other 23 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:15.780 A:middle L:90% kind of creative works, musical scores and the like 24 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:17.719 A:middle L:90% . So we include a lot of different kinds of 25 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:23.310 A:middle L:90% scholarship here. There were also quick mention, the 26 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.210 A:middle L:90% library's open excessive pension fund, which celebrates and supports 27 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:30.370 A:middle L:90% journal articles, which is not necessarily part of what 28 00:02:30.370 --> 00:02:30.830 A:middle L:90% you see on the shelves, but we'd like to 29 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:34.180 A:middle L:90% mention what's going on on. There is it's a 30 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:37.900 A:middle L:90% fund that helps support faculty who are publishing uh their 31 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:40.840 A:middle L:90% materials in in an open journal, Actually funded 45 32 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:44.090 A:middle L:90% articles this year. That program continues to grow, 33 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:46.030 A:middle L:90% which is also another reason why I like a like 34 00:02:46.030 --> 00:02:47.460 A:middle L:90% to mention it. So for those of you who 35 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:52.419 A:middle L:90% are interested in publishing, having some support through an 36 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:53.810 A:middle L:90% open journal, who let me know, I'll be 37 00:02:53.810 --> 00:02:58.389 A:middle L:90% happy to help you. Of course. This year 38 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.030 A:middle L:90% we have, as usual we have College of Liberal 39 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:04.560 A:middle L:90% Arts and Human Sciences as our as our top producer 40 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.039 A:middle L:90% . 31 books from 25 authors. Although I have 41 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.389 A:middle L:90% it on authority that some people in the college think 42 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:15.060 A:middle L:90% they can do better. Well see I think that's 43 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:17.020 A:middle L:90% very very fine. And I have to give a 44 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.129 A:middle L:90% nod to the to the runner up which is the 45 00:03:20.129 --> 00:03:23.229 A:middle L:90% College of Architecture Urban Studies. So we have to 46 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:27.159 A:middle L:90% colleges that beat out engineering, got to feel good 47 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:32.240 A:middle L:90% about that. Um We also have our distinguished author 48 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:36.750 A:middle L:90% , Professor robert Denton who is not here this evening 49 00:03:36.750 --> 00:03:38.219 A:middle L:90% . He has come to every one of these. 50 00:03:38.229 --> 00:03:43.039 A:middle L:90% He has published at everyone of these events. So 51 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:44.889 A:middle L:90% he has a book, this is his 11th book 52 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:46.210 A:middle L:90% and he emailed me a couple days ago to say 53 00:03:46.219 --> 00:03:50.110 A:middle L:90% that it might happen next year but might not. 54 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:52.039 A:middle L:90% He's really doubting is going to happen and he's not 55 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.340 A:middle L:90% here this evening because he's, he's working with our 56 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:59.099 A:middle L:90% election tomorrow. He's on WDBJ TV this evening doing 57 00:03:59.110 --> 00:04:01.189 A:middle L:90% his commentary. So he sends everybody as regards and 58 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:03.360 A:middle L:90% is sorry that he couldn't, couldn't be here. 59 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:08.090 A:middle L:90% Mhm. So we have a couple of speakers quick 60 00:04:08.090 --> 00:04:12.069 A:middle L:90% remarks before we get to our five beta kappa uh 61 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.469 A:middle L:90% , Sturm award for excellence. So we're going to 62 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:16.949 A:middle L:90% turn it over to Executive Vice President and pros finances 63 00:04:16.949 --> 00:04:20.000 A:middle L:90% for caucus for a few comments finances I think, 64 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:28.829 A:middle L:90% Oh, thank you. Tyler great to be here 65 00:04:28.829 --> 00:04:30.750 A:middle L:90% and thank you all for coming. Congratulations to all 66 00:04:30.750 --> 00:04:32.910 A:middle L:90% the authors who, who are the overachievers with the 67 00:04:32.910 --> 00:04:39.420 A:middle L:90% two books. There you go. 3, 3 68 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:46.360 A:middle L:90% overachievers, three bucks each. That is, that 69 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.509 A:middle L:90% is impressive. That is. And you're sitting between 70 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:54.329 A:middle L:90% the Dean's to wow, There you go. There 71 00:04:54.329 --> 00:04:59.029 A:middle L:90% is a powerful blast. Right? That's good. 72 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:00.639 A:middle L:90% That's a good plan. That's one way of dealing 73 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.240 A:middle L:90% with raids a check sit next to the faculty pictures 74 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:05.990 A:middle L:90% that don't go anywhere. Okay. The other one 75 00:05:05.990 --> 00:05:08.750 A:middle L:90% would be to close the doors. Okay, great 76 00:05:08.750 --> 00:05:11.970 A:middle L:90% . Uh, no, it's great to be here 77 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:14.680 A:middle L:90% . Uh, and I tell you, there are 78 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:16.639 A:middle L:90% a couple of reasons. It's great to be here 79 00:05:16.649 --> 00:05:18.509 A:middle L:90% . First of all, it's, uh, this 80 00:05:18.509 --> 00:05:20.360 A:middle L:90% is what being at the university is all about. 81 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:24.519 A:middle L:90% It's hard not to look at the books or look 82 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:26.540 A:middle L:90% at the titles and not realize that this is what 83 00:05:26.540 --> 00:05:30.959 A:middle L:90% the university is all about about actually being covering the 84 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.290 A:middle L:90% whole range of universal knowledge. And I can only 85 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:35.459 A:middle L:90% imagine what it means to our students, each coming 86 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:38.709 A:middle L:90% for a particular experience to be able to walk into 87 00:05:38.709 --> 00:05:40.629 A:middle L:90% a space where all these different types of thoughts are 88 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:43.579 A:middle L:90% being represented. This is exactly the diversity we're talking 89 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.860 A:middle L:90% about that can open up people's minds the diversity of 90 00:05:45.870 --> 00:05:47.579 A:middle L:90% not only race and ethnicity and gender, but also 91 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:50.660 A:middle L:90% the diversity of intellectual thought. And I wish that 92 00:05:50.670 --> 00:05:53.610 A:middle L:90% one of the things we would do for undergraduates just 93 00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:56.240 A:middle L:90% bring them to events like this just to realize how 94 00:05:56.250 --> 00:05:58.889 A:middle L:90% really broad human knowledge is and when we talk about 95 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:02.000 A:middle L:90% 360° solutions that it takes this type of integration through 96 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.019 A:middle L:90% to come up with those solutions. So I want 97 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:08.279 A:middle L:90% to celebrate, first of all, how inclusive in 98 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:11.560 A:middle L:90% terms of intellectual diversity. Uh, this event is 99 00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:14.209 A:middle L:90% um, the other thing I want to say and 100 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:15.629 A:middle L:90% uh see Theresa sitting over there and she will vote 101 00:06:15.629 --> 00:06:17.220 A:middle L:90% for me. As you know, we went through 102 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:20.240 A:middle L:90% this exercise to the destination areas only a few weeks 103 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:25.639 A:middle L:90% ago looking at our scholarship and try to see where 104 00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:28.060 A:middle L:90% we connect the best and what issues to address. 