Wilde woman
aspiring Arthurianist

Would you like to vote in our Short Story Competition final?

http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=57150

You can get back the fluency. You were brought up with it, right? It would be a real shame not to have access to the Chinese epics in the original too, right? I'm watching the recent Chinese TV series 'Three Kingdoms' at the moment. Wow! So much strategy and diplomacy in it.
Sure, I'll let you know how my research is going. I'm doing writing on English language education in China currently. Actually, it looks like I'll be writing a bit on Wang Lee Hom's songs for my thesis. I'm sure you've heard his songs.He's also American Chinese.

Ha! That is so typical. When I was in graduate school, one of the most distinguished professors there -- she's written several successful books and complied a couple successful English comp anthologies -- said that her biggest fear was "being discovered that she was a fraud". Maybe an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy is necessary for success in graduate school?

I'm a lot less renowned. I teach in a rural community college. But I do have a blazer with leather patches on the elbows so I can look the part when I need to.

Thanks, Wilde Woman! Problem is, no one'll get it!

Wow, you are a real specialist! If I have any questions on these stories I know who here on litnet I can ask. I also love Old English, and did an honours paper on Old English many many years ago now, where we read half of Beowulf. I'd love to develop my understanding of Old English and relearn my Ancient Greek too (I've done quite a lot of that too), but my time is taken up by reading and writing for my thesis and in Chinese now. I'm doing my PhD thesis in the popularity of contemporary Chinese pop songs that include English lyrics.

I remember my professor at the time, who specialized on Arthurian literature, thought Nikolai Tolstoy's book was very good and that he was an excellent scholar, and that got me interested in reading it, but also because I was very interested in the Mabinogion and the Welsh tales at the time. I read Thomas Kinsella's translation of The Tain around the same period and was most impressed.

Oh, I see you are a fan of Arthurian literature too. Have you read Nikolai Tolstoy's 'The Coming of the King'? If not, I'd really recommend it, although sadly he didn't continue and write a sequel. I guess he will, but given the scholarship that must have been behind the first book, it's hard to tell when.

I greet you as a fellow lover of Oscar Wilde, having found your response on a thread somewhere. I absolutely adore 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' , but I love reading 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' and 'The Selfish Giant' aloud. Just thought I'd share. Goodbye for now.

All exams have long since gone, thank heaven! The MA is only the one year, and once my dissertation (only 12,000 words though) is submitted on Friday, then I'm done - I think I get about three weeks off before my three year Ph.D programme begins!

Corinne is genuinely awesome - she's head of the Medieval department here, and when Prof. Reagan retires she's going to become head of the whole English department. She is an absolutely formidable scholar - without a doubt one of the world's foremost experts on medieval romance. She is also an exceedingly nice person. You should enjoy that talk - it'll be well worth listening to!

Hello yourself!

Things are a bit hectic at my end - my dissertation is due in seven days, but it's looking fine - there shouldn't be any problems with that. In terms of classes, maybe it's different where you are, but a Ph.D isn't supposed to take any. That said, I'm thinking of unofficially taking Latin, and possibly paleography and manuscript studies - I'll have more of a think when I've got this current weight off my shoulders! Your classes sound good though - perhaps I'll try and find something like that as well. My tutor has also been muttering something about getting me actually teaching next year as well, so time may be a bit of a factor!

Hope the reading goes well! I'm having a few days holiday after submission before I get back in the mood!