University of Wyoming
Public university in Laramie, Wyoming, US
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming's location is written into the state's constitution. The university also offers outreach education in communities throughout Wyoming and online.
The University of Wyoming consists of seven colleges: agriculture and natural resources, arts and sciences, business, education, engineering and applied sciences, health sciences, and law. The university offers over 120 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs including Doctor of Pharmacy and Juris Doctor. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High research activity".
In addition to on-campus classes in Laramie, the university's Outreach School offers more than 41 degree, certificate and endorsement programs to distance learners across the state and beyond. These programs are delivered through the use of technology, such as online and video conferencing classes. The Outreach School has nine regional centers in the state, with several on community college campuses, to give Wyoming residents access to a university education without relocating to Laramie.
Campus.
Old Main.
On September 27, 1886, the cornerstone of Old Main was laid, marking the beginning of the University of Wyoming. The stone is inscribed "Domi Habuit Unde Disceret", which is often translated, "He need not go away from home for instruction." The following year, the first class of 42 men and women began their college education. For the next decade, the building housed classrooms, a library, and administration offices.
The style of Old Main set a precedent for all future university buildings. The main stone is rough-cut sandstone from a quarry east of Laramie, and the trim stone is smooth Potsdam Sandstone from a quarry near Rawlins. Old Main was supposed to be a monumental structure, and it was designed to be symmetrical, with a prominent central spire as the focal point. The building was also meant to reflect the character of Wyoming, and the rough stone and smooth trim represented the progressing frontier. The design of Old Main had a lasting effect on university structures, most visible in the use of a sandstone façade on nearly every building.
In 1916, the university removed the central spire because of structural concerns. The size of auditorium was reduced during a 1936 renovation. In 1949, the university thoroughly remodeled the building and completely removed the auditorium and exterior stairs. At that time, it officially became known as Old Main, and the name was carved above the east entrance. Old Main houses university administration, including the president's office and the boardroom where the trustees often meet.
Prexy's Pasture.
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In order to preserve the natural and open beauty of that portion of the University of Wyoming campus commonly known and referred to as "Prexy's Pasture", no structures, other than ornamental improvements, or buildings of any kind or type shall be located or constructed upon [that] portion of the campus ...
Wyoming Legislature Statute
Prexy's Pasture is a large grassy area located within a ring of classroom and administrative buildings and serves as the center mall of the campus. The name is attributed to an obscure rule that the university president, or "prexy", is given exclusive use of the area for livestock grazing. During the administration of Arthur G. Crane, the name "Prexy's Pasture" was formally declared. Prexy's, as it is often called today, is also known for the unique pattern formed by concrete pathways that students and faculty use to cross it.
When the University of Wyoming first opened its doors in 1887, Prexy's Pasture was nothing more than an actual pasture covered in native grasses. The football team played their games there until 1922, when Corbett Field opened at the southeast corner of campus. Over time, as the needs of the university have changed, the area has been altered and redesigned. The original design was established in 1924, and in 1949, the area was landscaped with blue spruce and mugo pine. In February 1965, the board of trustees decided to construct the new science center on the west side of Prexy's Pasture. The board president, Harold F. Newton, who was concerned about the location, leaked the decision to the local press. The uproar that followed caused the board to decide on a new location for the science center and resulted in a new state statute making it necessary for any new structure built on the pasture to receive legislative approval. The statue known as "University of Wyoming Family" was installed in 1983 by UW professor Robert Russin in anticipation of the centennial celebration.
In the summer of 2004, Prexy's Pasture was remodeled as the first step in a two-part redesign project. The first step involved removing the asphalt roadway that circled the pasture and replacing it with concrete walkways to make the area a walking campus, as recommended by the 1966 and 1991 campus master plans. The grassy area was also increased, and new lampposts were installed for better lighting. The second phase of the project involved the construction of a plaza at each corner, featuring trees and rocks styled after the rocky outcrops of nearby Vedauwoo. Two of the plazas, Simpson Plaza and Cheney Plaza, have been completed.
In 2015, several exhibits from the exhibition "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" were featured along the exterior walkway. In addition to its primary use by students travelling to and from classes or socializing, the area is host to campus barbecues and fall welcome events.
Wyoming Union.
In September 1937, the university obtained a Public Works Administration loan during the Great Depression for $149,250 for construction of a student union. On March 3, 1938, ground was broken and construction began on what would become the Wyoming Union. Many students were involved in the construction, and twenty-five students were trained to be stone-cutters.
From the beginning, the union housed an assortment of student needs and activities. The formal and informal social needs were met by including a ballroom, banquet room, lounges, and game rooms. It also contained offices for student government, committees, organizations, and publications, to help meet the political and organizational needs of the student population. Lastly, a student store, post office, and bookstore completed the design.
The original design has been modified several times to accommodate changing needs and a growing student population. The first addition was completed in January 1960. This section, added to the northeast of the original structure, expanded the ballroom, made a lounge area and senate chambers adjacent to the ballroom, created the main lobby and breezeway, and provided a larger food area called The Gardens. In 1973, an addition to the north was completed to make a food court, add more space for the bookstore, and create additional offices. Also, parts of the original building were remodeled to create the Campus Activities Center, an art gallery, and a ticket outlet. In 2000, the Wyoming Union underwent extensive renovation. The $12 million project moved the food court to the main level, expanded the bookstore to the lower level, and revitalized the look and feel of the interior.
Ross Hall.
Ross Hall was built in 1959 and first used as a women's dormitory. In 1975, Ross Hall was converted to academic offices. It is located on the south side of Prexy's Pasture and is named after Nellie Tayloe Ross, Wyoming's and the nation's first woman governor, elected in 1924. There is a brass plaque relief of Nellie Ross in Ross Hall. She was married to William B. Ross, the 12th governor of Wyoming, who died in office. In 2000, on Ross Hall's fourth floor, the university installed the "Wyoming Press Association's Newspaper Hall of Fame" wall photos. In 2014, the Rendezvous Cafe open in the lobby.
Half Acre Gym.
The Half Acre Gym facility was constructed in 1925 to house the National Guard Armory of Laramie, as well as the athletic programs, until the field house opened in 1951. In order to fund this project, the university received a $100,000 gift from the Wyoming State Legislature, designated to be used for new buildings, such as a library, the gymnasium and armory, a power plant, an engineering building, and an expansion of the Hoyt Hall dormitory. The original structure occupied half an acre (), hence the name "Half Acre Gym". It was one of the largest facilities of its type at the time.
The building has undergone several renovations to increase its size and structural safety. In 2012, the university announced a $27 million renovation to begin in the Spring of 2013 and be completed by the Fall of 2014. Groathouse Construction, a local construction management firm, carried out the project in two phases to allow maximum use of the facility while it was under construction. Phase One would consist of the demolition and recreation of the east portion of the building. Phase Two would include the reopening of the east portion and the closure and construction of the west portion, which is the historical section of the building. Throughout the renovation, the university hoped to keep and incorporate as much of the historical structure and facade as possible.