105 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:31.290 A:middle L:90% And the thing that came up fairly quickly is that 106 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:34.709 A:middle L:90% this idea of what scholarship is. Is it something 107 00:06:34.709 --> 00:06:39.399 A:middle L:90% that's way, way harder to capture than just simply 108 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.029 A:middle L:90% some analytics serious politics there? All right. There's 109 00:06:42.029 --> 00:06:44.560 A:middle L:90% activity in scholarship in books of course, as we 110 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.860 A:middle L:90% can see here in open journals in, in, 111 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:48.649 A:middle L:90% in, in computer science. A lot of the 112 00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:53.769 A:middle L:90% activity is in conferences, but you also have architectural 113 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:56.610 A:middle L:90% plans. You have designed projects, you have choreography 114 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:58.360 A:middle L:90% , you have visual arts, you have sculpture. 115 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.480 A:middle L:90% Well, this is under what we would call scholarship 116 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:01.709 A:middle L:90% and in the kind of scholarship we need to have 117 00:07:01.709 --> 00:07:05.829 A:middle L:90% a university. So the other reason I'm really happy 118 00:07:05.829 --> 00:07:08.910 A:middle L:90% to be here and celebrate this is that these are 119 00:07:08.910 --> 00:07:11.209 A:middle L:90% the types of dimensions that as we try to create 120 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:14.079 A:middle L:90% a more holistic view of other scholarship is we need 121 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.410 A:middle L:90% to be able to capture and present. So it's 122 00:07:16.410 --> 00:07:17.860 A:middle L:90% a, it's a nice challenge to have. And 123 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:19.540 A:middle L:90% every time I come to an event like this, 124 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:21.970 A:middle L:90% I realize how much important all that exists in the 125 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:25.569 A:middle L:90% different types of scholarship that we have. And also 126 00:07:25.569 --> 00:07:27.100 A:middle L:90% , I think it's a challenge for the evolution of 127 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.839 A:middle L:90% the library uh, in terms of actually being able 128 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:31.790 A:middle L:90% to present access to all these different types of knowledge 129 00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:35.839 A:middle L:90% which is being made even more ubiquitous um, by 130 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:40.110 A:middle L:90% digital publishing. So some very interesting times with a 131 00:07:40.110 --> 00:07:42.459 A:middle L:90% high dimensionality of knowledge and I think there is no 132 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:45.560 A:middle L:90% better meeting that is to actually show us this, 133 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:46.720 A:middle L:90% this kind of rationality, someone to appreciate talent and 134 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.920 A:middle L:90% his staff and what are you showing up? And 135 00:07:48.930 --> 00:07:51.370 A:middle L:90% just to prove my point of how diverse this room 136 00:07:51.370 --> 00:07:54.310 A:middle L:90% is actually, the athletic director sitting there at the 137 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:56.750 A:middle L:90% back. So there you go, we have the 138 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:01.449 A:middle L:90% full spectrum uh the university, so without who were 139 00:08:01.449 --> 00:08:05.160 A:middle L:90% turning over to. So Theresa is next speaking about 140 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:07.009 A:middle L:90% diversity of knowledge. So before I turn it over 141 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.540 A:middle L:90% its recesses, I didn't know you were standing over 142 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:11.600 A:middle L:90% to you. Uh want to congratulate the authors again 143 00:08:11.610 --> 00:08:15.480 A:middle L:90% . Uh the last thing to say about this is 144 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:18.839 A:middle L:90% that there is a uh even in a time of 145 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:22.769 A:middle L:90% digital publishing there's a tremendous effect that books are, 146 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:26.060 A:middle L:90% we were looking at the eliminate distinguished professors poor only 147 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:30.100 A:middle L:90% a couple of weeks ago and we began to realize 148 00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:33.980 A:middle L:90% of course how many targeted affects books can have, 149 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:35.120 A:middle L:90% for example textbooks. Right? And how much they're 150 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.190 A:middle L:90% being adopted by different schools. So again, they're 151 00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:41.009 A:middle L:90% all of the book and they're all of the music 152 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:45.259 A:middle L:90% composition uh in our kind of inclusive society of knowledge 153 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:48.210 A:middle L:90% is critical and it's really good to see it all 154 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:50.799 A:middle L:90% congratulate all of you for your productivity. And of 155 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:52.850 A:middle L:90% course I wanna congratulate you brats and human sizes and 156 00:08:52.850 --> 00:08:56.519 A:middle L:90% architecture for beating up an engineering report was to beat 157 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:58.149 A:middle L:90% up on entering, what is that? Right? 158 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:01.399 A:middle L:90% That's good films. We thought, let's have an 159 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.139 A:middle L:90% engineer come up here and tell us all about it 160 00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:05.529 A:middle L:90% . So I would like to, well, I 161 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:07.919 A:middle L:90% like to welcome a new vice prices for such innovation 162 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:16.549 A:middle L:90% . Theresa May. Thank you. Um, it's 163 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:18.700 A:middle L:90% really a pleasure to be here to honor all of 164 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:24.210 A:middle L:90% our authors who really do serve the larger academic community 165 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:28.240 A:middle L:90% through their work. Um it really is advancing the 166 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:30.879 A:middle L:90% state of the art and our scholarly thought and that's 167 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:33.919 A:middle L:90% critically is really at the foundation of what we do 168 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.679 A:middle L:90% in the university. Um, I was impressed in 169 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:41.070 A:middle L:90% looking through the list of um scholarly works that are 170 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:45.620 A:middle L:90% authors um span seven colleges and many academic units. 