February 10 - February 17, 2023

Faculty in the News

Kwame Dawes on The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Dawes, the great poet and critic, reflects on the legacy of the rhetorician and abolitionist Douglass, in the introduction to a new edition of his monumental autobiography

By Kwame Dawes | February 6, 2023

https://lithub.com/kwame-dawes-narrative-life-frederick-douglass/

Department of English Announcements and Events

Book Launch: Joy Castro’s ONE BRILLIANT FLAME

Date: Feb. 10, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm–7:00 pm
Francie & Finch Bookshop
130 S 13th St
Lincoln NE 68508

ABOUT THE BOOK

Key West, 1886. The booming cigar industry makes it the most prosperous city in Florida. As a rebel base for the anticolonial insurgency in Cuba, it’s also a tinderbox for six young friends with ambitious dreams.

They all brim with secrets: Zenaida, the daughter of an assassinated Havana journalist; power-hungry Sofia, who plots a fast track to success; Chaveta, Zenaida’s loyal comrade in arms who fearlessly flouts tradition; Feliciano, a charismatic Galician anarchist; Líbano, the cafetero, silent and watchful; and Maceo, a daring guerrilla soldier who fights a brutal undertow. As lives intertwine, revolution smolders, and passions ignite, the bustling coral island is set to explode.

Against the backdrop of the Great Fire of Key West, One Brilliant Flame explores the luminous fates of consuming passion and encroaching peril in the face of insurrection, sacrifice, and inextinguishable hope.

“Suspenseful and steeped in history, Joy Castro’s One Brilliant Flame transports readers to a vibrant nineteenth-century Key West, one stoked by revolution in Cuba and inflamed by the passions of striking young characters. Castro’s novel beautifully illuminates a largely forgotten history in a memorable and compelling light. I learned so much, but more importantly, I couldn’t put it down.” —Chantel Acevedo, author of The Distant Marvels

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joy Castro is the award-winning author of Flight Risk, a finalist for a 2022 International Thriller Award; the post-Katrina New Orleans literary thrillers Hell or High Water, which received the Nebraska Book Award, and Nearer Home, which have been published in France by Gallimard’s historic Série Noire; the story collection How Winter Began; the memoir The Truth Book; and the essay collection Island of Bones, which received the International Latino Book Award. She is also editor of the craft anthology Family Trouble: Memoirists on the Hazards and Rewards of Revealing Family and the founding series editor of Machete, a series in innovative literary nonfiction at The Ohio State University Press. She served as the guest judge of CRAFT‘s first Creative Nonfiction Award, and her work has appeared in venues including Ploughshares, The Brooklyn Rail, Senses of Cinema, Salon, Gulf Coast, Brevity, Afro-Hispanic Review, Seneca Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The New York Times Magazine. A former Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, she is currently the Willa Cather Professor of English and Ethnic Studies (Latinx Studies) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she directs the Institute for Ethnic Studies.

Book Launch & Discussion: Joy Castro’s ONE BRILLIANT FLAME

Date: Feb. 11, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm–5:30 pm
Indigo Bridge Books
701 P Street, Suite 102
Lincoln NE 68508

ABOUT THE BOOK

Key West, 1886. The booming cigar industry makes it the most prosperous city in Florida. As a rebel base for the anticolonial insurgency in Cuba, it’s also a tinderbox for six young friends with ambitious dreams.

They all brim with secrets: Zenaida, the daughter of an assassinated Havana journalist; power-hungry Sofia, who plots a fast track to success; Chaveta, Zenaida’s loyal comrade in arms who fearlessly flouts tradition; Feliciano, a charismatic Galician anarchist; Líbano, the cafetero, silent and watchful; and Maceo, a daring guerrilla soldier who fights a brutal undertow. As lives intertwine, revolution smolders, and passions ignite, the bustling coral island is set to explode.

Against the backdrop of the Great Fire of Key West, One Brilliant Flame explores the luminous fates of consuming passion and encroaching peril in the face of insurrection, sacrifice, and inextinguishable hope.

