The New Yorker
English 624: Spring
2011
Virginia Commonwealth University
Professor Bryant
Mangum
26 January 2011
Schedule of Assignments
(first three weeks)
Weeks 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|
Week
One (18, 20 January)
Course Introduction:
1. Brief General History of
The New Yorker contextualizing it in 1920s; other
"slicks"
2. Course Format and
Dividing Up Topics for Seminar Reports
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN (*Here we will have Announcements on current and upcoming
events in our class.)
1. New Yorker Story in context of American short story
2. Current New Yorker and old New Yorker: Browse through old and
new issues
3. Discussion of "decade" stories: 20's, 30's, etc.
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN (*Here we will have our “Talk” presentations; some weeks,
none; other weeks we will have one or several)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION] (*Here we will have your “Profile” presentations, to
include discussion of your author and of the story all will have read by your
author; AND here we will discuss fiction in the current issue of the magazine.)
THE CRITICS
(*Here we will develop our ideas about what constitutes a “New Yorker”
story. This section will include our discussion of stories by “representative
decade authors”—on occasion these will overlap your profile authors. In these
cases we will have your Profile presentation in the Features segment of the
class and the discussion of the “representative” story technically in this The
Critics segment.
POEMS
(*Here we will occasionally read and discuss poems from the week’s issue of The
New Yorker, commenting as we go on whether there is such a thing as a “New
Yorker” poem.)
Week
Two (25, 27 January) The New Yorker Issue/January 24, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Fiction: “Naima” by Hisham
Matar (Thursday, 27 January)
THE CRITICS
" The Girls
in Their Summer Dresses" by Irwin Shaw (Tuesday)
"Over the River
and Through the Wood" by John O'Hara (Thursday)
POEMS
Poem: “Egusi Soup” by
Jackie Kay (Thursday—current issue)
Week
Three (1, 3 February) The New Yorker Issue/ January 31, 2011
This will be our week to thoroughly familiarize ourselves with the
“new” New Yorker through a careful examination of the current issue (31
January 2011). Spend as much time before our class on Tuesday reading as much
as you can of this week’s issue, including the fiction and the poetry. We’ll
discuss each of the sections of this issue. This issue contains a story by
Alice Munro and poems by Maureen N. McLane and David Lehman. This weekend I’ll
signal on Blackboard particular things we’ll spend most time on. The Profiles
and Talk Presentations will begin next week—in Week Four.
GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
THE CRITICS
From “old” New Yorker:
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber (Thursday)
POEMS
Week
Four (8, 10
February) The New Yorker
Issue/February 7, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
Kathy Gabriel: James
Thurber: Biography, Personality (Tuesday)
Lee Spratley: The Role of the E.B. and Katharine White (Thursday)
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Current Fiction from 7
February issue (Tuesday)
Chrissie Griffith: E. B. White Profile (Thursday)
THE CRITICS
*E. B. White, “The Door”
and/or another White story discussion. White is one of the “representative
decade authors.”
"The Door" by E.B. White http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/door.html
(Chrissie Griffith; Thursday)
POEMS
Week
Five (15, 17 February) The New Yorker Issue/February 14, 2011
GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
Angelica Bega-Hart: The
New Yorker and the City (Tuesday)
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Joey Kingsley:
William Maxwell Profile (Tuesday)
Elizabeth Downing Johnson: J. D. Salinger Profile (Thursday)
Current Fiction from 14
February issue (Thursday)
THE
CRITICS
*William
Maxwell, “Homecoming” discussion. (Joey Kingsley; Tuesday)
* J. D. Salinger, “A
Perfect Day for Bananafish” discussion (Elizabeth Downing Johnson; Thursday)
POEMS
Week
Six (22, 24 February) The New Yorker Issue/February 21, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Chrissie Griffith: The
Algonquin Round Table (Tuesday)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Kathy Gabriel: Dorothy
Parker Profile (Tuesday)
Audio Recording: http://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/parker/
*Adriane Hanson: John
Cheever Profile (Thursday)
Current Fiction from 21 February issue (Thursday)
THE CRITICS
*Dorothy Parker,
“Arrangement in Black and White” discussion (Kathy Gabriel; Tuesday)
* John Cheever, “The