171 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:48.259 A:middle L:90% And so this is a real, a real collective 172 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:50.370 A:middle L:90% effort that shows the true, comprehensive nature of our 173 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:54.230 A:middle L:90% university. Um, We have works ranging from print 174 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.399 A:middle L:90% to film, So very, very broad and diverse 175 00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:03.059 A:middle L:90% collections. Your works provided the insight to the landscape 176 00:10:03.059 --> 00:10:07.129 A:middle L:90% of our beloved Blue Ridge Mountains through the cultures and 177 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:09.590 A:middle L:90% economy worldwide. So a very broad swath of the 178 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:15.970 A:middle L:90% population. Um green energy to french literature, nutrition 179 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:18.450 A:middle L:90% to neuropsychology. And as I was looking through the 180 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:20.690 A:middle L:90% list of books, um, I was struck to 181 00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:24.419 A:middle L:90% see engineering economy and for those of you who don't 182 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:28.669 A:middle L:90% know me, I graduated with my undergraduate degree here 183 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:31.620 A:middle L:90% in engineering Um in the 80s and it took me 184 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:33.950 A:middle L:90% back to 1985 and I still had all of my 185 00:10:33.950 --> 00:10:37.830 A:middle L:90% books packed up in my office. And so, 186 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.009 A:middle L:90% you know, I had to go rooting through my 187 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:43.980 A:middle L:90% , my books and I remember that this was written 188 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:46.460 A:middle L:90% by Virginia tech professor, so engineering economy. And 189 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:50.529 A:middle L:90% we have the 16th edition over here. Um, 190 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.009 A:middle L:90% so this had all my notes and complete with all 191 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:56.620 A:middle L:90% the tabs. And so it really took me back 192 00:10:56.629 --> 00:11:00.840 A:middle L:90% , um, and showed just what a long term 193 00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:03.759 A:middle L:90% strength this has been for the university as a whole 194 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:07.289 A:middle L:90% . Um, I also want to recognize uh, 195 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:09.980 A:middle L:90% that are authors have published through the open access suspension 196 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:13.230 A:middle L:90% fund. And this is really nice. I just 197 00:11:13.230 --> 00:11:16.549 A:middle L:90% learned about this, that there are funds available for 198 00:11:16.549 --> 00:11:18.909 A:middle L:90% authors, um, who are not able to support 199 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:22.750 A:middle L:90% the publication. These the very high and increasing publication 200 00:11:22.750 --> 00:11:26.379 A:middle L:90% thieves, um, for open access journals. And 201 00:11:26.379 --> 00:11:31.730 A:middle L:90% this is really a new strategy uh, for the 202 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:35.350 A:middle L:90% disclosure of our scholarly works and one that's going to 203 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.789 A:middle L:90% be growing. And so it was really exciting to 204 00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:41.639 A:middle L:90% learn that Virginia Tech is really, I think leading 205 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.950 A:middle L:90% the nation and providing funds to our scholars to get 206 00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:48.539 A:middle L:90% the works out um in an open access type format 207 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:52.259 A:middle L:90% . So that's very exciting. Um So I also 208 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:54.059 A:middle L:90% want to congratulate all of you, your achievements, 209 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:58.710 A:middle L:90% create the culture and reputation of the university and I 210 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:03.289 A:middle L:90% think um you know keep going, it's really a 211 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:13.509 A:middle L:90% great time for Virginia Tech and congratulations again. Thank 212 00:12:13.509 --> 00:12:16.019 A:middle L:90% you. Um My name is Tom Ewing and I'm 213 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:18.600 A:middle L:90% here to introduce the seasonings keynote speaker. Um I'm 214 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.779 A:middle L:90% here as a secretary of the Virginia Tech chapter of 215 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:26.289 A:middle L:90% phi beta kappa. And I also chaired the committee 216 00:12:26.289 --> 00:12:31.169 A:middle L:90% that awarded the Storm Research Prize, the criteria that 217 00:12:31.169 --> 00:12:35.919 A:middle L:90% award our scholarly publications then address a broad general audience 218 00:12:35.929 --> 00:12:37.830 A:middle L:90% . Um And so it's it's a very fitting prize 219 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:41.490 A:middle L:90% to be honored in this setting where we recognize the 220 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:45.799 A:middle L:90% intake office from across the university. The selection committee 221 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:50.350 A:middle L:90% was very impressed with the submission from Professor Paul Sorrentino 222 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.230 A:middle L:90% by the depth of research, the riveting narrative and 223 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:56.299 A:middle L:90% the original contributions to understanding the life and the significance 224 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:00.830 A:middle L:90% of Stephen Crane hit this book. Stephen Crane, 225 00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:03.080 A:middle L:90% A Life of Fire is a model of how meticulous 226 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:07.950 A:middle L:90% research in the humanities field can address broad themes in 227 00:13:07.950 --> 00:13:11.590 A:middle L:90% ways that enhance public understanding, thus advancing the liberal 228 00:13:11.590 --> 00:13:13.639 A:middle L:90% learning that's central to the mission both of phi beta 229 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:18.090 A:middle L:90% kappa and to Virginia tech as a comprehensive university. 230 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:22.330 A:middle L:90% So Professor Sorrentino is, he was Professor Sorrentino when 231 00:13:22.340 --> 00:13:24.649 A:middle L:90% when the prize was awarded, he's now professor emeritus 232 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:28.919 A:middle L:90% in the department of English, he will take questions 233 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.059 A:middle L:90% at the end of his talk. So so we'll 234 00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:31.960 A:middle L:90% have a few minutes for that. Um And at 235 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:39.860 A:middle L:90% this time, please welcome Professor emeritus paul Sorrentino. 236 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:48.230 A:middle L:90% Mhm. Mhm. Well thank you very much for 237 00:13:48.230 --> 00:13:54.399 A:middle L:90% that time. Introduction calm. It's somewhat ironic that 238 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:00.440 A:middle L:90% I'm here today because as tom said Professor emeritus english 239 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.500 A:middle L:90% department. And when I was in high school my 240 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:05.899 A:middle L:90% worst subject was english. And the last thing I 241 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:11.549 A:middle L:90% wanted to become with a teacher I run it is 242 00:14:11.549 --> 00:14:13.759 A:middle L:90% how I came across the american author Stephen Crane. 243 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:16.750 A:middle L:90% When I was a junior in high school I was 244 00:14:16.750 --> 00:14:20.230 A:middle L:90% taking a course survey of american literature. And in 245 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:24.220 A:middle L:90% addition to read these elections from an anthology, we 246 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:28.169 A:middle L:90% were required to choose from a list of american novels 247 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:30.990 A:middle L:90% , one model of months to read and that we 248 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:33.529 A:middle L:90% would then be examined on are related. So I 249 00:14:33.529 --> 00:14:37.639 A:middle L:90% looked at the list. I did not recognize any 250 00:14:37.649 --> 00:14:39.419 A:middle L:90% of the titles. I went to my neighbor. 