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(02/24/22 11:00am)
If you aren’t yet acquainted with Little Man (@littlemanoncampus) then you’re missing out. Perhaps he could be considered part of the incoming class of Febs, but it is certain that he has taken the campus by storm (or should we say squall). During this past weekend’s Winter Carnival, our smallest ceramic student took over Middlebury’s official Instagram account. Maybe you have no idea who or what Little Man is, or maybe you just want to learn more about him, but either way, read on for a personal interview with the figurine of the moment and a look behind the curtains at his creators.
(09/16/21 10:00am)
After the strange and difficult 2020-2021 school year, many students are desperate to return to semi-normalcy. While returning students have some idea of what to expect, incoming first years spent their summers in eager anticipation, hoping for the classic college experience they’ve heard about for years.
But not everyone grew up hearing stories of their family members’ glory days in college. For first-generation college students, it can be a lot harder to prepare for and adjust to college life, especially at a small, private institution like Middlebury College. First@Midd strives to change that.
Long-established programs, like MiddView, were ill-equipped to prepare first-generation students for college and do not address the additional difficulties that can come with starting college without having a mentor who has been through it before.
“The program has been growing exponentially since it started six years ago,” said Sophia Wittig ’24, a First@Midd peer leader. This year the program had a record number of participants. About 120 students took part this fall, double last year’s number. Two years ago, there were only about 40 students involved.
“I was glad to see such a large group, because it doesn't make the incoming students feel so alone when they see that there are so many people here with similar upbringings or struggles,” Wittig said.
The First@Midd leaders aim to make the transition to the college easier and more welcoming for their group members. They share knowledge about preparing for college life that other incoming students might not have thought twice about, like packing lists, dorm supply suggestions and how to navigate the college’s resources. The peer leaders also emphasize to new students that other first-generation students and the Anderson Freeman Center (AFC) staff are available as a source of support throughout their time at Middlebury.
“Arguably most importantly, we also address the social implications of being first-gen here. I know in my personal experience I struggled with the adjustment of just hearing about all the trips and extra curriculars most of my classmates could and still participate in,” Wittig said. “I had to work and still do have multiple work studies, but First@Midd helped me realize that I wasn't alone in those struggles, and that I am more prepared for life after Midd.”
Wittig expressed how valuable AFC Director Derisa Collymore and Assistant Director Janae Due are to the program and its successes. “They were huge advocates for obtaining the budgeting … and recognition the program deserves and are still pushing hard to make Midd more inclusive and accessible,” said Wittig.
First@Midd has existed on grant-type funding versus yearly operating budget for the center. In the future, as the Director, I hope to discuss how that funding can be changed so it is naturally allocated in the center’s funding to make sure that First@Midd continues over the years,” said Collymore.
“It can feel like the administration here often dismisses us, but those two made it clear from day one that they are here for every single one of us and willing to help us,” Wittig said. “They are also two of the very few to say out loud that we belong here and we deserve to be here just as much as everyone else, and I think if more of the people in charge of making decisions on campus believed that, or even just said it and meant it, first-gens wouldn't feel so afraid and alone here.”
Although the program is relatively new, there are already certain activities that have become traditional to First@Midd. “Warm fuzzies” is one of the traditions that have developed. The goal is to make each other feel warm and fuzzy inside by having students write notes of appreciation to fellow group members and others of their choice.
First@Midd seeks to foster a sense of belonging for first-generation students..
“It truly does act as a support system full of amazing people and tries to fill the gaps in access and aid from the college itself,” Wittig said.
(05/20/21 3:05pm)
Amidst the buzzing energy of Nocturne, a calm, warm glow emanated from the Gifford Hall Gamphitheatre. Vibrant verses of poetry captivated nearby ears and drew a sizable crowd to first ever recitation from the newly formed Peach Pit Writing Collective.
Yardena Carmi ’23 and Emma Auer ’23 created Peach Pit this winter. Their interest in poetry grew during a creative writing course they both took during their first year at Middlebury, and from there, they began to explore writing together outside of a classroom environment.
“It was a pretty organic process,” Auer said about the club’s foundingbirth. “I personally really like to write from prompts, and I hadn’t found a club on campus that [did] that.”