The improvements included elevators, added classrooms, a space for athletic training, new racquetball courts, a climbing wall for Bouldering, a dance studio, a jogging/walking track, and new locker rooms with access to the pool.
Coe Library.
The original library at the University of Wyoming consisted of 300 books and was located in Old Main. In 1923, the library was moved to the new Aven Nelson Memorial Building. With the 1950s came a larger student population and a greater push for America to excel academically. These factors contributed to the decision by the board of trustees that it was necessary to construct a new library. However, in 1951, the state legislature rejected the funding request.
William Robertson Coe, a financier and philanthropist, came to the aid of president Humphrey in 1954 by contributing $750,000 in securities to the university. The trustees called the grant "one of the most outstanding contributions that has ever been made to the perpetuation of the American heritage" and assured Coe that the building would be "appropriately named". In 1955, the state legislature matched the Coe grant for an overall amount of $1.5 million.
Laramie architects Eliot and Clinton Hitchcock, whose father had designed the Aven Nelson Memorial Building, teamed up with the Porter and Porter firm in Cheyenne to design the new library. Their modular design was popular at the time and they intended to make the space very functional. The layout provided room for over 500,000 books and seating for at least 900 students. In May 1956, one year after the death of Coe, ground was broken and construction began on the building. The William Robertson Coe Library was finished in time for the Fall 1958 semester. In 1979, the stack tower was completed. This structure, designed by Kellogg and Kellogg of Cheyenne and Rock Springs, Wyoming, almost doubled the shelf space of the original Coe Library.
The most recent renovation of the library was completed in the fall of 2009 and officially dedicated on November 19, 2009. Hinthorne Mott Architects designed the new wing, referred to as Coe East, which added to the library. The addition was part of a larger, $50 million project to modernize the library by integrating technology and information. The renovation created an additional 20 group study rooms, space for 180 computer terminals, and features art by James Surls.
Classroom Building.
The Classroom Building, dedicated in 1971 at a cost of $1.75 million, was designed to be a general purpose building for the university. The placement and unique design by the local architects W. Eliot and Clinton A. Hitchcock makes it the focal point of the George Duke Humphrey Science Center. The building also contains four interior mosaics, designed by University of Wyoming art professors James Boyle, Joseph Deaderick, Richard Evans, and Victor Flach, that represent the quadrant of Wyoming they face. Each mosaic is over
In 2007, after a two-year, $14.7 million renovation project, the Classroom Building reopened. The goal of the renovation was to incorporate new technology and redesign the seating better to meet the needs of students who carry laptops and backpacks. The building was also retrofitted with air conditioning. The unique characteristics of the original building, such as the circular design and mosaics, were maintained.
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center.
The Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center was added to the University of Wyoming campus in January 2012. This building, which focuses on the study of biodiversity, is dedicated to Robert and Carol Berry, who gifted it to the University. The cost of the building was $15 million. It has three floors and 40,000 square feet with labs and an auditorium. The Berry Center is home to both the vertebrate museum and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WNDD). There is also an ecology lab, a stable isotope facility, and a program in ecology. The building also faculty offices, a teaching lab, display areas, public meeting areas, and a garden on the roof.
Housing.
The university has four residence halls and four apartment complexes. The four residence halls, Orr, White (the second tallest building in Wyoming), Downey, and McIntyre, are connected together via the Washakie Dining Center, which contains the main dining hall and other student services. These residence halls house primarily freshmen. All incoming freshmen are expected to live in the residence halls during their first year, with some exceptions.
Each of the residence halls is named after an influential administrator or faculty member. Downey Hall is an eight-story dormitory located southwest of the Washakie Dining Center and is named after June Downey. Located west of the Washakie Dining Center is White Hall, a dormitory named after Laura Amanda White. At twelve stories and 146 feet, White Hall is the second tallest building in the state of Wyoming, two feet shorter than the Wyoming Financial Center in Cheyenne. McIntyre Hall, named after Clara Frances McIntyre, is located east of the Washakie Dining Center. This twelve-story building underwent extensive renovations in 2004 and 2005. Just northeast of McIntyre Hall is the eight-story Orr Hall, named after Harriet Knight Orr. From 2005 to 2006, Orr Hall also underwent extensive renovations to modernize its living space.
The University Apartments are located east of War Memorial Stadium. They are available on a first-come, first-serve basis to all University of Wyoming students above freshman standing. There are apartment units in a variety of layouts in the River Village, Bison Run, Landmark, and Spanish Walk apartment complexes.
Two new residence halls, North and South Halls, and dining center are under construction east of Half Acre Gymnasium. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026. This is the former location of Wyoming Hall and a pay by the hour parking lot.
Museums.
American Heritage Center.
The American Heritage Center, located in the Centennial Complex, is an extensive repository of manuscripts, photographs, artworks, movies, audio recordings, and other items. It is one of the largest non-governmental archives west of the Mississippi River. Officially established in 1945, it now contains over of historic documents and materials. It is also home to the Toppan Library, which contains over 50,000 rare books. Because of its size, the AHC has many collecting areas. It features Wyoming and Western history from the early nineteenth to the twenty-first century; women's suffrage; transportation history, including railroad history (especially the transcontinental railroad) as well as aviation; and mineral, coal, and oil extraction. It has extensive entertainment collections in theater, radio and television, film, music, Hollywood (from Jack Benny and Barbara Stanwyck to Stan Lee), politics and journalism, authors, composers, and artists.
University of Wyoming Art Museum.
The University of Wyoming Art Museum is also located in the Centennial Complex on East Willet Drive. The museum's collections include art in many media from around the world, including: European and American paintings, prints, sculpture and drawings; 18th and 19th century Japanese Ukiyo-e prints; 15th through 19th century Persian and Indian miniature paintings; 20th century Haitian art; 20th century Japanese netsuke; 20th century and contemporary photography; and Rapa Nui, African, and Native American artifacts. Artists in the collection include Thomas Hart Benton, Ralston Crawford, Jun Kaneko, Hung Liu, Aristide Maillol, Joan Miró, Richard Misrach, Robert Rauschenberg and Paul Signac. The museum also hosts changing exhibits of art from around the world. The Centennial Complex was designed by Antoine Predock and opened in 1993.
In collaboration with the College of Law, the museum conducts research and instruction on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and legal issues surrounding the repatriation of human remains.
University of Wyoming Geological Museum.
The University of Wyoming's Geological Museum houses a collection of fossils and minerals with special focus on the history of Wyoming. When the University of Wyoming was founded, the museum was essentially the small personal collection of Professor J.D. Conley. In 1893, Wilbur Knight, who was hired as a professor of mining and geology, took over as the museum curator. The museum moved to the Hall of Science in 1902 and continued to expand. By the time the collection was moved to its current location in 1956, Knight's son Samuel Howell Knight had made the university's Geology Department well known around the country. Samuel Howell Knight acquired many of the exhibits and paintings that are still on display, including the copper Tyrannosaurus at the entrance, the initial mounting of the Apatosaurus skeleton centerpiece, and the terracotta Stegosaurus and Triceratops panels.