251 00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:41.570 A:middle L:90% I said mrs jones. Do you recognize any of 252 00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:45.470 A:middle L:90% the names of these books on here? She scratched 253 00:14:45.470 --> 00:14:46.159 A:middle L:90% her face. She looked nothing. She said. 254 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.830 A:middle L:90% I do have one of these. It's a book 255 00:14:50.830 --> 00:14:54.139 A:middle L:90% called Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. I said could 256 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:56.159 A:middle L:90% I borrow that book? She said of course. 257 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:01.100 A:middle L:90% So she gave me this book. 450 page book 258 00:15:01.429 --> 00:15:03.720 A:middle L:90% and I read this book and I went from my 259 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:07.799 A:middle L:90% oral exam. The teacher sitting on his desk. 260 00:15:09.009 --> 00:15:11.370 A:middle L:90% I was standing in front the desk. He asked 261 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:13.960 A:middle L:90% me for 10 minutes, a set of questions. 262 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:18.259 A:middle L:90% It stopped, looked to the left out the window 263 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:24.659 A:middle L:90% And said you're great is 75. Mhm. Sorry 264 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:26.820 A:middle L:90% went out. I waited for my friend jimmy to 265 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:28.639 A:middle L:90% go back. 10 minutes later he came back out 266 00:15:28.730 --> 00:15:31.259 A:middle L:90% . I said Jimmy, what did you get? 267 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.720 A:middle L:90% He said I got in mind me too. And 268 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:37.509 A:middle L:90% I said what book did you read? He said 269 00:15:37.509 --> 00:15:39.309 A:middle L:90% something called the Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane 270 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:41.850 A:middle L:90% . I said could I see it? And she 271 00:15:41.850 --> 00:15:43.379 A:middle L:90% showed me this book? And what I've noticed immediately 272 00:15:43.389 --> 00:15:48.139 A:middle L:90% was that it was only 150 pages. So I 273 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:52.039 A:middle L:90% thought to myself, perhaps shorter is better. I 274 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:54.980 A:middle L:90% borrowed the book the next month. I went from 275 00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:58.559 A:middle L:90% a thorough exam, stood in front of the best 276 00:15:58.570 --> 00:16:00.509 A:middle L:90% teacher For 10 minutes. He asked questions on Stephen 277 00:16:00.509 --> 00:16:03.529 A:middle L:90% Crazy Red badge of courage, turned his head to 278 00:16:03.529 --> 00:16:04.690 A:middle L:90% the left. I looked out the window and said 279 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:11.559 A:middle L:90% , your greatest 92, like definitely shorter is better 280 00:16:11.570 --> 00:16:15.049 A:middle L:90% . Fast forward now, more than three decades later 281 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:17.570 A:middle L:90% . I arrive at Virginia Tech and I'm telling you 282 00:16:17.570 --> 00:16:19.059 A:middle L:90% this is the professor. As you all know, 283 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:23.389 A:middle L:90% people have to have a research project. I thought 284 00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:27.330 A:middle L:90% to myself, gosh, you know, I need 285 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:30.019 A:middle L:90% to do something very real quick to get tenure. 286 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.919 A:middle L:90% I don't want to spend the whole rest of my 287 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:37.500 A:middle L:90% life working on one person. What I'll do is 288 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.450 A:middle L:90% write a biography. And I even thought the biography 289 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:44.379 A:middle L:90% was simply a collection of facts. You know, 290 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:47.220 A:middle L:90% you'd have somebody born, somebody dies and you throw 291 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:51.019 A:middle L:90% in a few details in between. And I decided 292 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:52.710 A:middle L:90% I'm going to look at an alphabetical list of american 293 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.029 A:middle L:90% offers And I'm going to choose someone who did not 294 00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:00.629 A:middle L:90% make it to age 30. I could write this 295 00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:03.890 A:middle L:90% book very, very quickly. I flipped through three 296 00:17:03.890 --> 00:17:07.480 A:middle L:90% x 5 cards. Came to one that said Crane 297 00:17:07.490 --> 00:17:11.819 A:middle L:90% comma, Stephen died at age 28. I said 298 00:17:11.829 --> 00:17:15.309 A:middle L:90% Bingo, that's the guy I could write a biography 299 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:18.980 A:middle L:90% about. That's the guy who many years ago was 300 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:22.769 A:middle L:90% short. It was better for the three decades later 301 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:26.710 A:middle L:90% I finally wrote that book and in the meantime I 302 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.079 A:middle L:90% wrote a number of other books on Stephen Crane ended 303 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.569 A:middle L:90% up ironically spending my life with Stephen Crane, a 304 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:40.160 A:middle L:90% person whose novel Courage I hate now. What I 305 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.019 A:middle L:90% did not realize was the set of problems involved in 306 00:17:44.029 --> 00:17:47.559 A:middle L:90% writing by Stephen Crane. I as I said, 307 00:17:47.569 --> 00:17:48.970 A:middle L:90% I thought I could simply right this very, very 308 00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:52.660 A:middle L:90% quickly. And those of you who have Britain fire 309 00:17:52.660 --> 00:17:55.299 A:middle L:90% fees are breathe fire reason though, that one of 310 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:57.839 A:middle L:90% the sources of information that you use our letters and 311 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.730 A:middle L:90% diaries and journals that Silky had. For example, 312 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:03.470 A:middle L:90% if you wanted to write a biography of Mark Twain 313 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.200 A:middle L:90% , american author, You would have to read 30,000 314 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:11.460 A:middle L:90% letters And go through 50 cents of notebooks. Mhm 315 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:15.220 A:middle L:90% If you wanted to write a biography about the playwright 316 00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:21.440 A:middle L:90% George Bernard Shaw, there are 250,000 letters even more 317 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:25.730 A:middle L:90% so for the american poet ever pound 300,000 letters. 318 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:30.230 A:middle L:90% So you can be overwhelmed with information, Stephen Crane 319 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.250 A:middle L:90% the exact opposite. Just a few 100 letters to 320 00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:37.450 A:middle L:90% in front And many of these are performed. They 321 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:40.259 A:middle L:90% begin by saying there, Jim, see you tonight 322 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:45.400 A:middle L:90% at 8:00, Stephen that's a letter. He also 323 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.579 A:middle L:90% did not keep diaries. And so I discovered a 324 00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:52.160 A:middle L:90% lot of information about Stephen Crane is not readily available 325 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:56.809 A:middle L:90% . What made it even more difficult was that a 326 00:18:56.809 --> 00:19:00.319 A:middle L:90% lot of the contemporary council contradict each other. People 327 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.140 A:middle L:90% who do you do say things? Yes. I 328 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:06.220 A:middle L:90% was with Stephen Crane on this particular day, somebody 329 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:07.269 A:middle L:90% was saying, no, he was with me on 330 00:19:07.269 --> 00:19:11.740 A:middle