“Suspenseful and steeped in history, Joy Castro’s One Brilliant Flame transports readers to a vibrant nineteenth-century Key West, one stoked by revolution in Cuba and inflamed by the passions of striking young characters. Castro’s novel beautifully illuminates a largely forgotten history in a memorable and compelling light. I learned so much, but more importantly, I couldn’t put it down.” —Chantel Acevedo, author of The Distant Marvels

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joy Castro is the award-winning author of Flight Risk, a finalist for a 2022 International Thriller Award; the post-Katrina New Orleans literary thrillers Hell or High Water, which received the Nebraska Book Award, and Nearer Home, which have been published in France by Gallimard’s historic Série Noire; the story collection How Winter Began; the memoir The Truth Book; and the essay collection Island of Bones, which received the International Latino Book Award. She is also editor of the craft anthology Family Trouble: Memoirists on the Hazards and Rewards of Revealing Family and the founding series editor of Machete, a series in innovative literary nonfiction at The Ohio State University Press. She served as the guest judge of CRAFT‘s first Creative Nonfiction Award, and her work has appeared in venues including Ploughshares, The Brooklyn Rail, Senses of Cinema, Salon, Gulf Coast, Brevity, Afro-Hispanic Review, Seneca Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The New York Times Magazine. A former Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, she is currently the Willa Cather Professor of English and Ethnic Studies (Latinx Studies) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she directs the Institute for Ethnic Studies.

Bill Clegg, author and agent

Date: Feb. 23, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm
Nebraska Union: Platte River Room North

Bill Clegg is the author of the bestselling memoirs PORTRAIT OF AN ADDICT AS A YOUNG MAN and NINETY DAYS. His debut novel, DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY (2015), was a national bestseller, published to a torrent of rave reviews, and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the National Book Award, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Called “masterly” by the New York Times Book Review, it was widely acclaimed for its elegance as well as its devastating power. He recently published his second novel, THE END OF THE DAY. He has written for the New York Times, Vogue, New York magazine, The Guardian, and Harper’s Bazaar.

Clegg is also a literary agent, called “the most famous agent in book publishing” by Vanity Fair. His agency represents the acclaimed authors Lauren Groff, Ottessa Moshfegh, Rivka Galchen, Tao Lin, and UNL’s own Chigozie Obioma, Rachel Cochran, and Scott Guild.

Photo credit: Van Scott-Clegg

https://www.unl.edu/english/creative-writing

University Announcements and Events

It’s Mint To Be

Date: Feb. 14, 2023
Time: 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Nebraska Union: 3rd Floor Hallway

Cultivating positive safer-sex conversations with your partner is a vital component of a healthy personal relationship. Educate yourself with easy conversational tips that will ‘plant the seeds’ for growing and maintaining a relationship that flourishes with all partners feeling safe, secure and heard.

At this casual grab-and-go event, UNL students can pick up:
• a DIY planting kit* with a small pot and seeds to grow your own fresh mint.
• a Safer Sex Kit with condoms and lube. Mint-flavored condoms and dental dams are available, too.
• How-to materials for building safe and healthy relationships, as well as safer-sex resources.
• Chocolate and mint-flavored candies.

*Limited number of kits are available while supplies last.

BroadCAST Webinar w/ T.J. McDowell, Senior Advisor to the Mayor

Date: Feb. 14, 2023
Time: 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Online

A native of Lincoln, NE, TJ McDowell is an alum of Lincoln High School, NE Wesleyan University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is currently Senior Advisor to Lincoln, NE Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, and before that was Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs for Student Life and Leadership at UNL. TJ previously held educational positions at Nebraska Wesleyan University and Lincoln Public Schools and also served as the Executive Director of the Clyde Malone Community Center, Program Manager at the Community Health Endowment, Executive Director of the Lighthouse, and Director of Education Outreach at Lincoln Action Program. He is an active volunteer leader in Lincoln and currently serves on the boards of the Cooper Foundation, the Foundation for Educational Services, and the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.
BroadCAST, the webinar interview series of the UNL Center for Academic Success & Transition, features conversations about life, education and the value of the liberal arts between CAST Senior Program Coordinator Dan Hutt and highly successful guests from diverse backgrounds.