One of the most famous exhibits at the museum is the Allosaurus known as "Big Al". It was featured in the BBC documentary "The Ballad of Big Al." The University of Wyoming Geological Museum has also received coverage from "National Geographic", CNN, "Earth Magazine", Walter Cronkite, and "NBC Nightly News" with Tom Brokaw, and it has been shown on many dinosaur programs. On June 30, 2009, the museum was closed to meet state budget cuts. Following this controversial decision, an endowment fund was set up to support the museum. After substantial infrastructure upgrades, the museum reopened to the public on January 12, 2013 and resumed its regular hours with free admission. Some exhibits, like the Late Cretaceous display, have been completed, while others are still under renovation.
University of Wyoming Anthropology Museum.
The University of Wyoming Anthropology Museum is operated by the Anthropology Department and is located in the Anthropology Building at 12th and Lewis Streets. Exhibits are spread throughout three floors of the building. Displays include early humans, the Colby Mammoth Site, Vore Buffalo Jump, and other Wyoming archaeology sites.
University of Wyoming Insect Museum.
The University of Wyoming Insect Museum is a research museum located in the Agriculture Building. Displays include mounted insects, a small zoo with living insects, and an interactive discovery cabinet.
Academics.
The University of Wyoming comprises the following colleges and schools:
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers teaching, research labs and field environments, and an indoor livestock teaching arena.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers more than 50 majors, 60 minors, and seven interdisciplinary programs. Geology, Archaeology, Botany, and Geography programs take advantage of Wyoming's unique environment, while International Studies, Sociology, and Political Science provide global context. A&S emphasizes field study, internships, and individual research projects, and has exchange programs and study abroad. In 2010, the university announced that it had received its largest estate gift ever, from the artist Neltje Doubleday Kings, known as Neltje, consisting of her ranches, art collection, and other holdings. When realized, the gif created the UW Neltje Center for the Visual and Literary Arts, combining programs of three of the university's departments: creative writing, arts, and the art museum.
The College of Business is accredited at the undergraduate and graduate levels by AACSB. More than 100 business scholarships are awarded annually.
The College of Education comprises two schools: the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy, and Design; and the School of Teacher Education. Both certificates and programs that lead to initial certification or endorsements by Wyoming's Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) are offered for pre-service teachers. Partnerships with Wyoming public schools provide for hands-on experience in real classrooms, and the on-campus, K-9 lab school provides a model of teaching and learning. The Counselor Education Training Clinic within the college offers free services for individuals, couples, families, adults, adolescents, and children. Services are provided by advanced graduate students under qualified clinical supervision.
Offering 12 programs of study, the College of Engineering and Applied Science provides also undergraduate research opportunities, an International Engineering Program, and Earth Systems Science.
The Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (EORI) was formed regarding the implementation of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques in Wyoming. The mission of EORI is "to promote the recovery of Wyoming's 'stranded' oil." The Institute assists Wyoming operators with EOR projects by applying existing technologies and creating new knowledge when necessary, maximize the economic potential, minimize the risk of EOR projects, facilitate the testing, evaluation, and documentation of EOR recommendations in the real world settings, and transfer the information to Wyoming producers by forming partnerships and conducting workshops and conferences. The School of Energy Resources (SER) at the University of Wyoming was created in 2006 to enhance the university's energy-related education, research, and outreach. SER showcases the many energy research projects at UW and bridges academics and industry.
The University of Wyoming's Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) advances the understanding and resolution of environmental and natural resource challenges through education, dissemination of information, and collaborative decision-making support. Its academic programs emphasize interdisciplinary learning, providing students with applied learning experiences that prepare them to consider multiple perspectives to address natural resource issues. The Ruckelshaus Institute produces reports and convenes events on natural resource issues. The school offers courses in negotiation, facilitation, and media relations for natural resource professionals. The Biodiversity Institute provides research, education, and outreach to support biodiversity conservation and management. In 2016, the university announced that the Haub School would become a full academic college beginning in the 2017 academic year.
The College of Health Sciences offers programs in pharmacy, nursing, social work, kinesiology, communication disorders, and dental hygiene, and students have the opportunity to receive pre-professional advising.
The College of Law was founded in 1920 and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1923. Its location in the Rocky Mountain West has provided a direct connection to regional and global issues in environmental, natural resources, and energy law. The alumni includes many state and federal judges, governors, senators and a former ambassador, and offers eight clinical and practicum programs providing students with hands-on experience in the Brimmer Legal Education Center.
In May 2017, the university began working to change the Honors Program to the Honors College and search for an Honors College Dean from within the university faculty.
Outreach.
The mission of the University of Wyoming's Outreach School is to extend the University of Wyoming to the state and the world, and bring the world to Wyoming. It has several divisions. Outreach Credit Programs, in partnership with the university's colleges and departments, delivers both in and outside the state more than 41 degrees, programs, and certificates, both online or through "blended" learning technologies such as audio conferencing, video conferencing, and correspondence study. As of Spring 2014, Outreach School students accounted for 23.6% of enrollments at the University of Wyoming.
There are nine Outreach Regional Centers in Wyoming, each with an Academic Coordinator and staff provide student support services. The University of Wyoming at Casper is a partnership between the University of Wyoming and Casper College and offers a small, residential campus experience. Students at UW-Casper can pursue bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, as well as certificates and endorsements. The International Programs Office supports both international students and faculty and provides a number of different international study opportunities.
Wyoming Public Media operates three radio services that cover 90% of Wyoming, as well as an online service and NPR news service. Outreach Technology Services, including UWTV, provides technological access to students enrolled in distance courses, as well as those at UW-Casper. Additionally, the Outreach School administers Summer Session, J-Term, and Saturday University.
Student life.
The university's Campus Sustainability Committee (CSC) advises all departments and programs on sustainability matters and oversees the university's efforts and progress toward reducing its carbon footprint. All new campus buildings are required to meet LEED silver certification of the U.S. Green Building Council. UW president Tom Buchanan signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2007. For their advances on university sustainability, UW scored a "C" on the College Sustainability Report Card of the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
Nearly all fraternities and sororities are located on campus in private or university-owned houses.
The Outdoor Program offers many activities for outdoor enthusiasts. The program was established in 1997. Students go on single, multiday, and week-long excursions like rock climbing, white water rafting, ice climbing, snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking.
Athletics.
University of Wyoming athletics teams are named the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Their official song is "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". Wyoming competes at the NCAA Division I level (FBS-Football Bowl Subdivision for football) as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
UW offers 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports–nine women's sports and eight men's sports. Wyoming's nine NCAA sports for women are basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track and field, and volleyball. UW's eight NCAA sports for men are basketball, cross country, football, golf, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and wrestling.
The "Black 14".
