“Word is to the Kitchen Gone”

It’s that insanely busy part of the semester and I can’t afford the time it would take to write a proper post right now — my apologies, dearest neglected blog. Even though I vowed to avoid departmental work this week altogether Prof Awesome needed some things done ASAP, so that has put an extra kink into my writing schedule.

Despite my time constraints, I thought I’d share this link to a radio interview with Susan Gubar (link below). Two lovely songs included in this clip as well — the one I like best is a ballad called “Mary Hamilton.” I’m planning to post a much longer piece on Prof Gubar at some point. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been reading a lot of her work over the past several months, as well as the variety of reactions and harsh criticisms of her work with Sandra Gilbert. I haven’t met Prof Gubar yet and her voice on the radio show provides a more real sense of who she is or what she might be like. This is one reason why I really enjoy listening to radio interviews with people I’ve never met, or could never meet because they’ve passed on. Interviews available online with Carol Shields, for example, seem utterly invaluable. Not so much for the information given, but the small sense, miniscule even, that they provide of that person. In truth, I actually did meet Prof Gubar once, for 1 minute and 30 seconds one day in Bloomington. It happened so fast that all I can remember is her hair color, that she’s tall, carries some sort of briefcase, walks at a brisk pace, and has a NY accent. The only words that I was able to get out of my mouth were my name and “I like HD.”

I’m fascinated by both the work she’s done, still is doing, and what a life force she is in feminist thought, literary studies, and academia. The quality of her work, its brilliance, the fun she seems to be having, and the sheer volume of her publications just captivates me — to such an extent that when I stumbled upon this radio interview I had to listen to it right then; and, when I find an article I have not yet read I really feel compelled to read it that very moment, even though I normally don’t have time to do so. Hope you enjoy this audio clip as much as I do. Look for a more substantial post on Prof Gubar’s work sometime in May, after the term has ended and life is more peaceful.

I believe you will need RealPlayer in order for this link to work:
Susan Gubar Interview, 2006