https://success.unl.edu/resources/broadCAST

Jazzmeia Horn

Date: Feb. 14, 2023
Time: 7:30 pm–9:00 pm
Lied Center for Performing Arts

Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album and recently voted as No. 1 Jazz Vocal Album by NPR Music’s Jazz Critics Poll, Jazzmeia Horn makes her Lied Center debut in a Valentine’s Day concert you won’t want to miss. A three-time GRAMMY® Award nominee, Jazzmeia Horn performs songs of daring musicality and emotional power.

“Without a doubt among the jazz world’s most exciting young vocalists”
- Billboard

https://www.liedcenter.org/event/jazzmeia-horn

Glow Big Red: Hunt for Bucket Hats

Date: Feb. 15, 2023
City and East Campuses

Scavenger hunt for students!

Students, the hunt is on! Ten bucket hats will be hidden across City and East Campuses on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Each bucket hat has a gift value assigned to it that you can designate to your preferred Glow Big Red cause.

How to play:
1. On Wednesday morning, the 10 bucket hats (shown in photo) will be hidden around City and East campuses.
2. Find a bucket hat, take a photo wearing it, post it to Instagram or Twitter with the message, “I found a Husker bucket hat! #GlowBigRed”. Bonus points if you take a selfie in front of a donor-named space.
3. A representative will contact you to select the cause you want to receive the challenge funds.
4. You get to keep the bucket hat!

https://glowbigred.unl.edu/

Scavenger hunt for students

Love Gala

Date: Feb. 16, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm–11:00 pm
Union Ballroom

This event is to celebrate love, friendship, and culture. It is a time for students to dress formally or in their cultural attire to come and enjoy each other’s company through music. This year the Love Gala will be in partnership with TRIO and WHT.

https://go.unl.edu/love-gala

Open REACH Training for Students

Date: Feb. 17, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
University Health Center, Room 126

Suicide prevention is a shared campus responsibility. Join the REACH movement by attending suicide prevention training!

REACH is an interactive 90-minute training designed to help the university community prevent suicide by teaching faculty, staff and students how to:

Recognize warning signs
Engage with empathy
Ask directly about suicide
Communicate hope
Help suicidal individuals to access care and treatment

Participants who attend the full 90-minute training will receive a certificate and a REACH lapel pin.

Register at https://forms.office.com/r/rqJvJiaXGv

https://preventsuicide.unl.edu/reach-training

REZA: Edge of Illusion

Date: Feb. 18, 2023
Time: 7:30 am
Lied Center for Performing Arts

REZA has taken the art of illusion to a new level, delivering his rock concert-style magic show to audiences across the globe. His new production “Edge of Illusion” features the most incredible cutting-edge magic in existence today, with breathtaking, signature grand-scale illusions, including making motorcycles and helicopters materialize out of thin air, live on stage!

“World’s top touring illusionist!”

- The Denver Post

“Incredible! Loved it!”

- Penn & Teller, Fool Us

https://www.liedcenter.org/

Lavender Closet Pop-Up

Date: Feb. 20-22, 2023
Time: 11:00 am–2:00 pm
Nebraska Union, Room 225 (Career Services)

Acquire free identity-affirming clothing and accessories to build a professional wardrobe you can use for job interviews, internships, and workplaces.

A variety of clothing styles and sizes are available. All items are donated and in gently-used condition.

A private room is available on-site to try on items.

This 3-day event is February 20, 21, & 22, 2023.

UNABLE TO ATTEND?
Lavender Closet is open Monday-Friday in its permanent location on the Nebraska Union’s 3rd floor. View additional details: https://lgbtqa.unl.edu/lavender-closet

CAS Inquire: “In Search of Reconciliation on America’s Stolen Lands”

Date: Feb. 21, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm–6:30 pm
Nebraska Union: Swanson Auditorium & Webinar

It is a truism that we live in a deeply polarized time and that white supremacy is gaining strength worldwide. Margaret Jacobs’ presentation explores a quiet but powerful counter current that flows just beneath the jagged surface of our divisive times.

