William W. Morgan
Professor of English
Illinois State University 603 N. School St.
Normal, IL 61790-4240 Normal, IL 61761
(309) 438-3667 (309) 452-1204
Education:
A.B. English North Georgia College 1962
M.A. English University of Tennessee 1963
Ph.D. English University of Tennessee 1969
Employment History:
University of Tennessee Teaching Assistant 1963-5
U. S. Military Academy Instructor 1966-9
Illinois State University Assistant Professor 1969-73
Illinois State University Associate Professor 1973-80
Emory University Research Associate 1976-8
Illinois State University Professor 1980-
Areas of Specialization:
Victorian Literature--research and teaching area
Gender and Literature--secondary research and teaching area
Poetry as a genre--teaching area
Upper-level Courses Taught (selective listing):
Leavis' Great Tradition--graduate seminar
Studies in English Romanticism--graduate seminar
Studies in Literary Criticism--graduate seminar
Studies in Poetry--graduate seminar
Matthew Arnold, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy--graduate seminar
George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Doris Lessing, John Fowles--graduate seminar
The Cultural Ecology of Victorian Love Poetry--graduate seminar
Male and Female Victorian Poets on Love--graduate seminar
Studies in Poetic Forms and Conventions--graduate seminar
Victorian Poetry and the Idea of Language--graduate seminar
Thomas Hardy’s Fiction and the Culture of the Novel in Victorian England-- graduate seminar
Nineteenth Century English Novel
History of Literary Criticism
Major and Minor Status among English Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century
Poetry and the Reading/Writing Subject
The Novel in English
Poetry as a Genre
The Victorian Period
Poetry and Fiction of Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy's England--a summer program abroad
Senior Seminar for English Majors
Major Committee Responsibilities:
Department Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee
Department Graduate Committee
Department Executive Council
Department Curriculum Committee, Chair
Department Chairperson Search/Selection Committee
Department Task Force on Value-added Assessment, Chair
Department Speakers Committee, co-Chair
Department of Foreign Languages Review Committee
College Curriculum Committee
College Research Grants Panel
University Women's Studies Advisory Committee
University Graduate Curriculum Committee, Chair
University Graduate Council
Publications (See also ‘Editorial Service’ below):
"The Critical Tradition and the Personal Voice," (Review) English Literature in Transition, 13:3 (1970), 250-3.
"Verse and Prose in Much Ado About Nothing," English, 20 (Autumn, 1971), 89-92.
"'Panthera' and the Criticism of Hardy's Poetry," The Thomas Hardy Year-Book, No. 3 (1972-3), 44-51.
"Syntax in Hardy's 'Neutral Tones,' lines 7 and 8," Victorian Poetry, 11:2 (Summer, 1973), 167-8.
Thomas Hardy: An Annotated Bibliography of Writings About Him, ed. H. E. Gerber and W. Eugene Davis. Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1973. (Contributor)
"Form, Tradition, and Consolation in Hardy's 'Poems of 1912-13'," PMLA, 89 (May, 1974), 496-505.
"Poetic Craft and Poetic Art," (Review) English Literature in Transition, 18:4 (1975), 254- 57.
"The Partial Vision: Hardy's Idea of Dramatic Poetry," Tennessee Studies in Literature, 20 (1975), 100-08. [Reprinted in Thomas Hardy: The Poems, ed. James Gibson and Trevor Johnson. London: Macmillan, 1979, 244-52.]
"Feminism and Literary Study: A Reply to Annette Kolodny," Critical Inquiry, 2:4 (Summer, 1976), 807-16.
"Images of Men and Maleness: A Thematic Approach to Teaching Women Writers," College English, 40:8 (April, 1979), 899-905.
"Hardy and the Boer War: The Public Poet in Spite of Himself," Victorian Poetry, 17: 1&2 (Spring-Summer, 1979), 66-83. (with Kathryn R. King)
Thomas Hardy: An Annotated Bibliography of Writings About Him, II, ed. H. E. Gerber and W. Eugene Davis. Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1983. (Associate Contributor).
"Verses Fitted for a Monument: Hardy's Contribution to the Dudley War Memorial," The Thomas Hardy Journal, I:1 (January, 1985), 25-32.
"Thomas Hardy's Apprenticeship to the Craft of English Verse," Victorians Institute Journal, 13 (1985), 1-10.
"The Novel as Risk and Compromise, Poetry as Safe Haven: Hardy and the Victorian Reading Public, 1863-1901," Victorian Newsletter, 69 (January, 1986), 1-4.
"Recoil or Convergence: What Happens When a Woman and a Man Read a Text Together?" in Linda Brodkey, Academic Writing as Social Practice, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987, pp. 152-62. (with Mary E. Papke)
"[Post-feminist Essay]," in Linda Brodkey, Academic Writing as Social Practice, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987, pp. 176-82.
