Publisher contacts

This summer I've averaged  1.5 telephone calls per week from self-publishing houses wanting to know what I'm working on, what's my estimated date of completion, and if I haven't selected a publisher would I entertain the idea of letting them publish and circulate my next novel. This doesn't include the volume of e-mail adverts. (Many, many more, every day.)

Does this experience resonate with you? How do you decide which house you'll use? Our readers would enjoy hearing from you in "Comments."

The Duck

   The Duck

Like a shoe in the socks drawer,

Or a tuxedo on a wild boar,

A duck scrunched on our front porch,

As apt as a Christmas tiki torch.  

The duck wasn't expected

And seemed disconnected.

It's not difficult to divine

His surprise was more than mine.

Louise Erdrich on writing and language

Two Languages in Mind, but Just One in the Heart

By LOUISE ERDRICH, author of National Book Award for The Round House.

or years now I have been in love with a language other than the English in which I write, and it is a rough affair. Every day I try to learn a little more Ojibwe. I have taken to carrying verb conjugation charts in my purse, along with the tiny notebook I've always kept for jotting down book ideas, overheard conversations, language detritus, phrases that pop into my head. Now that little notebook includes an increasing volume of Ojibwe words. My English is jealous, my Ojibwe elusive. Like a besieged unfaithful lover, I'm trying to appease them both.

Go to http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/052200erdrich-writing.html for the remainder of the article.

Next of Kin

      Next of Kin

You're asked to name your next of kin

Should an accident call and find you in;

For assurance, for insurance, or even worse:

Who's going to pay for the funereal hearse,

The plot, the burial crew, and the obit?

Your mother, father or brother could be it.

Or, your next of kin could be.

Maybe a cousin who's free

At the time. A nephew, niece or sister,

An uncle or an aunt, or any Mister

With the same last name as yours.

It could be one of your mentors

Who helped you become you;

You know, your own personal guru.

Next of kin isn't only determined

By blood  but also by love well-fashioned.

A blast from the past

From the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune

Ex-Looper Leaguer’s story a page turner

By BILL CLARK

Friday, October 15, 2010

Late in the spring of 1958, Ol’ Clark was the Columbia distribution manager for The Kansas City Star. His office was across Seventh Street east of Hickman High School, and it was there Larry Andrews, a Hickman senior, came with the lament his team had been denied entry in the Looper League, Columbia’s unique organization of “good ol’ boys” and pitches that had to go at least 10 feet over the hitter’s head.

The team needed sponsorship. So it became The Kansas City Star team and proceeded to have a perfect season — it didn’t win a single game!

Fast-forward 52½ years.

An e-mail to the Tribune found its way to me in September. It was from Lincoln, Neb., and closed with: “I’d appreciate a plug from Ol’ Clark. I think he’ll remember me.” It was signed by Larry Andrews.

How could I forget him after our perfect record?

Larry, who graduated from HHS in 1958 and from the University of Missouri with a doctorate in English in 1969, spent 40 years as a professor and administrator at the University of Nebraska, teaching English, retiring in 2008.

Since then, he’s become a busy novelist and has published his first novel, “Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love.”

I must admit I haven’t read the book, but I’m convinced it will be a good read — all about a young boy growing up in the fictional town of Columbus. Here’s why:

Larry has published four university-level textbooks, including one translated into Korean. He has been a consultant to Imo State University in Nigeria and a visiting professor at the University of London.

But, more important, Larry is a success story with a rough beginning. The older of two sons of Senator and Betty Andrews, he celebrated his 70th birthday on 10/10/10. When he was 5, he became the first child in Boone County to contract polio. He was left with an arm without muscles — there, but of little use.

Larry adjusted and hardly missed a beat. He helped in his family’s furniture business, attended Ridgeway School for six years and, as a seventh-grader at Jefferson Junior High School, began a three-year run as a Tribune paperboy. Later, he would drive the truck delivering bundles of Tribunes to the carriers. He even worked part time on the sports desk.

