Reading selections for my 200-level speculative literature (fantasy) course

February 19, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

Thought some of you might want to see the next several weeks of the 200-level speculative literature (fantasy) course I’m teaching. (Previously posted the first four weeks.) This section continues to draw from Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer’s _The Big Book of Classic Fantasy_, which ends with Tolkien. In the last third of the course, […]

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Question – meeting agents and pitching to them

February 14, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

Question — one of my writing students has an adult romantic fantasy (romantasy?) that she’s finished and is ready to start pitching. She did some research, but so far, the kinds of conferences she’s found for pitching seem pretty scammy to me — not just a registration charge, but a $30 / pitch fee, too.

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I think their heads might actually explode.

February 10, 2024 / Serendib Teaching, Serendib Writing

George is going to be in Chicago briefly and contacted me and another SF writer friend about getting together for dinner. I, greatly daring, asked whether he might also be willing to stop by UIC and chat with my students. He said yes, which is awfully sweet of him to squeeze into his tight schedule.

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Glad I can e-mail my students again

January 19, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

My Blackboard IT problem is finally fixed, by a very nice student worker who came to my office and was very patient. It was somewhat my fault that it wasn’t fixed faster — apparently, I submitted a ticket to the ‘BIG’ IT department, instead of my college IT department. Although you’d think they could’ve told

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Who am I thinking of, here?

January 19, 2024 / Serendib Teaching, Serendib Writing

Gah — my mind is a sieve. There’s an author, who writes very short stories mostly (or possibly entirely?) in dialogue. I’m pretty sure he’s male, and I keep wanting to say it’s Donald Barthelme, but I don’t think it is, but maybe it’s a similar name? Help? I’m teaching dialogue in class today, and

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This is where I start daydreaming about Sweden

January 16, 2024 / Serendib Parenting, Serendib Teaching

Thinking about yesterday’s post about e-learning — I didn’t say this in the original post, but on sleeping on it all and considering the comments in the various parent groups I also posted in, I’ll also note that I suspect many of us (if not all of us) are also dealing with unresolved trauma from

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New course, new material

January 12, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

I’m teaching a new course this semester, a 200-level speculative literature class, and I’m focusing it on fantasy. (I did SF last semester). Thought some of you might like to read along — I may post notes occasionally. So far, I think the students are liking the material, but a bit bewildered by the juxtaposition

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It’s going to be THAT kind of semester.

January 8, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

Sigh — my car won’t be repaired until tomorrow, and I was going to take the train in, but tech issues delayed me enough this morning that I had to get an Uber instead, to make it in time for the first day of classes. Apparently it’s going to be THAT kind of semester.

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Locked out

January 7, 2024 / Serendib Teaching

Got to love it when the system locks you out the day before the first day of classes, so you can’t check to see how many students are registered or how many copies of the first day materials you’re going to need. I also can’t e-mail the students a digital copy of the syllabus. SIGH.

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End-of-Semester Blues

December 13, 2023 / Serendib Teaching, Serendib Writing

Weirdly mopey for most of today. I think it’s end-of-semester blues. You’d think that would make me happy, to turn in grades and be on vacation, but there’s something about finishing a big project, even one you desperately want to finish — it leaves a gap. At least I got to send off some sweets

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