Enormous Radio” discussion (Adriane Hanson; Thursday)
POEMS
Week Seven (1, 3 March) The New Yorker Issue/February 28, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Elizabeth
Downing Johnson: The Harold Ross Era (Tuesday)
Courtney Sviatko: Famous Contributors during the Ross Era (Thursday)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
John Paul
Carlton: Shirley Jackson Profile and Discussion of Jackson’s “The Lottery”
(Tuesday)
Lauren Miner: Sylvia Plath Profile and Poems to be announced (Thursday)
Current Fiction from
28 February issue (Thursday)
THE CRITICS
POEMS
Poetry in the 28
February issue (Thursday)
Week
Eight (8, 10 March) The
New Yorker Issue/March 7, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
Ryan
Cales: Social/Political Outlook of The New Yorker (Tuesday)
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Angelica
Bega-Hart: Ann Beattie Profile (Tuesday)
Thara Harris: Alice Adams,
"To See You Again" (Thursday)
Current Fiction from 7 March issue if time; if not, discussion on Blackboard
THE
CRITICS
*Ann Beattie, “The Burning
House” discussion (Angelica Bega-Hart; Tuesday)
*Alice Adams, “To See You Again” discussion (Thara Harris; Thursday)
POEMS
Week
Nine (15, 17 March) The New Yorker Issue/
March 14,
2011
SPRING
BREAK: NO CLASS
Week Ten (22, 24 March) The
New Yorker Issue/ March 21, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Lauren
Miner: The William Shawn Era (Tuesday)
John Paul Carlton: A
Perspective on New Yorker Humor (Thursday)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Lee Spratley: Garrison Keillor Profile and discussion of “We Are Still
Married” (Tuesday)
Joyce Lillemon Boshert: Woody Allen Profile and story to be announced (Thursday)
Current Fiction from 21 March issue (if time permits Tuesday or Thursday)
THE CRITICS
POEM
Week
Eleven (29, 31 March) The New Yorker Issue/March 28, 2011
GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
Dale Smith: The Tina Brown
Era (Tuesday)
Tom Batten: The “Fiction” Issue (Thursday)
Joey Kingsley: New Yorker Covers (Thursday))
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Angela Apte:
Muriel Spark Profile (Tuesday)
Dale Smith: Profile of
David Leavitt and discussion of “Territory” (Thursday)
Current Fiction from 28
March issue
THE CRITICS
*Muriel Spark, “The Prime
of Miss Jean Brodie” discussion (Angela Apte; Tuesday)
POEMS
Week
Twelve (5, 7 April) The New Yorker Issue/April 4, 2011
GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Katelyn Kiley: Evolution of New Yorker Poetry (Tuesday)
Joyce Lillemon Boschert: New
Yorker Cartoons (Thursday)
Discussion of long,
end-of-term projects (Tuesday)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Courtney Sviatko: Profile
of Raymond Carver and discussion of “Errand" (from The New Yorker,
June 1, 1987)
Current Fiction from 4
April issue (Thursday)
THE CRITICS
POEMS
Week
Thirteen (12, 14 April) The New Yorker Issue/April 11, 2011
GOINGS
ON ABOUT TOWN
Working
bibliographies due Tuesday
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Adriane Hanson: The
New Yorker's Handling of Manuscripts (Tuesday)
Thara Harris: The “Profile” Section (Thursday)
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Katelyn Kiley: Jhumpa
Lahiri Profile and discussion of "The Third and Final Continent"
(Tuesday)
Current Fiction from 11
April issue (Thursday)
THE CRITICS
POEMS
Week
Fourteen (19, 21 April) The New Yorker Issue/April 18, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
Drafts of final paper
due
Begin Synthesis; Short Film Clip on The New
Yorker
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
Angela Apte: The
New Yorker and “Non-American” Authors (Tuesday)
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Ryan Cales:
Gabriel Garcia-Marquez Profile and discussion of “Maria Dos Prazeres” (Tuesday)
Current Fiction from 18
April issue
THE CRITICS
Discuss Jamaica Kincaid’s,
"A Walk to the Jetty" (Thursday)
POEMS
Week
Fifteen (26, 28 April) The New Yorker Issue/April 25, 2011
GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN
THE TALK OF
THE TOWN
[FEATURES:
FACT /FICTION]
Tom Batten:
George Saunders Profile and discussion of “Pastoralia” (Tuesday)
Current Fiction from 25 April issue
THE CRITICS
POEMS
Week
Sixteen (3, 5 May) The
New Yorker Issue/ May 2, 2011
GOINGS ON
ABOUT TOWN
Final Papers due
Thursday, 12 May at 4 pm
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
The David Remnick Era
[FEATURES: FACT /FICTION]
Catch up on “decade” fiction;
Current Fiction from 2 May issue or catchup “current” fiction
Synthesis
THE CRITICS
POEMS
Week Seventeen
(Thursday, 12 May)
FINAL PAPERS WITH BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE AT 4 PM ON THURSDAY, 12 MAY IN
OUR SEMINAR ROOM