At Hickman, he spent two years as the football team manager, sharing duties with Larry Campbell and Ed Stevens, picking up after George Hulett, Paley Mills, Tom Stewart, Ron Cox, et al.

After Hickman and his perfect season sharing the Looper League losses with the likes of Bob Pugh, Arlen Creason, Dick Winner and Doug Fowler, Larry moved on to MU, graduated with a degree in English in 1962, taught school for three years in Iowa high schools, then returned to complete his master’s and doctorate under the guidance of A. Sterl Artley in 1969.

A day after he received his Ph.D., he was on the job in Lincoln.

Larry played tennis for more than 20 years and finally gave up coed slow-pitch softball at age 50. He was an avid fisherman — a catch-and-release guy — until five years ago, when pneumonia plunged him into a two-week coma. He’s fine now, except for nagging post-polio syndrome, has finished a second novel — now en route to the printer — about the theft of intellectual property, and even has five chapters done on a third novel.

So how does a born MU Tiger handle the land of the “Big Red?”

“It is easy to become a fan of a team that wins national championships.”

But, Larry adds, “I have marvelous memories of growing up in Columbia, and when I return to Boone County, I feel like I’m one step closer to heaven.”

Don’t forget, the name of the book is “Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love.”

Who knows, you might find someone in the fictional town of Columbus who looks familiar.

Bill Clark’s columns appear Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 474-4510.

This article was published on page A2 of the Friday, October 15, 2010 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune.

Curriculum Vitae for Larry K. Andrews

CURRICULUM VITAE

Larry K. Andrews, Professor Emeritus
 University of Nebraska-Lincoln

6248 South 85th Court

Lincoln, NE 68526

402-488-5977 (H) o r  402-617-4317 (C)

laruandrews@yahoo.com

Educational Profile:

Ph.D. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1969

M.Ed. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1967

B.S.Ed. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1963

Professional Teaching & Administrative Experience:

·      Professor Emeritus (Ret.) February 19, 2008.

·      Interim Chair, Curriculum & Instruction, 2000 to 2002

·      Visiting Fellow, University of London Institute of Education, Spring 1990. Department of Linguistics and Department of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

·      Professor of English and Curriculum & Instruction, 1986 to 2008

·      Assistant Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Nebraska System, 1983 to 1986.

·      Assistant to the Chancellor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1980-83.

·      Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1977-82.

·      Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1976-1977.

·      Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1974-1976.

·      Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, 1969-1974.

·      English teacher, Iowa Public Schools, 1963-66.

 Professional Memberships:

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

International Reading Association (IRA)

Phi Delta Kappa

American Association of Higher Education

Major University Committees:

Humanities Research Facility Advisory Board

International Education Executive Board

Student Fees Allocation Board

Chautauqua Planning Committee

Curriculum Committees in both Departments of English and in Secondary Education

Teachers College In-Service Committee

UN-L Research Council

Admissions and Advising Committee

UN-L Teaching Council

Executive Secretary, UN-L Curriculum Committee

UN-L Reallocation Committee

Nebraska Task Force on Student Progress and editor of final report Committee on Committees

Affirmative Action Plan Committee and author of UN-L Plan approved by Board of Regents

Honorary Degrees Committee Chairman

Board of Regents Collective Bargaining Team with University of Nebraska-Omaha

Chapter of AAUP

Chairman, University-wide Task Force of Student Information Systems

Faculty Advisor, Student Foundation Board

ACI Doctoral Field Committee

Scholarship Committee, College of Education and Human Sciences

Honors and Awards:

Harvard Prize Fellowship Nominee

2 Outstanding Professor Awards from UNL Parents Association

Mortar Board Outstanding Professor

Gamma Phi Beta  Outstanding Professor

Gift Honoree, University of Nebraska Foundation

Who's Who

Publications:

Journal Articles and Books

"Making Metric Form Meaningful." English Journal, December, 1966.

Language for a Future. Adult reading series; co-author and co-editor. Columbia, MO. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1967.

