EAPSU REFLECTION
by blue Guckert
The English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU) conference came to Millersville University on Friday October 18th and Saturday October 18th 2024 and was a uniform success. Special thanks to professors Dr. Nicole Pfannenstiel and Dr. Emily Baldys and graduate assistant Becca Betty and the Millersville University student volunteers for organizing the incredible event. The theme of the conference was Inclusive Stories, Writing for Change and the program was kicked off with a behind the curtains peek at writers and illustrators Ari Pluchinsky and Sam Bowen’s craft and method exploring their webcomic called Woodlands and a graphic novel called Goldfinch. Sam Bowen invited us along for an illuminating journey of their creative process highlighting touchstones and challenges moving from initial idea to getting something, sometimes anything, onto the page. The crisp and loaded, seventy-five minute presentation included a Q &A and creative exercises and fostered an air of community that became a palpable source of energy that fueled the two-day event. The three Friday afternoon panels ran concurrently and were chaired by Millersville University’s own Dr. Caleb Corkery and Dr. Emily Baldys and Dr. Nancy K. Pearson from West Chester University.
Friday evening’s Keynote Speaker, which gave off the atmospheric warmth of a fireside conversation between author and poet Kate Baer and Dr. Baldys was hosted on the wide yet intimate McComsey 260 auditorium stage. Kate Baer is a 3x New York Times bestselling author of What Kind Of Woman, I Hope This Finds You Well, & And Yet. Her work has also been published in The New Yorker, Literary Hub, Huffington Post and The New York Times. After a brief introduction and rousing case for the humanities from Dr. Ieva Zake, Dean College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Kate Baer and Dr. Baldys engaged in a sprawling dialogue about Kate’s work, her divine and not so divine inspirations, sometimes born out of love and joy and family and sometimes born out of toxic masculine cruelty. Kate Baer’s acerbic wit and laser tuned intellect were on full display giving little doubt as to why she has become such a successful writer. The keynote conversation was followed by an open mic at Lancaster city’s own Pocket Books bookstore.
Saturday’s schedule was full with 4 concurrent sessions covering topics from Creative Searches for Connection and Identity to Feminism and Literature through a roundtable focused on the Engage for Change Journal and presentations and discussions on Critical Media Analysis through a Disability Studies lens. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the latter two discussions as both an observer and presenter respectively. The Engage for Change discussion facilitated by Dr. Kerrie Farkas was a full conference circle moment for me as the community aspect of the conference, as initiated by Ari Pluchinsky and Sam Bowen’s author talk and workshop, was punctuated by a group of students and faculty being vulnerable together talking earnestly about mental health challenges. This conversation was less about targeted solutions and more a showcase for solidarity. A low-key secondary theme of the conference on full display as a focus on the process and journey and community rather than any singular result. But also, as a result the conference as a whole was wildly successful and I was grateful to have been a wee part of it.
Dr. Corkery and two groups of MU students presented at the conference. On Friday, the first panel, Hip Hop & Lyrics to Move the World, explored what can be learned about creativity through the emergence of Hip Hop, especially related to marginalized Blacks and Latinos in the Bronx, New York during the 1970s and ’80s. Panelists discussed the crises surrounding key players in hip hop who produced innovative lyrics aimed at addressing their circumstances. Nelian Cruz, Claribel Rodriquez de la Rosa, Barseh Gbor, and Dante McLeod were the students involved.