L:90% that. Even people who knew him, who wrote 331 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:15.960 A:middle L:90% more than one account about His friend Hamlin Garland, 332 00:19:15.970 --> 00:19:19.190 A:middle L:90% famous American writer at the time, four separate accounts 333 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:23.450 A:middle L:90% and he constantly changed the details on it. So 334 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:26.730 A:middle L:90% writing a biography of Stephen Crane, there was a 335 00:19:26.740 --> 00:19:30.059 A:middle L:90% problem trying to figure out what information was readily available 336 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:34.029 A:middle L:90% . That compounded even more so when calling. And 337 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:38.329 A:middle L:90% I discovered that the most influential work That's Stephen Crane 338 00:19:38.329 --> 00:19:42.190 A:middle L:90% in 20th century, A critical biography written in 1923 339 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:47.430 A:middle L:90% by a man named Posterior. We discovered that is 340 00:19:47.430 --> 00:19:52.440 A:middle L:90% unfortunate, it's just the source of most of information 341 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:56.369 A:middle L:90% about Stephen Crane. So I suddenly discovered that this 342 00:19:56.369 --> 00:19:59.470 A:middle L:90% biography not finding right had built in all sorts of 343 00:19:59.470 --> 00:20:03.029 A:middle L:90% problems because did not know what was fact, what 344 00:20:03.029 --> 00:20:04.769 A:middle L:90% was fiction. And so I had to sort through 345 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:08.279 A:middle L:90% all of that kind of thing. It eventually to 346 00:20:08.289 --> 00:20:11.130 A:middle L:90% this particular book, it took more than three decades 347 00:20:11.130 --> 00:20:15.569 A:middle L:90% too. Right along the way, I've had a 348 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:18.500 A:middle L:90% lot of exciting things happened that I won I never 349 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:22.619 A:middle L:90% thought would have happened. One of those happened that 350 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:25.839 A:middle L:90% left me stranded in Hawaii. Remember this? I'm 351 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:30.250 A:middle L:90% until your assistant professor and I hear that there's lost 352 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:34.869 A:middle L:90% collection of steaming cream materials that nobody has ever seen 353 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.319 A:middle L:90% except the person who claimed to have this election. 354 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:41.450 A:middle L:90% It disappeared. People attempted to find this collection. 355 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.269 A:middle L:90% I eventually tracked it down to be in Hawaii. 356 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:51.039 A:middle L:90% I contact the same window. The person collect this 357 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:53.190 A:middle L:90% material had died and I spent a year trying to 358 00:20:53.190 --> 00:20:56.869 A:middle L:90% convince her that I was legitimate. I even had 359 00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:00.039 A:middle L:90% my write a letter and say yes. All Sorrentino 360 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:03.210 A:middle L:90% is an ISIS tenured assistant professor. He does work 361 00:21:03.210 --> 00:21:07.089 A:middle L:90% at Virginia Tech. Yeah, widely. The widow 362 00:21:07.089 --> 00:21:10.099 A:middle L:90% said, you can come on out. I don't 363 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:11.269 A:middle L:90% know if you find anything here, but you can 364 00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:15.160 A:middle L:90% come on out before I left. And you've got 365 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:18.490 A:middle L:90% happen to be unique thing there that I wanted somehow 366 00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:22.740 A:middle L:90% to get access to. I arranged with certain university 367 00:21:22.750 --> 00:21:26.670 A:middle L:90% or crane had been a student for one semester. 368 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.549 A:middle L:90% I found an angel, the ceo of the company 369 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:33.759 A:middle L:90% and he said to me, paul, if the 370 00:21:33.769 --> 00:21:37.230 A:middle L:90% collection is written out there, I'm ready to buy 371 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:38.230 A:middle L:90% it. I said, is there any limit on 372 00:21:38.230 --> 00:21:41.920 A:middle L:90% the amount? He said no. So I find 373 00:21:41.930 --> 00:21:47.269 A:middle L:90% out to what The widow picks me up. four 374 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:51.849 A:middle L:90% or 10. Okay, Okay. Your interest in 375 00:21:51.849 --> 00:21:56.039 A:middle L:90% your She takes him to her automobile and within seconds 376 00:21:56.039 --> 00:22:00.099 A:middle L:90% she's driving like it takes me through a house. 377 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.470 A:middle L:90% I walk in, there was a table, there 378 00:22:03.470 --> 00:22:07.420 A:middle L:90% were boxes set up, There's a chair and she 379 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:08.869 A:middle L:90% says paul, I don't know what you're going to 380 00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:11.259 A:middle L:90% find. I have not looked at this collection. 381 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:15.460 A:middle L:90% It's been under the steps of our house for more 382 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.119 A:middle L:90% than two decades. I don't know if there's anything 383 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:22.430 A:middle L:90% there. Within 10 minutes I knew him from a 384 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:26.609 A:middle L:90% literary park. Of course. I was seeing letters 385 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:29.140 A:middle L:90% Break my Crane and nobody ever proceed before. I 386 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:32.390 A:middle L:90% was seeing manuscripts by Crane that nobody had ever seen 387 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:37.190 A:middle L:90% before and described first editions on here at the end 388 00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:41.279 A:middle L:90% of the day. She's keeping an eye on me 389 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:48.670 A:middle L:90% . And she had also few£150 dogs who snap 390 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.869 A:middle L:90% one here, one here and put their draws lays 391 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.599 A:middle L:90% . At the end of the day. Mr Sherman 392 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:03.009 A:middle L:90% said dr Sorrentino, um if you want to come 393 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:04.250 A:middle L:90% back please do. And I said, oh, 394 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:07.029 A:middle L:90% I'd love to come back and look at this. 395 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:07.470 A:middle L:90% And she said, oh, by the way, 396 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:10.599 A:middle L:90% I know I can trust you. I said, 397 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:11.579 A:middle L:90% boy, I appreciate that. She said, you're 398 00:23:11.579 --> 00:23:18.309 A:middle L:90% the first guest that the dogs haven't attacked The next 399 00:23:18.309 --> 00:23:21.109 A:middle L:90% 10 days. She and I got to know each 400 00:23:21.109 --> 00:23:22.569 A:middle L:90% other on a first name basis. She would make 401 00:23:22.569 --> 00:23:26.009 A:middle L:90% me lunch. We've watched soap operas together. Finally 402 00:23:26.009 --> 00:23:27.589 A:middle L:90% , as I was getting towards the end of my 403 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.509 A:middle L:90% time, she said paul, why don't you take 404 00:23:30.509 --> 00:23:34.549 A:middle L:90% some of this manuscripts back to your hotel because you're 405 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:37.579 A:middle L:90% running out of town? I said I said mrs 406 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:40.230 A:middle L:90% charlotte. These are unique Documents. A one of 407 00:23:40.230 --> 00:23:41.160 A:middle L:90% a kind. She said no, no, I 408 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:45.160 A:middle L:90% trust you. So she gives me all these documents 409 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:48.039 A:middle L:90% I take for weekend. I decided to take a 410 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:49.720 A:middle L:90% break. I have a friend who's a teaches english 411 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:52.480 A:middle L:90% at the University of Hawaii. He said paul, 412 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:53.670 A:middle L:90% would you like to go by surfing? Would you 413 00:23:53.670 --> 00:23:56.670 A:middle L:90% like to climb the mountains? I said yes, 414 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.890 A:middle L:90% great. Before I leave Hawaii. So we have 415 00:23:59.890 --> 00:24:03.670 A:middle L:90% a wonderful time when I come back to my efficiency 416 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:10.759 A:middle L:90% . I notice immediately drops of blood and broken glass 417 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.269 A:middle L:90% I think oh my gosh! Somebody has broken into 418 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.559 A:middle L:90% my efficiency and I can see it right now. 419 00:24:18.690 --> 00:24:23.069 A:middle L:90% I hope this thief is not a crane scholar. 