What began as just a few friends meeting to write poetry once a week in Crossroads Cafe became an official club with an email list of 30 members that drew a sizable crowd at their Nocturne reading.
“It is so crazy to see something that started as an idea take hold and create a physical product and event that strangers came to,” Carmi said, referring to the club’s first zine and to the performance at Nocturne.
Originally known as the Peach Gem Collective, the club underwent a name change during its approval process.
“Peach Pit sounded a bit tougher,” Yardena said. “Something I always think about, especially with creative work, is whether I’m being taken seriously … and I think of the pit at the center of a peach as something you have to deal with, something you have to be aware of and take seriously.”
“The other idea is that writing is about getting to the center,” Auer added. Reaching the “pit” of a writing project takes practice, and Peach Pit’s meetings provide space for it. The Peach Pit workshop sessions loosely follow the “Liz Lerman Method,” or the critical response process, which is designed to center the author in discussions about their work.
The first few weeks of meetings focused on writing, particularly using time prompts, that included an opportunity to share. In subsequent meetings, writers could submit their work beforehand and have it workshopped by other members during the meeting.
Peach Pit’s penultimate meeting was a zine assembly where members collaged, drew, painted and contributed in other artistic ways to its pages. The zine, made of simple printer paper stapled together, was then scanned into dozens of print copies that were distributed at the Nocturne reading.
Seven poets were featured in Peach Pit’s first zine, and nine recited their work during the club’s gathering during Nocturne at the Gifford Hall Gamphitheatre. The club requested that people bring their own lamps to plug in on stage, and the result was a beautiful coalescence of warm lighting that brought the Gamphitheatre steps to life, and, in conjunction with vibrant poetic verses, attracted non-members like moths to a flame.
Peach Pit’s goals for next year include releasing a bi-monthly publication, bringing in speakers and hosting a weekend retreat at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English. They are excited to keep building the space they have created.
“It feels like our baby,” Carmi said. “I hope it sticks around. It would be so cool to create a lasting creative space on campus.”
Peach Pit Writing Collective is a supportive space where creativity is celebrated and encouraged. The collective can be found on Instagram @peachpitmiddlebury.
(04/15/21 10:00am)
Author Emma Cline graduated from Middlebury in 2010 and received her MFA from Columbia University in 2013. Three years later, Penguin Random House published her first book, “The Girls,” with a striking $2 million advance in a three-book deal. The book follows teenage Evie in 1960s California, as she gets sucked into a cult based loosely on the Manson Family.
Cline was only 25 when “The Girls” was published, and she has already written two more books since. Her third and newest, “Daddy,” is a collection of short stories that explore relationships with fathers and older men (hence the book’s title, which cannot be read without a little discomfort), power-dynamics and the blurred lines of what it means to be a victim or a predator.
Cline has an ability to slip into distinct voices for a short time and without much warning. Many of her stories center on intimate third-person perspectives of middle-aged or older men, often fathers, who have made mistakes in their lives. Cline does not give many details about the characters’ pasts, instead dropping us into the middle of their current lives and guiding us through how they think.
In “What Can You Do with a General,” Cline hints that John, the story’s lead role, may have been an abusive father: his daughter flinches in the car as he reaches across her to the glove box, his wife locks him out of the house and he recalls a memory of him throwing food at his daughter when she wouldn’t eat. Now older and more tired, John mopes about, his anger “neutered.” In a post-#MeToo world, it might seem counterproductive to spend so much time with the minds of “neutered” men — so why does Cline do it?
Cline offers the reader intimate access to her characters’ minds without the subjectivity of a first-person narration, but any pity her stories’ subjects feel for themselves is not Cline’s attempt at demanding sympathy for them. Her portrayals do not defend these men or their actions, but they do not necessarily condemn nor “cancel” them either. Cline writes with a tone that echoes the haziness and granularity of these men’s lives as they unenthusiastically go through the motions post-“neutering.” She makes the characters seem hollow and distant from their own lives, and as I read, Cline left me feeling hollow too, often without sympathy.