In 1969, the UW football team was undefeated in mid-October and ranked sixteenth in the AP poll. Head coach Lloyd Eaton kicked 14 Black players off the team for wanting to protest what they considered the racist policies within Brigham Young University (BYU) and the LDS Church before the annual conference game against BYU in Laramie on October 18. After the Cowboys went 1–9 the following year, the school decided to remove him. In 2019, the school publicly apologized for this incident, and invited all living players back to campus to be honored.
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Owen Wister Review
American literary magazine
The Owen Wister Review is the University of Wyoming's annual art and literature magazine produced through the Student Media department, which publishes creative non-fiction, poetry, fiction, and art. The editorial staff is made up entirely of undergraduate and graduate students. The journal was established in 1978 and named for Owen Wister, who set the first modern western novel, "The Virginian", not far from Laramie, in the town of Medicine Bow.
In 2008 and again in 2009, the magazine was awarded a Magazine Pacemaker Award by the Associated College Press.
References.
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Owen Wister
American writer (1860–1938)
Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing "The Virginian" and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
Biography.
Early life.
Owen Wister was born on July 14, 1860, in Germantown, a neighborhood in the northwestern part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Owen Jones Wister, was a wealthy physician raised at Grumblethorpe in Germantown. He was a distant cousin of Sally Wister through his descent from John Wister (born Johannes Wüster) (1708–1789), brother of Caspar Wistar. His mother, Sarah Butler Wister, was the daughter of Fanny Kemble, a British actress, and Pierce Mease Butler. Pierce Mease Butler, heir to a fabulous fortune, was a notorious profligate, gambler, and slaveowner. In 1906 Wister wrote a novel, "Lady Baltimore", glorifying plantation life. His friend and Harvard classmate, Theodore Roosevelt, wrote to him criticizing the Southern bias of the novel.
Education.
Wister briefly attended schools in Switzerland and Britain, and later studied at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (Alpha chapter). Wister was also a member of the Porcellian Club, through which he became lifelong friends with future 26th President Theodore Roosevelt. As a senior Wister wrote the Hasty Pudding's then most successful show, "Dido and Aeneas", whose proceeds aided in the construction of their theater. Wister graduated from Harvard in 1882.
At first he aspired to a career in music and spent two years studying at a Paris conservatory. Thereafter, he worked briefly in a bank in New York before studying law; he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1888. Following this, he practiced with a Philadelphia firm but was never truly interested in that career. He was interested in politics, however, and was a staunch supporter of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt.
Harvard's Board of Overseers had Theodore Roosevelt as a member in 1916 and Owen Wister as a member in 1918.
In the 1930s, Wister opposed President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal.
Writing career.
Wister began his literary work in 1882, publishing "The New Swiss Family Robinson", a parody of the 1812 novel "The Swiss Family Robinson". It was so well received that Mark Twain wrote a letter to Wister praising it.
Wister had spent several summers in the American West, making his first trip to the Territory of Wyoming in 1885, planning to shoot big game, fish trout, meet the Indians, and spend nights in the wild. Like his friend Teddy Roosevelt, Wister was fascinated with the culture, lore and terrain of the region. He was "...struck with wonder and delight, had the eye to see and the talent to portray the life unfolding in America. After six journeys [into the dying 'wild west'] for pleasure, he gave up the profession of law...", and became the writer he is better known as. On an 1893 visit to Yellowstone National Park, Wister met the western artist Frederic Remington, who remained a lifelong friend.
When he started writing, Wister naturally inclined towards fiction set on the western frontier. His most famous work remains the 1902 novel "The Virginian", a complex mixture of persons, places and events dramatized from experience, word of mouth, and his own imagination – ultimately creating the archetypal cowboy, who is a natural aristocrat, set against a highly mythologized version of the Johnson County War, and taking the side of the large landowners. This is widely regarded as being the first cowboy novel, though many modern scholars argue that this distinction belongs to Emma Ghent Curtis's "The Administratrix," published over ten years earlier. "The Virginian" was reprinted fourteen times in eight months. It stands as one of the top 50 best-selling works of fiction and is considered by Hollywood experts to be the basis for the modern fictional cowboy portrayed in literature, film, and television.
In 1904 Wister collaborated with Kirke La Shelle on a successful stage adaptation of "The Virginian" that featured Dustin Farnum in the title role. Farnum reprised the role ten years later in Cecil B. DeMille's film adaptation of the play.
Wister was a member of several literary societies, a member of The Franklin Inn Club, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University. He was also an elected member of the American Philosophical Society.
Personal life.
In 1898, Wister married Mary Channing, his second cousin. The couple had six children. Mary died during childbirth in 1913. Their daughter, Mary Channing Wister, married artist Andrew Dasburg in 1933.
Death.
In 1938, Wister died at his home in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Legacy.
In 1976, Wister was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Since 1978, University of Wyoming Student Publications has published the literary and arts magazine "Owen Wister Review". The magazine was published bi-annually until 1996 and became an annual publication in the spring of 1997.
Mount Wister, just within the western boundary of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, is named for him.
Near a house that Wister built near La Mesa, California, but never occupied due to his wife's death, is a street called Wister Drive. In the same neighborhood are Virginian Lane and Molly Woods Avenue (named for a character in "The Virginian"). All of those streets were named by Wister himself.
The most popular legend of the Lady Baltimore cake is that Alicia Rhett Mayberry, a Southern belle, baked and served the cake to Wister in Charleston, South Carolina. Wister was said to have been so enamored with the cake that he used it as the namesake of his novel, "Lady Baltimore".
Bibliography.
Short stories.
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Works inspired by "The Virginian".
Many movie industry historians will agree that most, if not all, westerns can be claimed to contain influences from "The Virginian". It is nearly universally accepted that the "Hollywood cowboy" was, and still is, based on this book.
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Further reading.
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The Oxonian Review
University of Oxford student literary magazine
The Oxonian Review is a literary magazine produced by postgraduate students at the University of Oxford. Every fortnight during term time, an online edition is published featuring reviews and essays on current affairs and literature, alongside creative work including photo essays, poetry, fiction and artwork. It is the largest university-wide postgraduate-student publication at the University of Oxford.
History.
"The Oxonian Review" was established in 2001 at Balliol College, Oxford, as the Oxonian Review of Books, as a termly print magazine featuring essays and reviews of recently published work in literature, politics, history, science, and the arts, written mostly by postgraduate students of the University of Oxford. It now also serves as a venue featuring creative writing work by both "University members and non-Oxford affiliates". As a term-based magazine, its Editor in Chief and the editor of the ORbits, shorter pieces published throughout the week during term time, "are appointed for a term".
In November 2008, the publication carried out a large recruitment drive in order to expand beyond Balliol College and reach a wider audience. It relaunched in January 2009 as a web-based magazine, publishing fortnightly during term time, and annually in print. It was also renamed "The" "Oxonian Review" in 2009. The magazine also now organises a series of events in Oxford, including speaker dinners, seminars, music evenings, film screenings, competitions, and writers' workshops.
