“There is a reason why
all things are as they are.”
~Bram Stoker, Dracula
While this is my third year participating in the Vampire’s Day Soiree
thrown by Holly at Holly’s Horrorland, this is the
Sixth Annual Vampire’s Day Soiree. In lieu of Valentine’s Day, bloggers focus on
all things Vampires! I always seem to focus on my love for vampires.
This week students in my Introduction to Literature course and I are wrapping up our reading
and discussions of Dracula. I delight in that I am able to both read and
share this book with students annually. I also amuse myself by dressing the part.
Rather it is a small brooch ensemble, a cluster of necklaces, a dress, or a
full outfit, I always try to channel the day’s teaching into my attire.
Recently, when my fella and I were out for a dinner
date, we strolled into the local Barnes & Noble and noticed that some
employee had a great time setting up their displays (pictured above).
This seems like the
perfect display for the Vampire’s Day Soiree. This is how Dracula resides in my head but my actual Norton Critical
Edition has seen a great deal of love. Along with
annotations (and it seems like I’m always finding more to comment on), there
are wine stains, wax droplets, and tape (because it’s falling apart and I
refuse to admit that I need a new copy). It’s a great visual aid when I tell my
students to be active readers, not passive, delicate readers. We’re English
Majors! We’re supposed to get into texts and grapple with words and phrasing.
Although teaching Dracula this semester is coming to an end, I already am starting to
think about the summer. I know that a hot, Virginia summer does not make most
folks consider vampires; however, this summer I’m teaching my course, Vampires in Literature, Film, and Pop
Culture; and, I will be taking a little trip down to Texas for the World
Dracula Day Symposium 2017 at North Central
Texas College, a two-day event to celebrate the 120th
Anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker's brilliant text. Along with an evening
keynote address by Dacre
Stoker, great-grand-nephew of Bram Stoker, to kick off the event, the speakers
will include John
Edgar Browning, Gordon
Melton, Nancy
Rosenberg England, Elizabeth
Richmond-Garza, Thomas Garza,
and Dax Stokes along with local
vampire-fiction authors.
I’m thinking about the trip a lot this week since
the airline changed the flight schedule and I had to cancel the entire
purchase. After they refund me, I will start again in hopes that scheduling
this trip doesn’t suck the life out of me ;D (I so amuse myself)
Happy Vampire’s
Day!
OH SHARON!!! SQUEE!!! I have no words ... I adore the fact that you "eat" your books, too. Annotations, flags, stains, underlines, etc. I KNEW IT! We are two peas in a pod -- I do the exact same thing to my books. I eat them. Rip them apart. Digest everything. sigh ... that's a beautiful sight right there. Oh, and you're adorable, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it's totally cool of you to teach literature and in particular, discussing Dracula. And a talk by Bram Stoker's great, grand nephew? All I can say is, well done!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to be able to attend these conferences! I also think it is so cool that your class covers Dracula. How I wish I could be one of your students!
ReplyDeleteLoving the idea you dress to suit the text you are teaching. The World Dracula Day Symposium sound wonderful, I hope you get your trip sorted and have a brilliant time, please write and tell us about it on your blog. Your own book looks so well loved with all the additions you have made.
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy Vamp Day.
Oh those leggings are to die for mwahahahaha....and my roses seriously need a few gravestones to set them off properly :D XXX
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. The Symposium is in my neck of the woods. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the belt and the way you approach the study of vampire literature. And most of all, I love the sight of a book that has loved so much that it has developed its own personality. Love, love that.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get the chance to re-plan your trip and that the new arrangements are even more favorable than the last.
Oh, my! I wish I'd had teachers like you! I love your vamp-y accessories, and the Dracula symposium just sounds to die for! (I so amuse myself too! ;D )
ReplyDeleteYou are totally right, books should be handled with that much intensity and love as you have your Norton Critical Edition! :D I would love to attend one of your literature courses, they sound like so much fun. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was a World Dracula Day or con to go with it. That sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYou have fangtastic fashion sense my fellow Virginian vampire lover! I'd love to attend one of your courses! Thanks for attending the Soiree again!
ReplyDelete