420 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:30.359 A:middle L:90% I have good news, bad news. The good 421 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:32.759 A:middle L:90% news is that all the documents? Were there? 422 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:36.900 A:middle L:90% Bad news Is that the thief has stolen my plane 423 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:41.259 A:middle L:90% ticket? Council my flight off the island. So 424 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:44.059 A:middle L:90% I'm now stuck. Why? Every minute I call 425 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:48.140 A:middle L:90% back to my department head, I say art art 426 00:24:48.150 --> 00:24:51.559 A:middle L:90% East. Some of you, you know the person 427 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.319 A:middle L:90% I'm referring to art. Uh He said how are 428 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:55.559 A:middle L:90% you doing in Hawaii? And I said, well 429 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:59.400 A:middle L:90% it's great. It's collection desperately exists and but I 430 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:03.980 A:middle L:90% have some bad news. I can't get off the 431 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:06.970 A:middle L:90% island and I may not be able to be in 432 00:25:06.970 --> 00:25:08.539 A:middle L:90% time for my first. They have classes. Could 433 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:11.180 A:middle L:90% you get somebody to fill in? And he said 434 00:25:11.190 --> 00:25:15.400 A:middle L:90% , what happened is somebody stole my ticket and I 435 00:25:15.410 --> 00:25:18.279 A:middle L:90% cannot get out of quiet now. Imagine that the 436 00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:21.490 A:middle L:90% content, your assistant professor's calling back for Genentech and 437 00:25:21.490 --> 00:25:23.039 A:middle L:90% saying I'm not going to be there for the first 438 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:26.740 A:middle L:90% week of classes. Uh Yeah, that's it. 439 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:30.410 A:middle L:90% I couldn't get off the eilish. Well, fortunately 440 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:34.170 A:middle L:90% did get off the island. I came back and 441 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:37.240 A:middle L:90% I did not get much sympathy from the folks. 442 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:41.009 A:middle L:90% That might have been my tan. I'm here because 443 00:25:41.009 --> 00:25:42.970 A:middle L:90% I was killing some time on here. But as 444 00:25:42.970 --> 00:25:48.769 A:middle L:90% it turned out, Service University, the Ceo connected 445 00:25:48.769 --> 00:25:52.099 A:middle L:90% with Syracuse University bought the collection and it's now in 446 00:25:52.109 --> 00:25:55.839 A:middle L:90% service university. I was given access to a sole 447 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:56.650 A:middle L:90% access for 18 months. That was part of the 448 00:25:56.650 --> 00:26:00.920 A:middle L:90% arrangement. The new york Times did a feature on 449 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.980 A:middle L:90% it and said this is closed until a year and 450 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:07.049 A:middle L:90% a half. That gave me time to go through 451 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:11.589 A:middle L:90% collection much more closely. It was quite a bit 452 00:26:11.589 --> 00:26:15.299 A:middle L:90% of money. So that kind of thing. When 453 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:18.849 A:middle L:90% I think about when I was in high school, 454 00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:22.170 A:middle L:90% hated Stephen Crane hated right about your courage has taken 455 00:26:22.170 --> 00:26:25.200 A:middle L:90% me not only do y, but it took me 456 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:27.490 A:middle L:90% to the british library where I have access to a 457 00:26:27.490 --> 00:26:30.670 A:middle L:90% material that nobody had ever seen before. In fact 458 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:37.990 A:middle L:90% , the collections of darkness covered with Sutton pebbles In 459 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:40.690 A:middle L:90% every 30 minutes agenda would have to come around me 460 00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:44.529 A:middle L:90% sweet, But I would say I'm sorry for making 461 00:26:44.529 --> 00:26:45.369 A:middle L:90% all this mess working. This comes from. I 462 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:48.519 A:middle L:90% said, well you have gotten access to a cattle 463 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:52.289 A:middle L:90% population. There was a section of the british like 464 00:26:52.289 --> 00:26:53.769 A:middle L:90% they want to cut bomb in the battle of Britain 465 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:56.160 A:middle L:90% . You're the first person I have to look at 466 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.269 A:middle L:90% this material. So, I was seeing pebbles Suck 467 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.380 A:middle L:90% from the Battle of Britain in 1940. Coming at 468 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:07.160 A:middle L:90% my side as are looking at documents and crumble. 469 00:27:07.740 --> 00:27:12.039 A:middle L:90% It also took me to Germany where cream ended up 470 00:27:12.049 --> 00:27:15.960 A:middle L:90% as a no, he was in his final days 471 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:18.069 A:middle L:90% , he was at a Senate term. He was 472 00:27:18.069 --> 00:27:21.789 A:middle L:90% suffering from tuberculosis. He was hoping to get a 473 00:27:21.789 --> 00:27:22.960 A:middle L:90% cure. It did not happen. And he died 474 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.529 A:middle L:90% in a small village, a small place in Germany 475 00:27:26.529 --> 00:27:29.940 A:middle L:90% called button by them Fighting fire decided to have a 476 00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:33.599 A:middle L:90% literate international literature festival. I was invited there for 477 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:37.720 A:middle L:90% a week as a guest speaker. There was other 478 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:41.279 A:middle L:90% people. They're coming in here and it was a 479 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:44.769 A:middle L:90% kind of strange experience. And my first day there 480 00:27:45.539 --> 00:27:49.029 A:middle L:90% I was with my my my guide, the person 481 00:27:49.029 --> 00:27:52.039 A:middle L:90% who invited me and we were walking down and coming 482 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:55.490 A:middle L:90% towards us on the street was a woman who was 483 00:27:55.490 --> 00:27:59.049 A:middle L:90% reading a newspaper like this. She wasn't looking at 484 00:27:59.049 --> 00:28:02.380 A:middle L:90% us, she was reading the newspaper just going like 485 00:28:02.390 --> 00:28:04.349 A:middle L:90% this way and she looked up and looked at me 486 00:28:04.740 --> 00:28:11.150 A:middle L:90% and look that's my guy and I wonder what in 487 00:28:11.150 --> 00:28:17.670 A:middle L:90% the world this being. Mhm. And she's pointed 488 00:28:17.670 --> 00:28:19.549 A:middle L:90% at me and then she turned her newspaper around. 