In 2022, "The Oxonian Review" began welcoming undergraduate students on its staff, and is encouraging towards submitted work that has "variety and experiment" rather than only "polish and perfection."
Relevance.
While "The Oxonian Review" publishes essays and reviews, and fiction and poetry, it is particularly noted for its interviews, including those of the Dutch animator and director Michaël Dudok de Wit, and of the poets Geoffrey Hill and Victoria Chang.
A number of reviews published in the magazine are frequently featured on the websites of the publishers and authors they focus on.
References.
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Peter Owen Publishers
Publisher
Peter Owen Publishers was founded in 1951 as a family-run independent publisher based in London, England. The company was acquired by Pushkin Press in 2022.
History.
The company was founded in 1951 by Peter Owen, who had previously worked for Stanley Unwin at The Bodley Head. Owen's first editor was Muriel Spark, who would later write a novel called "A Far Cry From Kensington" drawing on her experiences working there.
Their published authors include Paul Bowles and Jane Bowles, the Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo, the Spanish writers Julio Llamazares, José Ovejero, Cristina Fernández Cubas, Antonio Soler and Salvador Dalí, as well as André Gide, Jean Cocteau, Colette, Anna Kavan, Anaïs Nin, Natsume Sōseki, Yukio Mishima, Gertrude Stein, Hermann Hesse, Karoline Leach, the revisionist biographer of Lewis Carroll, Hans Henny Jahnn, Tarjei Vesaas and Miranda Miller. The press has published seven Nobel Prize winners. Although best known for fiction, especially in translation, the company also publishes plenty of non-fiction.
In 1991, Owen compiled an anthology to commemorate forty years of publishing, "The Peter Owen Anthology: Forty Years of Independent Publishing." Remaining independent since its founding, his press continues to publish. The company records are held in Special Collections at the University of Delaware.
References.
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The Oberlin Review
Student newspaper at Oberlin College
The Oberlin Review is a student-run weekly newspaper at Oberlin College that serves as the official newspaper of record for both the College and the city of Oberlin, Ohio.
The publication became the only newspaper of record for Oberlin after the "Oberlin News-Tribune" closed in 2018.
Overview.
The newspaper was first published in 1874, making it one of the oldest college newspapers in the nation. The tabloid-sized newspaper, with a circulation of 1,700, is published roughly 25 times during the academic year from its office in the basement of Burton Hall. It is printed by PM Graphics.
The newspaper's format has remained relatively constant despite rapid turnover in staffing. Its 16 pages are currently divided into five sections: News, Opinions, This Week in Oberlin, Arts and Sports. Past semesters have also included a Features section. In 2008, editors introduced a color front page, back page and centerfold.
Awards.
The "Review" has won numerous awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. From 1994 to 1996, it won the Collegiate Silver Crown awarded by that organization.
References.
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SS Owen Wister
Liberty ship of WWII
SS "Owen Wister" was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Owen Wister, an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
Construction.
"Owen Wister" was laid down on 2 November 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1216, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. William L. Marshall, the wife of Gulf Coast Regional construction auditor for MARCOM, and was launched on 14 December 1943.
History.
She was allocated to William J. Rountree Company, on 24 December 1943. On 22 July 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. On 28 June 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded on 17 July 1954. On 3 November 1956, she was withdrawn to be unload, she returned on empty 9 November 1956. She was sold for scrapping, 8 December 1964, to Zidell Explorations, Inc., for $156,006.66, which included her sister ships and . She was removed from the fleet on 21 December 1964.
References.
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Bibliography.
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Critic Te Ārohi
University of Otago Students' Association magazine
Critic Te Ārohi is the official magazine of the Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) of the University of Otago. It is freely available around both the University's campus and selected sites in Dunedin city weekly during term time. "Critic" is New Zealand's longest-running student newspaper, having been established in 1925. Weekly circulation is 5,000 copies, with an estimated readership of approximately 20,000.
Content.
Critic's content is primarily targeted towards its student demographic and is generally written through a student perspective. The magazine enjoys enduring popularity with its readership. The physical copies distributed on a weekly basis have a pick-up rate of 99% according to OUSA.
Critic's content includes recurring columns, news articles, long-form investigative journalism, profiles, reviews, puzzles and culture pieces that often examine or portray student life in Dunedin. The magazine is known for its humorous examination of provocative and taboo subject matter. Traditionally, Critic has had 'themed' issues including "The Sex Issue", "The Drugs Issue", "Te Reo Māori Issue", "The Food Issue", "The Census Issue" and more. However, recent years have seen a movement away from overtly stipulated themes. Roughly half of all Critic issues remain unthemed within the magazine's yearly cycle.
Although the scope of the content has varied year to year under different editorship, in recent years the magazine's coverage has remained local; focusing on stories of relevance to students and the surrounding Dunedin community. Since 2012, the magazine's mission statement has been to "reflect the reality of Otago University students back to themselves." In a 2018 profile of Critic, former Editor Joel MacManus told Stuff the magazine seeks to "cover stories other media can't or won't, in a way that they can't or won't [...] When we write something I know couldn't be published in the "Otago Daily Times" or on "Stuff" "–" that's when I'm like, 'This is great!' That's when it's "Critic"."
High Profile Stories.
In 2018, Critic Te Ārohi reported that University of Otago Proctor Dave Scott had illegally entered two students flats without permission and confiscated bongs/water pipes, which were estimated to be worth over $700 combined. Critic's reporting received national media attention, resulting in a scandal the magazine labelled "BongShell." In a subsequent press conference, Scott confirmed the bongs had been destroyed and apologised for his actions.
In 2019, Critic published a story about a landlord breaching tenancy laws. After receiving a threatening letter in response, Critic made headlines for publishing the email on the cover of the following issue.
That same year, Critic published a exposé on the culture of misogyny in Knox College that normalised sexual misconduct against female students. The article included the testimonies of several female residents who had been sexually harassed or assaulted at the residential college between 2015 and 2017, many of whom claimed that the college's leadership ignored or dismissed their claims when they were reported to them. The article received national media attention. Although the feature was lauded for its investigative merit, Critic later issued an apology for not contacting Head Master Caroline Hepburn-Doole for comment before publication. With regards to the article's claim that instances of sexual assault and rape went "undisciplined," the magazine later accepted there was evidence "all complaints were documented and reported to others as appropriate."
In 2021, Critic published a series of articles detailing the findings of a six-month undercover investigation by Critic journalist Elliot Weir into Action Zealandia, a white supremacist organisation in New Zealand.
In 2023, Critic published a series of news articles reporting on hazing activity in Dunedin's student community. Critic's coverage, including a story on the abuse of a live eel, garnered national attention and was awarded 'Best News Story' at the Aotearoa Student Press Awards, with Judge Glenn McConnell commending the reporting for being of "national significance." The magazine's coverage later developed into a three-part series published in "The Spinoff", authored by former Editor Fox Meyer.