"Hardy and the Psychology of Literary History," (Review) The Thomas Hardy Journal, V:3 (October, 1989), 89-91.
"Learning to Read in the British Library," (Poem) The Thomas Hardy Journal, VI:1 (February, 1990), 29.
"Gender and Silence in Thomas Hardy's Texts," Gender, Voice and Image in Victorian Literature and Art, ed. Antony H. Harrison and Beverly Taylor. Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1992, pp. 161-84.
"Bodies: The Spirit Within," (Poem) Poems that Thump in the Dark Magazine, I (January 1993), 26.
"Mr. Thomas Hardy Composing a Lyric," Journal of English and Germanic Philology (July, 1993), 342-58.
"As Eyesight in Darkness," (Poem) Pikestaff Forum, 11 (Fall, 1993), 35.
"Reckoning: Autumn Afternoon," (Poem) Anathema Review, 2 (December, 1993), 38.
"To Read Instead the Shadows," (Poem) Dusting Off Dreams, III (Harlingen, TX: Quill Books, 1994), p. 156.
"Simon Gatrell's Thomas Hardy and the Proper Study of Mankind," (Review) Studies in the Novel, 27:1 (Spring 1995), 93-6.
"Carnal Knowledge," (Poem) The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, V:3 (February 1995): 3.
"Musical Families" and "Sextalks" (Poems), forthcoming in Full Circle
"Sounding the Habit of Irony," (Poem) forthcoming in Poetry Motel
"Pamela Dalziel and Michael Millgate, eds., Thomas Hardy’s ‘Studies, Specimens &c’ Notebook," (Review) Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 94:4 (October 1995): 581-3.
"Lesson in Spatial Relations," (Poem) El Locofoco, I (January 1996): 43.
"Summer: Two Postcards Home," (Poem) The Thomas Hardy Journal, XIII (May 1997): 34- 5.
"Ice Storm," (Poem) forthcoming in CQ [California Quarterly)
Presentations at Professional Meetings
"The Male Artist and His Female Creations," Pioneers For Century III, Cincinnati, April, 1976.
"Thomas Hardy the Poet: The Issues of Development, Literary Influences, and Literary Period," MLA Convention [Special Session], San Francisco, December, 1980. (Organizer / moderator, with Norman R. Arkans)
"Recoil or Convergence: What Happens When a Woman and a Man Read a Text Together?" Feminist Studies in Literature Symposium, Minneapolis, October, 1981. (with Mary E. Papke)
"'An English Poet Who Also Wrote Some Novels': Thomas Hardy's Apprenticeship to the Craft of English Verse," The Victorians Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia, October 9, 1982.
"The Novel as Risk and Compromise, Poetry as Safe Haven: Hardy and the Victorian Reading Public, 1863-1901," MLA Convention [Victorian Section], Chicago, December 1985.
"The Stability of Structure/The Mobility of Texture: Revisions in Hardy's Poetic Texts," MLA Convention [Special Session], Chicago, December, 1985.
"Victorian Women and Children as Travelers," Midwest Victorian Studies Association Meeting, Cincinnati, April, 1986. (Moderator)
"Keynote Session II [Jacqueline Rose and Jane Gallop]," Conference on Feminism and Psychoanalysis, Normal, IL, May, 1986. (Moderator)
"The Senior Seminar as Device for Assessment," The Senior Year Experience, Atlanta, Georgia, March 5, 1990.
"Jude, ‘Wessex Heights,’ and Hardy’s Deliberations About Genre in the 1890’s," Conference on The Centenary of Jude the Obscure. Athens, GA: May 1-3, 1995.
"Galileo, Jude, and Hardy’s Return to Verse," Midwest Modern Language Association. St. Louis, MO: November 1-4, 1995.
"The Subject of Thomas Hardy’s Public Poetry," Conference on Poetry and History. Stirling, Scotland: 26 June, 1996.
"Members’ Choice: A Hardy Poetry Reading and Serendipity Seminar," Twelfth International Thomas Hardy Society Conference, Dorchester, Dorset: 30 July, 1996.
Poetry Reading, Conference on Poetry and History. Stirling, Scotland: 26 June, 1996.
Poetry Reading, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA, November 4, 1996.
Invited Lectures
"Mr. Thomas Hardy Composing a Lyric," Emory University Lecture Series, Atlanta, January, 1977.
"Hardy the Poet and His Public," Thomas Hardy Society Summer School, Weymouth, Dorset, England, August, 1978.
"Mr. Thomas Hardy Composing a Lyric," American Hardy Society Symposium, New York University, March, 1979.