489 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:30.630 A:middle L:90% I think my experience a thought I would never have 490 00:28:30.630 --> 00:28:34.869 A:middle L:90% spent my life with you know as I think about 491 00:28:34.869 --> 00:28:41.849 A:middle L:90% this. Yeah and I think about my career and 492 00:28:41.849 --> 00:28:45.579 A:middle L:90% how long it was as a young assistant professor and 493 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:48.440 A:middle L:90% then my retirement last june, this has been a 494 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:51.980 A:middle L:90% long road here and I never expected to spend my 495 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:55.849 A:middle L:90% whole life examining the work, just one particular person 496 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.529 A:middle L:90% . But I think back to my time in high 497 00:28:59.529 --> 00:29:03.779 A:middle L:90% school when I was looking at those books and that 498 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:08.859 A:middle L:90% list of books and wondering, yeah, thank you 499 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:11.730 A:middle L:90% . Mhm. Which book to read? They all 500 00:29:11.730 --> 00:29:15.609 A:middle L:90% looked like to me. But as I thought about 501 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.990 A:middle L:90% this I think you know what when I look back 502 00:29:18.990 --> 00:29:26.049 A:middle L:90% at those thoughts I realized that perhaps shorter was better 503 00:29:26.539 --> 00:29:40.269 A:middle L:90% . Thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah 504 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:45.049 A:middle L:90% , mm. Okay. Yes. What was the 505 00:29:45.049 --> 00:29:48.150 A:middle L:90% material in the british library? What was it what 506 00:29:48.150 --> 00:29:51.930 A:middle L:90% was Yes the question was what was the material british 507 00:29:51.930 --> 00:29:56.690 A:middle L:90% library? Some of the doctors are looking at where 508 00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:00.759 A:middle L:90% local newspapers and the area where Crane had lived. 509 00:30:00.769 --> 00:30:06.059 A:middle L:90% There were also documents that were notebooks, diaries. 510 00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:10.619 A:middle L:90% Not written by him. But if I was looking 511 00:30:10.630 --> 00:30:15.269 A:middle L:90% for seeing Somebody happened, one into him and within 512 00:30:15.269 --> 00:30:18.710 A:middle L:90% a third person mentioned cream. Sometimes I find it 513 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:21.819 A:middle L:90% more often. I'm not. I would those of 514 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:23.849 A:middle L:90% you have done research, archival research note. It's 515 00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:27.509 A:middle L:90% for every 1000 pages you turn over you have to 516 00:30:27.509 --> 00:30:30.950 A:middle L:90% at some point you say I've turned over Enough that 517 00:30:30.950 --> 00:30:36.960 A:middle L:90% took a 1001 bingo. So that's what happened here 518 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:41.750 A:middle L:90% . Mhm. All right. Mhm. Yes. 519 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:44.359 A:middle L:90% Do you think you're how you talked about how he 520 00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:45.460 A:middle L:90% didn't have a good relationship with him at the beginning 521 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.990 A:middle L:90% and you went into his material? do you think 522 00:30:47.990 --> 00:30:52.369 A:middle L:90% that position help you in your riding and understanding and 523 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:56.789 A:middle L:90% learning more about him? Yes, I had I 524 00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:00.170 A:middle L:90% my whole career has been a a matter of army 525 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:03.660 A:middle L:90% . All sorts of ways such as by getting involved 526 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:06.660 A:middle L:90% with teaching, by getting involved with english, by 527 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:10.059 A:middle L:90% getting involved with the Crane. It made me reexamine 528 00:31:10.069 --> 00:31:15.210 A:middle L:90% why I hate it. That told me something about 529 00:31:15.220 --> 00:31:19.190 A:middle L:90% me. And then once I started understanding who I 530 00:31:19.190 --> 00:31:22.769 A:middle L:90% was, then I could understand a bit who he 531 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:27.559 A:middle L:90% I'm here. The nature of biography is such that 532 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:32.859 A:middle L:90% yeah, you may discover things about a person that 533 00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:34.490 A:middle L:90% you wish. You did not know. And that 534 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:38.940 A:middle L:90% happened with steven. I filed out things about him 535 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:41.930 A:middle L:90% . I wish I hadn't known, but it helped 536 00:31:41.930 --> 00:31:45.349 A:middle L:90% me appreciate him more. Later on, how is 537 00:31:45.349 --> 00:31:52.960 A:middle L:90% your relationship now with him? I'm evangelicals. You 538 00:31:52.970 --> 00:31:56.829 A:middle L:90% there was another question for you the same question really 539 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:59.930 A:middle L:90% . How did you go from not liking his book 540 00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:02.950 A:middle L:90% to being interested in him over all those years? 541 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:07.759 A:middle L:90% When I started seeing when when people would say what 542 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:09.759 A:middle L:90% are you working on all? I'd say Stephen Crane 543 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:13.789 A:middle L:90% , they say Stephen curry. I think I think 544 00:32:13.789 --> 00:32:15.630 A:middle L:90% I've heard of him before. I say Given was 545 00:32:15.630 --> 00:32:17.990 A:middle L:90% guaranteed that you have read something by him. You 546 00:32:17.990 --> 00:32:22.849 A:middle L:90% may not remember the name of it often. It's 547 00:32:22.849 --> 00:32:24.970 A:middle L:90% a short story, the Open Boat or his novels 548 00:32:24.970 --> 00:32:28.390 A:middle L:90% , the red badge of courage. But he wrote 549 00:32:28.390 --> 00:32:30.940 A:middle L:90% so much war. And once I started reading other 550 00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:36.960 A:middle L:90% things written by then I start seeing this guy. 551 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:38.890 A:middle L:90% It's got it. His contemporaries thought he was the 552 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:44.039 A:middle L:90% future of american literature. They all thought this was 553 00:32:44.049 --> 00:32:49.769 A:middle L:90% the guy is going to revolutionize Part four. Mhm 554 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:54.660 A:middle L:90% Tragically dies at age 12. Yes. What did 555 00:32:54.660 --> 00:32:58.460 A:middle L:90% you do with the material that you wish you haven't 556 00:32:58.470 --> 00:33:04.660 A:middle L:90% found? It's in the biography. It. Yes 557 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:09.029 A:middle L:90% . Yes. What I realized was that I have 558 00:33:09.029 --> 00:33:15.079 A:middle L:90% to be honest obviously the biography is my take on 559 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:19.400 A:middle L:90% so in many ways about her when she writes a 560 00:33:19.410 --> 00:33:22.930 A:middle L:90% book is telling as much about herself as the subject 561 00:33:22.009 --> 00:33:25.539 A:middle L:90% itself. Because it's not simply putting them together the 562 00:33:25.549 --> 00:33:29.750 A:middle L:90% facts. It's creating what's called a narrative arc the 563 00:33:29.750 --> 00:33:35.490 A:middle L:90% shape of a life story and here um I thought 564 00:33:35.789 --> 00:33:38.819 A:middle L:90% I cannot sugarcoat things if I have slamming some things 565 00:33:38.970 --> 00:33:45.960 A:middle L:90% I need to be honest. Because yeah I was 566 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:49.279 A:middle L:90% correcting all the mistakes have been made in court because 567 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:52.180 A:middle L:90% of traffic ations. The person who fabricated the person 568 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:54.930 A:middle L:90% who wrote this biography of Stephen Crane the first one 569 00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:59.359 A:middle L:90% uh got frustrated because of lack of information. What 570 00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:02.809 A:middle L:90% did they do invented it. But sometimes you know 571 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:06.750 A:middle L:90% like were there any relatives or something that would have 572 00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:09.820 A:middle L:90% to some indiscretion? I don't know where it was 573 00:34:09.829 --> 00:34:13.480 A:middle L:90% . But you're talking about. But it's only sometimes 574 00:34:13.480 --> 00:34:19.090 A:middle L:90% I think you have hate some right mercy or some 575 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:22.349 A:middle L:90% . Yes. Some but you know, it might 576 00:34:22.349 --> 00:34:24.860 A:middle L:90% have really represented a whole thing of person is about 577 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:30.670 A:middle L:90% some there might be some other aspects, right? 