Design.
Critic began as a newspaper in 1925, before becoming a magazine in 2001. The publication was tabloid in size until 2002, when it went quarterfold (around A4 size). The design of Critic is often significantly changed each year as new designers are employed; typically from the Otago Polytechnic Design School.
In 2011, Critic's covers (under the magazine's Art Director Andrew Jacombs) were selected in the 2012 Coverjunkie "Best Of" Publication and exhibited alongside some of the world's most leading titles, including TIME, Esquire, The New Yorker, Vogue, Sports Illustrated and lift-outs from The New York Times and The Sunday Times.
History.
In 1925 Otago University medical student Francis Bennett, whom edited the annual student publication "The Review", suggested a new student newspaper. OUSA approved. "The Critic" went on to replace the 4-page newsletter "Te Korero", which Bennett later described as "a dismal rag which [Dan Aitken] and I usually filled up with imaginative froth a few hours before it went to press." Editor Douglas Archibald Campbell outlined the newspaper's ethos in the publication's first-ever editorial, envisioning Critic to be a publication where "criticism may be brought into the open" and would "suffer no word or deed to go unquestioned within the four walls of Otago University."
On 27 February 2025, the magazine marked its centennial anniversary with a book launch.
Controversies.
The Office of Film and Literature Classification in 2005 banned an issue of the magazine, due to it containing a satirical "how-to-guide" on drug rape. The article was published in magazine's since-discontinued "offensive" themed issue, which ran from 2002—2005. Possession or distribution of this issue was deemed illegal. Editor Holly Walker stood by the decision to publish the article, stating it was "defendable" in that it highlighted "a very important issue and [would] hopefully make women more aware of what could happen to them." Walker later backtracked this statement in a comment to Critic in 2012, calling the article's publication a "mistake": "We were trying to be offensive for the sake of it, rather than with any greater purpose in mind [...] I wasn't a very woke feminist back then."
In 2010 The New Zealand Media Council upheld a complaint against Critic over the article 'The Bum at the Bottom of the World', which depicted three people the publication deemed homeless and vagrant. Editor Ben Thomson later stated the magazine "completely misjudged where the line was" and apologised for the article. The Press Council accepted Critic's apology as "sincere."
In 2013 Critic's Editor Callum Fredric received a $35,000 payout after a series of personal disputes with OUSA General Manager Darel Hall. Fredric was suspended by Hall on Friday 3 May, and was trespassed from OUSA buildings by Hall after attending a meeting on Monday 6 May to explain the situation to staff, before being asked to leave by Police. After filing legal proceedings, Fredric accepted a $35,000 settlement package from OUSA on Friday 17 May, and resigned as Editor.
In 2018, the cover of "The Menstruation Issue" featured a cartoon image of a woman menstruating. University of Otago Proctor Dave Scott took offence to the image and unilaterally decided to destroy all copies of the magazine. An open-letter signed by 17 former Editors expressed "deep concern" over the decision, with prominent New Zealand media figures accusing the university of "censorship." The removal of the magazines was further accused of stigmatising menstruation. The university later apologised, calling the decision a "mistake".
In 2020 Critic criticised Otago University's response to the Covid-19 pandemic in an opinion piece, leading the university's refusal to answer media requests from Critic and threatening to pull advertising from the magazine. Following changes in University of Otago media staff, the University has resumed accepting media requests and running advertisements.
Awards and nominations.
"Critic Te Ārohi" is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA) and has been awarded Best Publication in the annual ASPA awards in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Editorship.
The Critic Te Ārohi editor-in-chief is an employee of OUSA, operating under a charter that grants editorial independence. The Editor is appointed and employed under a fixed term contract that covers roughly the beginning to end of Otago University's academic year. Previous involvement with the magazine is not a prerequisite for applicants, although most have held a sub-editorial position at Critic prior to being appointed editor. Although Critic's editorship has been shared in previous years (particularly in the magazine's early history), in modern times the role of editor is typically fulfilled by one person. The typical tenure for Critic Editor is one year, though roughly 10% of editors in Critic's history have stayed on for two years as of 2024.
Notable past editors include journalist and Rhodes Scholar Sir Geoffrey Cox, Priest and human rights activist Paul Oestreicher (OBE), renowned obstetrician Diana Mason (OBE), TV broadcaster Jim Mora, political commentator Chris Trotter, New Zealand Alliance Party co-leader Victor Billot, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie and Rhodes Scholar and former Green Party MP Holly Walker.
Sub-Editorship.
Critic's sub-editorial roles are Design Editor, Sub-Editor, News Editor, Features Editor and Culture Editor. Design Editor is the second most senior role within Critic as the only staff member (aside from Editor) that is employed full-time. In 2023 the role of Ētita Māori (Māori Editor) was made a permanent position. The role entails the production of Māori interest content and the magazine's annual te reo Māori themed issue.
Until 2018, there were rotating 'Section Editors' (now described as staff writers) covering books, art, film, games, poetry food, music, politics and sport. In some years, "Deputy Editor" "Technical Editor" and "Art Director" have been listed as sub-editorial roles. Notable staff members and contributors to Critic have included poet James K Baxter and cricketer and caricaturist Murray Webb.
References.
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Owen Wister Award
Owen Wister Award is an annual award from the Western Writers of America given to lifelong contributions to the field of Western literature. Named for writer Owen Wister ("The Virginian"; 1902), it is given for "Outstanding Contributions to the American West".
Originally given for "best book of the year", it was expanded in 1967 to include anyone advancing Western literature.
From 1961 to 1990 it was called the "Saddleman Award" (sculptor Spero Anargyros; polished bronze statuette of a cowboy in Levi’s, saddle slung over his right shoulder, branding iron in his left hand ) and sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. After Levi Strauss dropped its sponsorship, the award was retitled the "Owen Wister Award" for "Lifetime Achievement" in Western history and literature. From 1991 to 1994 recipients received an engraved bronze figure of a cowboy, since 1994 winners have received a bronze buffalo design on wood base from sculptor Robert H. Duffie.
References.
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Wascana Review
Canadian literary magazine
Wascana Review was a biannual literary magazine, established in 1966, published by the University of Regina. The magazine was published open access, beginning with vol. 42 (2007). Due to decreases in funding of the English Department at the University of Regina, it ceased publication in 2012.
The review focused on essays, articles, and poetry by contemporary authors. Its contributors included Di Brandt, Elizabeth Brewster, Sharon Butala, Lorna Crozier, Northrop Frye, Janette Turner Hospital, Linda Hutcheon, Mark Kingwell, Robert Kroetsch, Susan Musgrave, Al Purdy, Leon Rooke, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Tom Wayman, Susan McCaslin, Lance Woolaver, and George Woodcock. It contained video and sound files, as well as text.
Its former editors-in-chief have included Joan Givner; as of 2011[ [update]], the general editor was Kathleen Wall.
References.