Missouri Adult-Literacy Vocational Materials Development Project. Final Report. Contributing author. Columbia, MO. University of Missouri, 1967.

"Author Biography and Poetry Study." Research in the Teaching of English, Spring, 1970.

"Directed Reading Question and Cognitive Organizer: Comparative Effects on Reading Comprehension." Research in the Teaching of English, Spring, 1971.

"The Learning Community School" Preface to The Learning Community School Planning Papers. Dayton, OH. Charles F. Kettering Foundation, 1971.

"Alternatives for Improving Reading Comprehension." American Secondary, Education, December, 1971.

"Author Biography and Poetry Study II." Research in the Teaching of English, Fall, 1972.

"Reading Comprehension and Three Modes of Prereading Assistance." Journal of Reading Behavior, Fall, 1974.

"Responses to Literature: In Tennis the Serve is Crucial " English Journal, February, 1974. "Enlarging the Range of Responses to Literature." English Journal, February, 1977. "Accessibility of Faculty and the Off-Campus Student." The New Campus, Spring, 1977.

With Frederick W. Wendel, "Educators' Perceptions of Indicators of Professional Development." The New Campus, Spring, 1977.

With Thomas C. Henry, "The Nebraska Task Force on Student Progress," Catalyst, Spring, 1979.

"Mini-courses and knowing students," in Questions English Teachers Ask. Hayden Publishing Company, Chicago IL Baird Shuman, Ed. 1979.

"Responses to Literature," in Purpose in Literature, Scott, Foresman and Company, E.J. Farrell, et al., eds., 1979.

"Responses to Literature. Enlarging the Range," in Literature for Today's Young Adults, Scott, Foresman and Company, Stephen, Judy, ed., 1980.

"Educational Technology and the Law of the Hammer." Change Magazine, March, 1984. "Toddlers, Teen-Agers and Adults," Christian Ministry, November 1986.

"A Linguistic Megatrend," English Journal, March, 1987.

"Readers on Board: Environmental Reading, and Writing," English Journal, April, 1990.

"Putting More Talk in the Middle Level Language Arts," American Secondary Education, December, 1990.

"Exploring What If s: Transescene and Reading as Personal Explorations, TAMS Journal, Summer, 1990.

With Al Arth, "Be a Book for a Week," Dissemination Services, 1991, Vol. 12, No. 8.

With Al Arth, "A Reexamination of Middle Level Reading as a Method of Learning," New England League of Middle Schools Journal, 1991, Vol. 4, No. 2.

With Carolyn Wyatt, Joyce Johnson, and Melinda Holcombe, "Making Connections: An Inservice Model on the Reading Process for Home Economics Teachers," Journal of Vocational Home Economics Education, Spring, 1992.

With Carolyn Wyatt, Joyce Johnson, and Melinda Holcombe, "Effects of Reading Workshops on Home Economics Teachers Behaviors," Journal of Vocational Home Economics Education, Fall, 1992.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, New York, Longman Publishing Group, 1993.

"Enabling Student Growth Through Language Awareness," [Article requested by editor] The Composition Chronicle, 1994.

"Language Awareness: The Whole Elephant," English Journal, January, 1995.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, (Reprint of the 1st edition), Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1996.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 2n^d edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1998.

Linguistics forL2 Teachers, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2001.

Chapter, "When Some of Them Don't Speak English," in Dan Sheridan (Ed.), Teaching Secondary English: Reading and Applications, 2n^d edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2002. [Reprint from Language Exploration and Awareness, 2n^d edition.]

Chapter, "Language Exploration and Awareness: the Whole Elephant," in Julie Hagemann (Ed.), Teaching Grammar A Reader and Workbook, Allyn & Bacon, 2002. [Reprint from English Journal, January 1995.]

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 3rd edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2006.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 3rd edition, translated into Korean language, Pagijong Press, Seoul, South Korea. 2010.

Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love (Novel). AuthorHouse. Bloomington, IN May 2010

The China-Africa Parallax (Novel). AuthorHouse. Loominton, IN December 2010