Many Americans long to face up to the painful truths of our histories. They have a hunger for healing and reconciliation and are taking part in a rising social movement to reckon with and make amends for our haunted past. This presentation focuses on Indigenous people and settlers who are working together to grapple with and overcome histories of violent dispossession.

Margaret Jacobs is the Director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Charles Mach Professor of History.

 

Additional Public Info:
Webinar ID: 994 0114 6402
Registration Link: https://unl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oCfUo08cRGeLjaIJKxh1mQ

https://cas.unl.edu/cas-inquire

Condoms, Cookies & Consent

Date: Feb. 21, 2023
Time: 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Nebraska Union, Ballroom

Games * Snacks * Giveaways * Free Condoms

A FREE, inclusive and educational opportunity to explore consent, relationships and sexual health.

Stop by multiple booths for FREE giveaways, games, activities and information. Enter to win a number of prizes! Bring a friend, date, your roomie, your gals, your pals for a FUN night you’ll be sure to remember.

Free for all UNL students!

Resume Lab

Date: Feb. 22, 2023
Time: 12:00 pm–2:00 pm
Oldfather Hall, Room 107

Stop by Oldfather 107 or Zoom (https://go.unl.edu/casresumelab) to have your resume reviewed by a CAS Career Coach. Lab drop-ins are 15-20 minutes. You don’t need a resume to attend - we can help you start one!

If you would like additional time for feedback, schedule a full 45-minute appointment (https://go.unl.edu/coachappt).

https://go.unl.edu/casresumelab

Law School Essay Workshop

Date: Feb. 22, 2023
Time: 3:30 pm–4:30 pm
Love Library South, Room 221

This workshop will cover what law schools are looking for in personal statements and provide you with writing exercises to begin the process of developing your individual story in a strong and compelling manner. Co-presented with the UNL Writing Center.

https://explorecenter.unl.edu/about/workshops-events

Procrastinators Unite…Tomorrow

Date: Feb. 22, 2023
Time: 5:00 pm–6:00 pm
Love Library South, Room 221

Kick procrastination to the curb and develop strategies to finish the semester strong.

https://success.unl.edu/

Gaining Experience as a Pre-Law Student

Date: Feb. 23, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Love Library South, Room 221

There are many ways to gain experience as a pre-law student, with opportunities on-campus, in the local community, and beyond. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to begin getting involved. Attend this workshop to reflect on which skill sets you would like to develop as a pre-law student and plan for your involvement as you prepare to apply to law school.

https://explorecenter.unl.edu/about/workshops-events

Legally Blonde - The Musical

OMG you guys!!! Legally Blonde - The Musical is coming to Lincoln!

Fabulously fun and international award-winning Legally Blonde - The Musical is the ultimate Broadway tribute to Girl Power! The story follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, sexism, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams, and proves that you can be legally blonde and STILL the smartest person in the room. This contemporary, sassy musical moves at a breakneck pace driven by memorable songs and explosive dances. Legally Blonde - The Musical warms the heart by proving that self-discovery can be way too much fun and hilarious to boot.

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down, however, when her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting more serious about his life and attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle uses her ingenuity and charm to get into Harvard too. School begins with endless struggles, but with the help of her new friends, Elle quickly realizes her potential, and her true assets, as she sets out to prove herself to the world and make everyone a believer.

Based on the beloved movie, Legally Blonde - The Musical will take you from the sorority house to the halls of justice with Broadway’s brightest new heroine and, of course, her Chihuahua, Bruiser.

February 23, 2023 | 7:30PM
February 24, 2023 | 7:30PM
February 25, 2023 | 2:00PM
February 25, 2023 | 7:30PM

https://www.liedcenter.org/event/legally-blonde-musical

Internships, Jobs, and Professional Development

Furrow is open for submissions from undergraduate writers and artists!

