ght hé,
day, r
ame
p. In ng
sg orth s, h at
SUMMER 2015
The Quill English Department Newsletter
S A N TA C L A R A U N I V E R S I T Y Creative Writing and Santa Clara Review News This year the English Department and Creative Writing Program sponsored poetry readings by SCU alumni Peter Verbica and Janice Dabney and SCU faculty members Tim Myers and Philip Kobylarz, a fiction and nonfiction reading by SCU alumnus and faculty member Mike Malone, and a storytelling event with SCU faculty members Tim Myers and Andy Garavel. The Santa Clara Review, the Creative Writing Program, and the Department of English inaugurated an ambitious reading series this past year: Writing Forward featured Pulitzer-Prizewinning poet Gerald Stern, Lenore Marshall Prize winner and NEA/Guggenheim poet Rigoberto Gonzalez, and New York Times columnist and nonfiction author Katie Hafner. (A student interview with Gerald Stern may be heard at Santaclarareview.com—Mr. Stern said the questions made it one of the best interviews he had ever given).
(Continued on page 8)
Remembering Fr. Theodore Rynes, SJ, 1921 – 2015 By Christine (Long) Brunkhorst, English, ’83
When I took my first job as an English teacher years after I’d graduated from Santa Clara, I called the best teacher I knew: Fr. Ted Rynes, S.J. “How do you do that daily paragraph thing?” I asked. “How does that work?” I took notes at my kitchen table, trying to get his system down. Fr. Rynes was a good man and a dedicated teacher, and for many of us, he was a mentor and friend. Fr. Rynes taught English at Santa Clara for 45 years. He taught 18th and 19th century British Lit, The Bible as Literature, Literature and Religion, and English 20 among others. I used to joke that he’d given the University two careers instead of one, that he deserved two retirement packages—not that the man would ever retire. He would say, “I will keep teaching for as long as I’m effective.” And judging by student evaluations, the number of former students who went on to become teachers, and all the friends and former students bewildered by his passing, he was indeed effective.
www.scu.edu/english
“He ruled the classroom,” recalls Chris Bruno, ’84. “He was like a casuallyattired Abe Lincoln who’d escaped an assassination attempt and thereafter threw his life into religion. In a knit tie and a suit, he skirted the edge of conformity just enough to be intimidating. He read every poem with the gravity of the Gettysburg Address.” There are teachers dedicated to their craft and knowledgeable about their subjects, but Fr. Rynes was more. With him you had an advocate, a man of high expectations, and an example. What many of us learned from Ted Rynes was that you don’t have to conquer the world, or make a lot of money, or be important—you just have to love literature, think deeply, and serve others. He will be deeply missed. Table of Contents Remembering Father Theodore Rynes, SJ....1 Creative Writing and Santa Clara Review..2, 8 Canterbury Program.......................................2 Chair’s Corner................................................3 SCU Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta...................3 LEAD Students and Faculty Conference.........4 The English Club............................................4 Introducing New Faculty...............................5 Writing Award Winners and Honorees...........5 Student, Alumni and Faculty Achievements...6 Stay Connected with the English Dept...........8
1