578 00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:37.190 A:middle L:90% The question is dealing with there are times when you 579 00:34:37.190 --> 00:34:39.010 A:middle L:90% might have to and I miss you know what I'm 580 00:34:39.019 --> 00:34:43.719 A:middle L:90% talking about. Yeah, I think so. I 581 00:34:43.730 --> 00:34:47.440 A:middle L:90% don't know how you shape some things that you don't 582 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:52.119 A:middle L:90% want to embarrass family members. And I was I 583 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:57.940 A:middle L:90% had a good relationship with the Crane Air. I'm 584 00:34:57.940 --> 00:35:01.469 A:middle L:90% here and he shared information with me his material collection 585 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:07.179 A:middle L:90% . And he's died in the new era. Has 586 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:09.550 A:middle L:90% written a higher food. Mhm. Five second. 587 00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:19.010 A:middle L:90% Should not herself. We'll see. Yes. Aristotle 588 00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:22.840 A:middle L:90% teaches us that our fiction takes nature. So I'm 589 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:29.179 A:middle L:90% curious hole closed fiction. The previous paragraph of grandpa 590 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:32.800 A:middle L:90% invented for reality. How close is fiction is to 591 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:40.739 A:middle L:90% reality? I mean, the well that invented the 592 00:35:40.750 --> 00:35:45.619 A:middle L:90% first fire feet. It's a beautifully told stories. 593 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:49.849 A:middle L:90% I wish I had the writing style of that offer 594 00:35:51.019 --> 00:35:57.599 A:middle L:90% . But he made things up and I think and 595 00:35:57.599 --> 00:35:59.969 A:middle L:90% I did not put this in the print. Yeah 596 00:36:00.530 --> 00:36:02.750 A:middle L:90% . He had some mental problems at times. You 597 00:36:02.750 --> 00:36:07.159 A:middle L:90% may have thought he was Stephen Crane. Mm. 598 00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:09.840 A:middle L:90% And I published a little bit about that. Another 599 00:36:09.849 --> 00:36:12.920 A:middle L:90% another article, but I had to be very, 600 00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:17.670 A:middle L:90% very careful what's that in the case of Crane case 601 00:36:17.670 --> 00:36:22.539 A:middle L:90% for any fire for a literary character, there was 602 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:27.769 A:middle L:90% a danger of making the fiction or the poetry or 603 00:36:27.769 --> 00:36:32.420 A:middle L:90% the drama a autobiography. And that's one way to 604 00:36:32.429 --> 00:36:38.369 A:middle L:90% read the offers. Authors hate that for cream. 605 00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:42.269 A:middle L:90% A lot of what he writes about this from personal 606 00:36:42.269 --> 00:36:45.519 A:middle L:90% experience. Yet ironic, the book is considered the 607 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.800 A:middle L:90% most realistic depiction of what it's like to be a 608 00:36:46.809 --> 00:36:50.300 A:middle L:90% broad recruitment battle. Very much. And courage was 609 00:36:50.300 --> 00:36:52.869 A:middle L:90% written by somebody. It wasn't born until 1871. 610 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:57.360 A:middle L:90% The Civil War ended 1865 when the red badge of 611 00:36:57.360 --> 00:37:00.340 A:middle L:90% courage came up where people said this is so realistic 612 00:37:01.030 --> 00:37:04.289 A:middle L:90% . He must have been there. And yes, 613 00:37:04.289 --> 00:37:10.340 A:middle L:90% I do remember I was there with other questions. 614 00:37:10.929 --> 00:37:14.840 A:middle L:90% Yes. Kind of point off of that. According 615 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:16.570 A:middle L:90% to any particular research, to be able to have 616 00:37:16.570 --> 00:37:22.059 A:middle L:90% that sort of inside what would be able to portrayed 617 00:37:22.210 --> 00:37:24.719 A:middle L:90% . It's much debated. My take on up very 618 00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:30.050 A:middle L:90% briefly on my take on this is that he was 619 00:37:30.059 --> 00:37:34.699 A:middle L:90% reading stories about the Civil war, written by generals 620 00:37:34.929 --> 00:37:37.570 A:middle L:90% and the lake Part of the 19th century that a 621 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:40.610 A:middle L:90% lot of the veterans have for elder States people now 622 00:37:40.619 --> 00:37:45.019 A:middle L:90% . They were recounting their experiences, create and read 623 00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:49.329 A:middle L:90% these, some of these and he decided they're giving 624 00:37:49.329 --> 00:37:51.750 A:middle L:90% me facts. They're not telling me how they feel 625 00:37:52.829 --> 00:37:54.409 A:middle L:90% . So that sense of how do you feel? 626 00:37:54.650 --> 00:37:59.900 A:middle L:90% What I think my guess is that he interviewed in 627 00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:01.250 A:middle L:90% the town where he was growing up, part of 628 00:38:01.250 --> 00:38:06.579 A:middle L:90% his early life veterans who went to the battle of 629 00:38:06.590 --> 00:38:08.780 A:middle L:90% Chancellorsville and that was the first batter in the red 630 00:38:08.780 --> 00:38:12.829 A:middle L:90% badge of courage. The main character is in his 631 00:38:12.829 --> 00:38:15.250 A:middle L:90% first battle. It's a battle of Chancellor Field. 632 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:19.000 A:middle L:90% So I think crane to talk with these folks and 633 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:22.110 A:middle L:90% then imagine what it would have been like to be 634 00:38:22.119 --> 00:38:29.119 A:middle L:90% terrified completely. And ironically he got it right without 635 00:38:29.130 --> 00:38:31.480 A:middle L:90% having been in combat after he's in combat for the 636 00:38:31.489 --> 00:38:37.650 A:middle L:90% first time. He's asked by one of his colleagues 637 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:40.360 A:middle L:90% did you get it right in the red badge of 638 00:38:40.369 --> 00:38:47.519 A:middle L:90% courage? Ukraine says yes. Someone who validated what 639 00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:52.469 A:middle L:90% his imagination told him many years earlier when he experienced 640 00:38:52.469 --> 00:38:54.739 A:middle L:90% combat for the first time himself as a war correspondent 641 00:38:55.219 --> 00:38:59.489 A:middle L:90% . Does that answer your question? Other questions or 642 00:38:59.489 --> 00:39:05.889 A:middle L:90% comments? Yeah. Mm. Yeah. Well, 643 00:39:05.889 --> 00:39:12.139 A:middle L:90% I hope you will enjoy more food. Yeah. 644 00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:14.539 A:middle L:90% All right. Thank you very much for coming out 645 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.199 A:middle L:90% this evening for this illustrious event. And I would 646 00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:21.289 A:middle L:90% like you all. Thank also all the authors here 647 00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:22.800 A:middle L:90% today. I would like to give them a rising 648 00:39:22.809 --> 00:39:37.150 A:middle L:90% ground glass here. I mhm. Great. Thank 649 00:39:37.150 --> 00:39:38.969 A:middle L:90% you very much paul. So that concludes the program 650 00:39:38.969 --> 00:39:40.880 A:middle L:90% . We would like you to stay please enjoy the 651 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:43.579 A:middle L:90% food and drink. And we would also like to 652 00:39:43.579 --> 00:39:45.920 A:middle L:90% have all the authors gather in the back of the 653 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:47.429 A:middle L:90% room for a photograph. If you've been here before 654 00:39:47.429 --> 00:39:49.920 A:middle L:90% and author before, you know, we do this 655 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:54.539 A:middle L:90% . We have to get a photo front way behind 656 00:39:54.539 --> 00:39:57.940 A:middle L:90% the front of the room. Okay? Thank you 657 00:39:58.019 --> 00:40:00.800 A:middle L:90% . Civil War. Yeah, Yeah.