Furrow is an award-winning, full-color print journal published each spring by undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. We love to support our authors and artists and feature new work each month on our website.

Anyone who enrolled as an undergraduate during the 2022-23 academic year is eligible to submit. We publish:

• Poetry
• Short Fiction
• Creative Nonfiction
• Art 
• Comics

Submit! It's free and easy.

Deadline: February 20.

Selection is competitive, so we encourage students to send their best work. Twice we have won AWP's National Program Directors' award for best undergraduate literary journal in the U.S. In past years, Furrow has been proud to feature work from undergraduates from across the country and outside the U.S., spanning 24 schools, selected from over 600 submissions from 46 states.

Stay Woke: Readings in Social Justice

UNL community responds to Nebraska anti-drag legislation

By Owen Reimer | February 2, 2023

https://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/unl-community-responds-to-nebraska-anti-drag-legislation/

Nebraska anti-trans bills follow a controversial start to the year

By Sarah Lawlor | February 9, 2023

https://www.dailynebraskan.com/n-lb574575/article_b836f732-a809-11ed-8be7-33442066802a.html

Why I’m Still on Strike: Portraits from the HarperCollins Picket Line

By Olivia McGiff | January 30, 2023

https://lithub.com/why-im-still-on-strike-portraits-from-the-harpercollins-picket-line/

Literary News

How Can Literary Spaces Support Neurodivergent Readers and Writers?

By Jess deCourcy Hinds | February 2, 2023

https://lithub.com/how-can-literary-spaces-support-neurodivergent-readers-and-writers/

Fairy Tale as MFA Antidote

By Lincoln Michel | February 2, 2023

https://countercraft.substack.com/p/fairy-tale-as-mfa-antidote

The Literary Film and TV You Need to Stream in February

By Emily Temple | February 3, 2023

https://lithub.com/the-literary-film-and-tv-you-need-to-stream-in-february-2/

Laura Warrell on Publishing While Black

“What’s key is not that authors of color talk about race the ‘right’ way, but simply that we’re here.”

By Laura Warrell | February 6, 2023

https://lithub.com/laura-warrell-on-publishing-while-black/

Pedro Pascal has pretty good taste in books.

By Emily Temple | February 6, 2023

https://lithub.com/pedro-pascal-has-pretty-good-taste-in-books/

Viola Davis attains EGOT status with her audiobook win at last night’s Grammys.

By Jonny Diamond | February 6, 2023

https://lithub.com/viola-davis-attains-egot-status-with-her-audiobook-win-at-last-nights-grammys/

As a Writer, I Let Astrology Guide Me (Up to a Point)

Rachel León | February 6, 2023

https://catapult.co/dont-write-alone/stories/rachel-leon-writing-career-hope-theory-expectations-rejections-astrology

Film News

Showing This Week at the Ross

EO (Feb 03 - Feb 16)

TURN EVERY PAGE (Feb 10 - Feb 23)

“Eo” allows audience to empathize with a donkey

By August Nelson | February 7, 2023\

https://www.dailynebraskan.com/c-eo/article_ce401094-a675-11ed-8402-0f9bccfb9993.html

Grammys: Harry Styles Wins Album of the Year, Beyoncé Becomes Most Awarded Artist in Show’s History

By Mesfin Fekadu | February 5, 2023

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/grammys-2023-recap-winners-highlights-major-moments-1235317926/

Literary Dispatches from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

By Jihane Bousfiha | February 6, 2023

https://lithub.com/literary-dispatches-from-the-2023-sundance-film-festival/

Matthew McConaughey to Voice Elvis in Netflix Animated Series

By Lesley Goldberg | February 6, 2023

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/matthew-mcconaughey-voice-elvis-netflix-animated-show-agent-elvis-1235318721/

The Most Pirated Film Titles of 2022

By Tyler Aquilina | February 6, 2023

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/the-most-pirated-film-titles-of-2022-1235512387/