In the few stories centered around women, Cline dips again into the topic of sex, making evident the effects of misogyny and the sexualization of women from a young age. “Marion,” a version of which Cline first wrote at Columbia, won The Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize in 2013. While it fits well into “Daddy’s” theme, this story stands out as the only first-person narrative. The protagonist periodically stays at her friend Marion’s house where Marion’s father, Bobby, kisses both girls on the mouth at night and often walks around the house naked.
Cline establishes the uncomfortable and inappropriate family dynamic at Marion's house with nonjudgmental descriptions that make the reader wonder if these things even feel wrong to the narrator. She shows how Marion, barely a teenager, is already conditioned to aspire to be desirable to men.
“This one’s real skinny, but her tits are big. Like me. Men love that,” Marion says. The girls even take nude photos, trying to imitate women from Playboy magazines. Cline doesn’t stop with the obvious indications of the girls’ warped perspectives on love and sex. She is able to insert sexual innuendos into any situation, highlighting for the reader the uncomfortable sexualization of the young girls.
When reading, I often wondered how men who relate to any of her characters would perceive her depictions of their thoughts and perspectives of the world. It is certainly interesting to look into the minds of those we do not quite understand or like, and in this case I do not think Cline gives these men power or sympathy. In some ways, Cline takes power away from them by embodying them and controlling their portrayals herself. “Daddy” is definitely worth the read if you are interested in the complexities and power-dynamics of human relationships, and Cline’s writing style is uniquely descriptive and haunting.
These stories do not leave the reader feeling good inside, and they pose questions that Cline is not intent on answering for us. Go in with a critical mind, and do not rush through it. Let each story marinate as a stand-alone piece, but allow themes and connections between them bubble up along the way.
(03/11/21 10:57am)
After a year of the pandemic, many are still searching for new avenues of entertainment and ways to pass the time. Film and Media Culture professors Jason Mittell, Chris Keathley and Nikolina Dobreva have found some, and they’ve compiled a list of their favorite books, shows and movies to help you along in your search, too.
Comfort consumption and favorite rewatches
Mittell has enjoyed revisiting “Lost” — one of his favorite television series — with his teenage son who is watching it for the first time. “Lost” tells the story of the survivors of a plane crash as they navigate life on a mysterious island. Mittell said that rewatching favorite shows has become a “widespread pandemic pastime.”
Keathley recommends the movie “Local Hero,” which his family watches once a year. The premise is simple: a Houston oil executive is sent to a small town in Scotland where his company hopes to build an oil refinery. Over time, he becomes unexpectedly attached to the town and its people. Keathley described the movie as “warm and quirky.”
Dobreva has been rewatching “Star Trek” and says that “Voyager” is her favorite series despite its so-so first season. She noted that it included an arc about an unfolding pandemic, which seemed particularly pertinent at the moment. Dobreva also recommends the Korean movie “A Taxi Driver,” which focuses on a taxi driver who accidentally becomes involved in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. “‘A Taxi Driver’ is essential viewing, especially at a time when resisting dictatorships is everyone’s duty,” Debrova said.
Out-of-this-world journeys
For viewers seeking a cosmic experience, Dobreva suggests the original “Legend of the Galactic Heroes,” which she calls a “very complex political ‘space opera.’” She also recommends the sci-fi book “A Memory Called Empire” by Arkady Martine. “[‘A Memory Called Empire’] weaves together political intrigue, poetry and architecture within a really exciting plot, too,” Dobreva said.
Keathley suggests “Bacurau,” a genre-mixing thriller that depicts a Brazilian town in the near future that experiences a series of unexplainable events after the death of its matriarch. It is a whirlwind of a film that will assuredly horrify viewers in its violence and delight them in its landscape cinematography and moments of humor.
While it’s not set in another world per se, Mittell recommends Spike Lee’s “American Utopia” which displays David Byrne and a group of musicians performing songs from his acclaimed Broadway musical of the same name. “This concert film... is the perfect ‘next best thing,’ capturing Byrne's dynamic performance from his Broadway show, combining playful dance, creative design, vibrant camerawork and of course amazing music,” Mittell said. He also highly recommends “The Broken Earth” series by N.K. Jemisin. “Nothing I’ve read since matches its power and innovative storytelling.”
Middlebury Media
These professors also highly recommended works created by their colleagues at Middlebury, which they deemed more than worthy of quarantine consumption.
