Frame of Reference
Jane Goldstein
A good conference can be very tiring yet energizing. There have been many wonderful opportunities this spring and summer and I have felt invigorated by the new ideas and people The Looking Glass staff has been able to contact on the journal's behalf at these events. As I reviewed my notes I was overwhelmed at the new features, editors and columns that had been offered to us. We have a rich supply of articles for the issues ahead.
The conference I attended was filled with conversations of cutbacks to academic institutions and libraries. In a world where young athletes can make millions with a ball, it is lamentable that often the same resources are not offered to literature and the arts. The Looking Glass is a totally volunteer operation. The energy and passion of the people who care about literature and have offered us their services are the same people that will continue the fight for libraries and academics. Fighters tend to speak their minds, and some of the articles in this issue are quite vocal in content. We welcome your response via our website.
Middle Tennessee State University sponsors the Biennial Conference on Modern Critical Approaches to Children's Literature and I personally love the pace of presentations and discussions. Lissa Paul's paper at that conference, simply titled "Knives", was one of those papers which provoked conversation in the hotel halls and over dinner. The Looking Glass is pleased to open with her talk in this issue. It appears in "Illuminating Texts", a column set aside for writers to talk about their work. The prominent children's poet, Sue Alderson, gave a talk about her life and her work before students at the University of British Columbia. We are honored to present it as the second part of that opening column.
"Alice's Academy" features Dr. Karen Sands O'Conner discussing the literature of Post-World War Two and the concept of "home". Judith Saltman, column editor of "Picture Window," presents the paper of former student, Joanne Canow. Canow interprets surrealism and dreams in the art of Chris Van Allsburg.
Maria Morrison assumes the responsibility of column editor for "Jabberwocky" with this issue. The focus of this column is on literature in translation, and Morrison writes on the Helme Heine fairy tale about the most wonderful egg in the world from a feminist point of view. Readers have much to look forward in coming issues. Some wonderful articles by a variety of scholars have already been submitted.
The more Evelyn Perry looks at the works of Robin McKinley, the more she finds to say in "Curiouser and Curiouser". Lacanian theory is applied to McKinley's folk retellings in this issue.
Guest educator Beth Roberts shares how she effectively uses the story of Pinocchio in culturally diverse classrooms of English as a Foreign Language. Her techniques appear in "My Own Invention".
"Mirrors and Windows" has two very contrasting reader responses to M.T. Anderson's book Feed . Editor Maggie Parish and a more youthful reader, Julia Michaels, debate the consumer culture presented by the story. You response is invited.
Ruth Allen updates the information on awards in Great Britain and "Caucus Race" corrects website information listed in the last issue.
The Looking Glass has a new informational announcement that can be sent out via email. It can be used in classrooms to encourage literature students to look at a journal. The announcement can be reproduced and transmitted electronically or printed for bulletin board use. Feel free to contact the editor on the website to receive the poster.
The last line of our new poster states that The Looking Glass is global and that we are growing. Through the hard work of many, it is proving to be true. I am thankful for your support.
"Editorial" © Jane Goldstein, 2003.
Volume 7, Issue 3 The Looking Glass, September, 2003
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"Frame of Reference"© Jane Goldstein.
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