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Maureen Owen
American poet, editor, and biographer (born 1943)
Maureen Owen (born July 6, 1943) is an American poet, editor, and biographer.
Life.
Born in Graceville, Minnesota, Owen was raised on her family’s farm and later on California’s horseracing tracks where her parents were horse trainers. She traveled in the Racing Fair Circuit along with her family in the summers. They wintered at Santa Anita Racetrack. Owen attended Seattle University and San Francisco State University. In 1965, she moved to Japan, and then to New York in 1968. Owen was co-director of the St. Mark's Poetry Project (1976–1980) in New York City. She has worked as Program Coordinator at the St. Mark's Poetry Project in NY and served on the Board of the Poetry Project and the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines—both as a member and as a vice-chairperson.
Owen is the editor and publisher of "Telephone Books". She began publishing and editing Telephone Books and Telephone magazine, a press and magazine that began in mimeograph format, and has edited over thirty titles of the press and nineteen issues of the magazine. She has taught a number of creative writing workshops including children and seniors. Her academic career includes teaching courses in creative writing and research at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1999, as well as mentoring workshops at Swarthmore College and St. Joseph's College in Connecticut. She currently teaches at Naropa University, both on campus and in the low-residency MFA Creative Writing Program, and is editor-in-chief of Naropa’s on-line zine not enough night. Her title Edges of Water is forthcoming from Chax Press. She can be found reading her work on the PennSound website.
Paul Hoover has said of her work, "Astonishing things quietly occur."
Andrei Codrescu notes, "Her exuberant style and tremendous energy shine in her strongly feminist works."
and reviewer Barbara Einzig has said, "there's still dirt under her nails."
Her papers are held at University of California, San Diego.
References.
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Unholy Loves
Unholy Loves is a novel written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was published in 1979 by Vanguard Press. In an interview Oates called it "an academic comedy set at an upstate New York university larger than Bennington, smaller than Cornell, prestigious yet not quite competitive with Harvard, Princeton, and Yale."
Setting.
While most of her satirical academic short stories in "" (1974) were set at a fictitious, small, mediocre university in Southern Ontario, Hilberry, Oates created a very distinguished setting for her novel "Unholy Loves". Woodslee University is situated two hundred and fifty miles north of New York City and is introduced as "a private, richly endowed institution famous in the East for its high tuition, its liberal arts and fine arts departments, and its academic rigor". The fact that "students rejected at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton routinely come to Woodslee, as they come to Cornell or the University of Pennsylvania, or Boston University, or even the state universities of New York" (p. 135), indicates its prominent place in the American university system.
Woodslee's environment is described as being "densely wooded and impenetrable" (p. 135), and its symbolic name also hints at its isolation, which is said to be responsible for Woodslee's intense social life:“But there are parties. There will always be parties. Woodslee is a very social university - detractors might say it is desperately social, because of its isolation, and the long dark merciless winters. Without social life one would simply freeze to death here. Without friends (or the semblance of friends) one would simply die. (p.24)
Structure.
The structure of the novel also reflects the crucial importance of Woodslee's social life. Each of the novel's five parts is centered on either a party - I. At the Byrnes' (p. 1); II. At the Seidels' (p. 97); III. At Albert St. Dennis's and At the Housleys' (p. 165) - a dinner - IV. Hour of Lead (p. 243) - or a luncheon - V. In the Founders Room (p. 289). As Oates gives the exact dates of these events at the beginning of each part - I. September 11 (p. 3); II. November 5 (p. 99); III. December 31 (p. 167); IV. March 8 (p. 245); V. May 10 (p. 291) - it becomes obvious that the novel comprises almost exactly an entire academic year, yet is only concerned with the decisive social events.
Each of the novel's five parts is subdivided into four or five sections which focus on one of the central characters - Albert St. Dennis, Brigit Stott, Alexis Kessler, Lewis Seidel, Oliver Byrne, and Sandra Jaeger - and reveal their background, their activities before, during, and after the social event, their reflections and view of the other guests. In the course of these sections Woodslee's second main characteristic is disclosed, the fact that "there are rumors about everyone at Woodslee" (p. 44). A considerable amount of the individual character's reflections and the conversation at the parties deals with the gossip and the rumors which circulate among the Woodslee community; and in this respect it resembles the Hilberry community Oates depicted in "".
Central characters.
In "Unholy Loves", Albert St. Dennis, the British poet, "serves well as a ruthless exposer of those around him," as A.G. Mojtabai observes in her review of the novel.
Albert St. Dennis is over seventy years old, his wife has died only a year ago, and therefore he is very lonely, mostly drunk, and by no means able to fulfill the expectations of the English department of Woodslee University, which has hired him for one year as their "Distinguished Professor of Poetry." Yet he apparently deserves this title: the Times Literary Supplement has called him "the incontestably finest of living English poets" since Auden's death (p. 6), and even St. Dennis himself admits that he is famous: "'Famous' in the narrow hothouse world of letters" (p. 13).
He has always detested America and declined to visit it (p. 103), but now "he has sold himself quite shamelessly - and with necessity" (p. 6) to Woodslee University. Nonetheless, he still detests "the American flummery" (p. 5) and even his hosts, "the educated and articulate and well-to-do members of a nation that barely tolerates the serious arts, and is frankly contemptuous of poetry" (p. 13). He considers them as "greedy strangers, they are memorizing him, storing up anecdotes to be repeated after his death" (p. 3), and the expectations of the different members of the English department reveal that this view is not at all inadequate. It is certainly debatable whether he wills his death, whether it is simply an accident of drunkenness, or whether one considers it the result of Lewis Seidel's carelessness; yet his name suggests that he has to be seen as a kind of martyr: according to Gregory of Tours, Saint Denis was "a bishop sent under the reign of Decius (249-51) to preach to the Parisians, who after divers torments suffered martyrdom."
Brigit Stott is thirty-eight years old, a recent divorcee, and "very lonely" (p. 21). As a result of her loneliness her imagination has begun to swerve "to such idle hopes, such pathetic aspirations" (p. 37), which always "turned about the figure of Albert St. Dennis" (p. 38). She has hoped that they would fall in love: "He would be one of her holy loves. She has had holy loves, and unholy loves. Very few of the former; too many of the latter" (p. 36). This allusion to the novel's title - which is taken from St. Augustine's Confessions: "To Carthage then I came, where a cauldron of unholy loves sang all about mine ears" (p. 258) - indicates that her hopes concerning St. Dennis have to be considered as some of the "unholy loves" which circle around him; and the characterizations of Alexis Kessler, Lewis Seidel, and Oliver Byrne disclose that St. Dennis is indeed the center of "a cauldron of unholy loves," of secret hopes, expectations, and fantasies which focus on his visit to Woodslee.