Keathley recommends Jay Parini’s book “Borges and Me,” which chronicles Parini’s personal experiences with writer Jorge Luis Borges poignantly and comically.
He also suggests a recently published book written by Middlebury resident Alexander Wolff called “Endpapers.” The work explores the lives of Wolff’s German-Jewish father and grandfather and their experiences during and after WWII.
Dobreva recommends her colleague Natasha Ngaiza’s short film “A Mother.” “[The film is] a wonderfully succinct but very emotional treatment of really complex issues (gender, race, abortion),” Dobreva said.
New series and new seasons
Mittell suggests “Mrs. America,” a historical drama miniseries that tells the story of the 1970s fight for the Equal Rights Amendment and centers around inspirational women such as Gloria Steinem, Phyllis Schlafley and Shirley Chisholm. “It manages to be both a riveting account of important history and an engaging and compelling drama — entertaining and educational,” said Mittell.
Dobreva recommends a few series that have new seasons: “Shameless,” for example, she believes is worth binge-watching from the start. “That’s a show that’s really been able to keep up with social and political developments in the real world,” said Dobreva.
She also recommends the television show “Pose” which she claims gets better with each episode. Created by Ryan Murphy, “Pose” chronicles the African American and Latinx LGBTQ+ drag ball scene culture that takes place in the 1980s in New York City and is one of Dobreva’s favorite series of the decade.
Correction: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly presented the plot of “Local Hero” and the genre of “Bacurau," as described by professor Chris Keathley. Those sections have since been updated to accurately reflect his remarks.
(02/04/21 11:00am)
When I was initially let into the Zoom for “Writing the Body,” music started blasting and I rushed to find what I had accidentally started playing on my computer, quickly realizing it was my instructor's shared sound.
As squares of faces popped into the class, I scanned the screen for instruction. Before any introductions, Karima Borni, a scholar in residence in dance at Middlebury, backed away from her screen and told us to do the same. “Just let the music move you!”
“Writing the Body” is not a traditional class — in all the best ways. Borni intends for this dance class to “bridge body and voice through the mediums of dance, meditation and poetry” and to “facilitate the discovery of authentic artistic expression,” as indicated in her syllabus.
One of the most influential and beneficial parts of the course is the work done outside of class. We begin each day with a morning routine which includes the morning pages exercise, a movement practice (yoga) and a contemplative practice (sitting meditation). The “morning pages,” taken from Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way,” are three handwritten pages in our stream of consciousness, judgement-free and unedited.
The intention is that forcing ourselves to sit down and just write — even if you are just listing complaints or to-do list items — will start to uncover the artist within you, unleashing creativity in other aspects of your life. It is difficult (and not just because of how much my hand hurts from physically writing instead of typing), but this practice can be beneficial for anyone.
Once a week, we implement one of Cameron’s other suggestions: the artist date, a two-hour block of time each week to devote to our inner artist. It is up to us to determine what will inspire our curiosity, with the hope that we will venture outside of our comfort zones. I ended up taking my inner artist on an icy cold walk, breathing in fresh air, while I listened to an audiobook. Then I came home, made myself some chamomile tea, and read a book of Jericho Brown’s poetry.
Our in-class work is equally influential, challenging and inspiring. Our first dance party was just the beginning of our movement on screen together. Borni emphasizes the importance of moving away from our screens, allowing us to connect more freely and completely to our own bodies. Knowing we are all dancing in our own worlds alleviates any tension and awkwardness, and there is still a feeling of connection between us all as we move to the same music.
On the first day of class, Borni mentioned that she felt she was going out on a bit of a limb teaching this class, and I am so glad she was willing to take that chance. There is nothing more useful and beneficial than learning about yourself and spending time with the creative parts of you that often get left behind in a world that emphasizes productivity and the analytical mind.
Writing every day, making time to spend with and inspire myself and connecting with my body through movement have always been desires of mine, but they always felt like unattainable goals. This course handed them to me on a silver platter and turned them from goals into processes, and from unattainable to excitingly possible. “Writing the Body” is more than just a class, it is an experience, and I hope to see more classes like it emerge at Middlebury.