Volume 22, Number 3, Fall 2005

From the Editors’ Desktops

This edition of the Inkshed newsletter features an article by Kathryn Alexander called “Liminal Identities and Institutional Positioning: On becoming a “Writing lady” in the Academy,” and two poems, “A Culture of Uncontrol” by Pauline Sameshima and “Ars Poetica” by Carl Leggo.

Alexander’s article is an important one, and especially so for Inkshed readers, because it reflects on her experience as a female professional writing instructor at a Canadian university. Writing programs and the people who work in them do not, by and large, enjoy the privileges of an established disciplinary identity and the concomitant ethos and authority that come with those privileges by default. This is particularly acute for recent PhDs and those who work in inter- or cross-disciplinary programs. The term “Writing lady” that Alexander came to be known as sets before us a problem that many have faced: how to establish and maintain a professional identity that is taken seriously in institutions of higher education. In her case, Alexander has identified a series of strategies to resist this gendered, derogatory label.

Reflecting on our own experiences of this sort can be productive for ourselves and others if we share strategies for self-definition within our institutional contexts. Creating and maintaining a web site or page where you identify your own credentials, experience, and research interests is one way to define who you are; publicizing that site on course syllabi and as a signature link at the bottom of your email messages is another way to direct people’s attention to this information. Displaying this site during presentations is another way to establish ethos during a speaking event (in front of a class you are visiting, or as a way of introducing yourself at a workshop). As director of the Writing Program at the University of Western Ontario, I face this challenge of establishing the credibility of the program as well as myself. As a program, we have purchased a sales meeting-type display unit, revised the program website, and produced a new brochure describing the program. What have you done, personally or on behalf of the program you teach in, to promote the status of the work you do? We would love to share your strategies and your thoughts about doing this or not engaging in credibility-building exercises in the next issue of the Newsletter.

Sameshina introduces her poem by noting that Isomainaquiijutiit, the Inuit word for culture, means “things to make us realize when chores have been completed” and calls for us to work towards wholeness or “living, learning, teaching, and researching in, through, and around all the boxes, dichotomies, and compartmentalizations” that define our lives. We thought that this made for a good reminder to us all, particularly at this busy time of the year, to step aside and take a moment to reflect. Perhaps this issue of the newsletter can perform the function of Isomainaquiijutiit and help you to realize that the chores of the fall term are behind you. And right after I finish marking those final exams, they will be behind me!

Carl Leggo’s poem Ars Poetica moves us from the sacred to the profane—you’ll have to read it yourself to see where he’s going with this, and it isn’t pretty!

Roger Graves Heather Graves

Liminal Identities