"Mr. Thomas Hardy Composing a Lyric," Thomas Hardy Society Summer School, Weymouth, Dorset, England, August, 1982.
"The Sexual Politics of Jude the Obscure," American Students Program, University College, Oxford, England, August, 1982.
"Hardy's Concept of Audience for His Verse," Thomas Hardy Society Summer School, Weymouth, Dorset, England, August, 1984.
"The Risks of Author-ity: Thomas Hardy and the English Reading Public, 1863-1901," Guest Lecturer Series, Universität Gesamthochschule Paderborn (West Germany), June 18, 1986.
"Invitation to the Dance: Music Joyous and Sinister in Hardy's World," Thomas Hardy Society Conference, Dorchester, Dorset, July 29, 1986.
"Men in/and Feminism: Which Men? Which Feminism?," The Program in Women's Studies in the Humanities, University of IL, Urbana, November 3, 1989.
"Hardy's Return to Verse: 1880-1905," Thomas Hardy Society Sesquicentennial Festival and Conference, Dorchester, Dorset, July 28, 1990.
"Of Fiddles, Manuscripts, and Silences: Watching Thomas Hardy at Work," Arts and Sciences Lecture Series, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, March 29, 1995.
"Male and Female Created He Them: Love and Gender in Thomas Hardy’s Poetry," Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA, November 5, 1996.
Work in Progress
Hardy the Poet in Particular--book-length study, 90% complete
The Cultural Ecology of Victorian Love Poetry--book-length study, partially researched
The First and Last Victorians--long-term research on the generation of English writers and intellectuals born between 1832 and 1852
"Thomas Hardy as Magazine and Newspaper Poet"
"Tragic Sympathy in Tess of the d'Urbervilles"
Trackings: The Body's Memory, the Heart's Fiction--a chapbook of poems, to be published in February 1998 by Dead Metaphor Press. .
Sky with Six Geese--a chapbook of nature poems, in progress.
Grants and Awards
Illinois State University Faculty Research Grant, Summer 1983: The Poetic Voices of Thomas Hardy
Illinois State University Faculty Research Grant, Summer 1987: The Cultural Ecology of Victorian Love Poetry
Illinois State University Teaching Improvement Program Grant, Summer 1993, Assessment and Instruction in a Capstone Seminar (with Victoria F. Harris)
The Sow’s Ear Poetry Prize (Abingdon, Virginia) for 1994 (Competition judged by Josephine Jacobsen)
Arts and Sciences Lecturer, Illinois State University, Spring 1995
Dead Metaphor Press Prize (Boulder, Colorado) for 1996 (for a chapbook of poems)
Vice-President of the Thomas Hardy Society of North America, 1997-
Editorial Service
Board of Editorial Consultants, Victorians Institute Journal
Reader, Victorian Studies, Victorian Poetry, English Literature in Transition
Advisory Board, Victorian Poetry
Contributor, Victorian Poetry, "Thomas Hardy," [Annual Review of the Year's Work in Victorian Poetry] 1985-present; author of:
"Guide to The Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1985: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry,
24:3 (Autumn, 1986), 317-21.
"Guide to The Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1986: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry,
25:2 (Summer 1987), 224-7.
"Guide to The Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1987: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 26:4 (Winter, 1988), 454-59.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1988: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 27:3-4 (Autumn-Winter, 1989), 187-90.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1989: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 28:2 (Summer 1990), 201-05.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1990: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 29:3 (Autumn, 1991), 278-82.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1991-2: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 31:3 (Autumn, 1993), 303-10.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1993: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 32:3&4 (Autumn-Winter, 1994): 469-77.
"Guide to the Year’s Work in Victorian Poetry: 1994: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 33:3 (Autumn, 1995): 533-9.
"Guide to the Year’s Work In Victorian Poetry: 1995-6: Thomas Hardy," Victorian Poetry, 34:4 (Winter 1996): 591-4.
Professional Memberships
Modern Language Association of America
Midwest Modern Language Association
The Victorians Institute
Midwest Victorian Studies Association
The Thomas Hardy Society
The Thomas Hardy Society of North America
The Academy of American Poets
Other Relevant Activities
Director of ten summer or semester programs abroad, all in England.
Executive producer (with Cecil Giscombe of the English Department and Bruce Bergethon of Radio Station WGLT) of Poetry Radio, a program featuring skilled readings of poems by local and visiting readers and airing 6 times a week.
Principal author of the Department's "Statement of Goals for the Majors in English and English Education at Illinois State University" and one of a small group of faculty consistently involved in evaluating senior portfolios and assessing the Undergraduate Programs in English.
Director and designer of the Hardy Poetry Page division of the wesite of the Thomas Hardy Society of North America.