Oates describes Brigit Stott's aspirations in detail and with remarkable irony: "St. Dennis would be very like his photographs: a beautiful old man" (p. 38); introduced to her, "he would be struck by her face, by something in her face" (p. 39).Seated beside her at dinner he would pay attention to no one else. ... In the days that follow he pursues her, ... marries her, they return to England. They are a devoted couple. Everyone is amazed. Brigit Stott puts aside her own work and dedicates herself to Albert St. Dennis. ... An exceptional marriage. Noted by all. ... Of course his young wife accompanies him everywhere. It is rumored that she helped him compose his brief but memorable Nobel Prize address. ... "Behind Albert St. Dennis stands Brigit Stott," people will say. "She saved his life, you know. A remarkable woman." (pp.40-41).It is just as ironic that St. Dennis differs completely from her imaginations and is by no means capable of fulfilling any of her hopes: "He is a terrible disappointment to her, of course, hardly the lover-savior she had anticipated, just an old man, a sick-looking old man" (p. 43).
Alexis Kessler is thirty-two years old, "the aging 'Wunderkind' of the music department" (p. 26). He is portrayed as "one of those very young debuts (as a pianist), and afterwards it must have gone to his head, all the attention, the admiration and applause and fuss" (p. 44). He is a working on a very ambitious project, composing a song cycle based on one of St. Dennis's sonnet sequences; and he hopes that St. Dennis will give him the permission to use his sonnets in the course of his visit to Woodslee (p. 53).
Lewis Seidel is fifty-one years old, a colleague of Brigit Stott, and another ambitious intellectual who is only interested in his work and career:Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year at City College; prizes as an under graduate; high praise and encouragement from his professors. A Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for graduate work at Columbia. High grades, high expectations, a series of articles published in his twenties, a considerable name for himself before the age of thirty; an appointment at Brown that had not worked out, a year in England; more articles and reviews and the appointment at prestigious Woodslee; the controversial "Cul-de-sac" and more articles and reviews and .… (p.155)Lewis Seidel's latest plans focus on "a highly original kind of critical work: ... a dialogue, a duet, his own voice and that of a representative artist of the old order, locked together in ferocious combat. The artist is to be, of course, Albert St. Dennis" (p. 65). Just like Brigit Stott's absurd aspirations, Seidel's fantasies about the development of a friendship between the two men are also described with utmost irony (pp .66-69), and of course they remain unfulfilled as well.
Oliver Byrne, the Dean of Humanities, resembles Lewis Seidel, yet he has been even more successful. He has "published his dissertation at the age of twenty-eight, and was drawn into university politics the first year of his first appointment, at the University of Pennsylvania. An assistant dean at thirty-one, a dean at thirty-five, Dean of Humanities here at Woodslee at forty-two, and a most promising future, as everyone keeps telling him" (p. 83). Everybody agrees that he has done an excellent job, so far, and even Lewis Seidel admits that "the 'coup' of St. Dennis is certainly an enviable one" (p. 70). It is known that Byrne had flown to London twice to talk with St. Dennis, and that he came to Woodslee "not only because of the amount of money offered but because of the young dean's persuasive personality" (p. 70). Therefore, St. Dennis's presence at Woodslee is a personal success for Oliver Byrne, who has further plans, too: he intends to be president of Woodslee very soon, which is "Oliver's highest hope" (p. 273). But St. Dennis's death thwarts all his plans, as he is forced to resign from his deanship and has to leave Woodslee (p. 328).
There are several other members of the English department who remain in the background of the novel. Warren Hochberg, the chairman of the English department, is introduced as the author of several well-received scholarly books and "an indecipherable personality whom everyone feared" (p. 29); and it is symptomatic that he becomes acting dean after Oliver Byrne's resignation (p. 292). Gowan Vaughan-Jones is "passionately caught up in his scholarly and critical work" (p. 197), and is working on an immense study of twentieth-century poetics that will include a chapter on St. Dennis and his imitators. In conjunction with this work he had planned a series of taped interviews with St. Dennis, and "had even arranged with the editors of several prestigious journals for the publication of these interviews" (p. 109), but of course it never comes to that. His similarity to the novel's central characters is obvious, and Brigit Stott's view of Vaughan-Jones discloses his role as a symbolic figure and has to a be applied to his colleagues as well: "It is too easy, Brigit thought, to dismiss him as a stereotype, a parody. He is a stereotype and a parody, and yet he lives, he breathes, he walks about in the world, he is quite a successful academic and his career has just begun." (p. 234)
Yet there is one character who differs completely from these typical representatives of the academic world Oates depicts. Gladys Fetler is sixty-three years old, “gracious and ladylike and kindly and youthful" (p. 33). She is popular both with her students and her colleagues, she publishes regularly, but she also has "these wild wacky hobbies - mountain-climbing, bird-watching treks into the Everglades and into the Arctic Circle, canoeing in the White Mountains" (p. 34). In comparison with her younger narrow-minded and career-oriented colleagues, she clearly represents an anachronism; and it is significant that she is forced into early retirement at the end of the novel (p. 292).
All these characters are part of Woodslee's establishment, yet Oates also depicts the situation of the younger generation of academics, which is represented by two families, the Jaegers and the Swansons. The reflections of Sandra Jaeger disclose her husband's and their friends' problems to get a job (pp. 93–94) and their happiness about their new position in the Woodslee community:Better not to think about the situation. Better to put it all behind her. After all, their lives have changed completely now. They are no longer graduate students; they are adults, with a genuine place in an academic community. Ernest is not a teaching assistant, he is an assistant professor of English, on what is called the regular payroll; and Sandra is on a list, a marvelous list, of names that belong to faculty wives. Some years ago, in the late sixties and early seventies, it might have seemed inconceivable that anyone, particularly bright young intellectuals, would have prized such things so highly, and so desperately; but it is no longer the late sixties and the early seventies. (pp .94-95)But when Ernest Jaeger is informed that his contract will not be renewed for the next year, Sandra realizes that they are by no means firmly established: "The new division, Sandra thinks dully. The new struggle. Between those who have unassailable positions and those who have not. Between the aristocrats and the stateless" (p. 197).
Thus, the situation of the Jaegers and the Swansons exemplifies Oates's awareness of the economic problems academics have to face in the late 1970s. Yet these problems remain in the background of the novel, as Oates is primarily concerned with the world she is familiar with, the academic establishment.
Reception.
Again Oates portrays ambitious, career-oriented "hungry ghosts" and mocks a gossiping and back-biting academic scene, and on the whole the pretentious Woodslee community does not differ from the small, mediocre world of Hilberry University in "", her collection of short stories published in 1974. Therefore one has to agree with Anne Duchéne who observes that “not all the habitual energy and justice in the writing can quite dispel, here, the sense of déja lu."

D. Wystan Owen
American fiction writer
D. Wystan Owen is a British American writer. He is the author of the short story collection "Other People's Love Affairs".
Literary career.
Owen received an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He was Deputy Editor of "The Threepenny Review" and one of the founding editors of "The Bare Life Review".
"Other People's Love Affairs".
Owen's short story collection, "Other People's Love Affairs", was published by Algonquin Books in August, 2018. The 10 stories explore the lives of the people in a fictional English village