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Western Carolinian Volume 68 Number 09

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  • Celebrating Irish \ Heritage Month By Sergio Ortiz | WC When you think of the month March, you might immediately think of St. Patricks Day, but do you know what St. Patricks Day really means? March is also Irish- Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the Irish heritage and those individuals of such decent that have had an impact in America. St. Patricks Day is not just a holiday celebrated in America. It is also celebrated in Europe and, more so, in Ireland. St. Patrick was a bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland around 430 A.D. St. Patrick is also said to have driven out all the snakes in Ireland, but that claim has not yet been proven. March 17 was the day St. Patrick supposedly died. As a result, it became a day of celebrating everything that is Irish and is also held as a day for spiritual renewal and for offering prayers for missionaries around the world. This holiday spread to other countries with migration of the Irish people throughout the world. An object always associated with St. Patricks Day is the shamrock. It is said that St. Patrick chose the shamrock as a symbol for the churchs Holy Trinity because of the three leaflets bound by one stalk. Shamrocks are also said to bring good luck to those who find them. After the Irish Famine of 1846 that left millions of Irishmen dead, those who survived made the voyage to America for a better future. The big influx of Irish soon made an impact on the United States. In the beginning the Irish were not accepted due to many Irishmen belonging to the Catholic Church. Many Americans saw them as a threat to democracy and so they were discriminated against. During the Civil War, the Irish Brigade brought many victories to the North under the leadership of General Thomas Francis Meagher. After the Civil War the Irish slowly became accepted and during the 20th century made a big, positive impact in America. Some famous Irish-Americans are Henry Ford who established the Ford Company and used the innovative idea of an assembly line to produce cars in large quantities making them more affordable to the average American. President John F. Kennedy was the first Irish-American president. Judy Garland of the Wizard of Oz was also of Irish decent. Other Irish-Americans: George Clooney, Sandra Day OConner, Tom Clancy and Lucy Grealy. Irish-Americans have and will continue to make an impact on American society. St. Patricks day does have a purpose. So this March, we should strive to learn more about Irish-Americans and their culture. If you would like more information about Irish- Americans, visit www.britanica.com. wc_living@email.wcu.edu - This Issue- | profiles Dr. Mimi Fenton Mike Mitchell Rose Post i Cec as a LL March 30 - April 1 Second Annual Spring Literary Festival Line Up By Jennifer Wilkey | WC WCUs second annual Spring Literary Festival will be held March 30 through April 1, 2004. The festival will feature writers Jim Harrison, Robert Morgan, Linda Niemann, and Sonia Sanchez. All of the events are free and open to the public, except for the Sonia Sanchez reading ($10 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and WCU faculty/staff, and free for WCU students with valid iD). Jim Harrison is the author of seven novels, three novella collections, eleven books of poetry, numerous essays, articles and reviews. One of his most famous novellas, Legends of the Fall, was the inspiration for a popular film by the same name. Harrison has written screenplays for several film companies, including Warner Brothers, and his work has been translated into eleven languages. Harrison obtained his BA and his MA from Michigan State University. He currently resides in Michigan and Arizona with Linda, his wife of nearly forty years. Robert Morgan, an award-winning poet and novelist, is the author of the best-selling book Gap Creek. Morgan has published six books of fiction and nine collections of poetry, and he has published poems in numerous magazines. His works have received many awards and honors throughout the years. Morgan is a native of the North Carolina mountains. He earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He currently teaches English at Cornell University. Linda Niemann is the author of On the Rails and Railroad Voices. These two nonfiction works chronicle her twenty-year career as a railroad freight conductor for the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and AMTRAK railroads. In addition to her books, Niemann has published essays, reviews, interviews and anthologized stories. Niemann has a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley. She is an Assistant Professor of English and teaches creative nonfiction at Kennesaw State University. She is currently working on a travel book about Mexico. S Sonia Sanchez, poet and activist, is the author of the award-winning poetry collection Homegirls & Handgrenades. She has written a dozen books of poems and innumerable plays, and she has been awarded multiple honors for her poetry and social ~ activism. Sanchez earned a B.A. in political science from Hunter College and did postgraduate work at New York University. She helped develop black studies courses at what is now San Francisco State University, where she taught for one year. Sanchez was the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University, and she taught English there until her retirement in 1999. Sanchez has lectured at more than five hundred U.S. universities and colleges, and she has read her poetry in various countries around the world. She currently lives in Philadelphia. Robert DeMott, a late addition to the festival, will also be reading from his poetry and introducing Jim Harrison. An American Literature scholar who specializes in Steinbeck, DeMott has published numerous books and poems, including a collection of interviews entitled Conversations with Jim Harrison. He, has a Ph.D. from Kent State University and currently teaches literature at Ohio University. More information about the festival and the featured writers is available on the English Departments website at http:// www.wcu.edu/as/english/litfestival/index.html. Dali Lie 5. TOU Ay GING Go Od OW nc cadlae
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