I know he lives in Earlysville, VA, so it’s difficult for me to imagine that this visitor (below) to my blog is not him. Why didn’t Casteen IV sign the letter in support of his buddy, Ted Genoways?
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Now that the alleged workplace bullying of suicide victim Kevin Morrissey has gone national, I thought I’d provide links here to all of the posts regarding Ted Genoways, John Casteen IV, VQR (Virginia Quarterly Review), and UVA (University of Virginia) that have appeared on my websites over the years.
more to come . . . When my wife was a professor at UNCW, she was victimized by workplace bullying, and despite multiple complaints, it continued until she quit. (and beyond, but that’s another story) One of the bullies had already forced three other creative writing professors to leave before her. Another sexually harassed a 19 year old student, but the department chair shut the student up after he told my wife to have the student call him. It didn’t matter that my wife had won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship or two poetry book prizes or the teaching award for the entire university. UNCW just. didn’t. want. to deal. with the problem.
For legal reasons, I am unable to comment on my own experiences with UVA and VQR, but I am not exactly surprised this happened. The victim in this case suffered from major depression, which likely rendered him unable to successfully deal with the situation. I know that’s been the case for me a few times in my life and with others I’m very close to. But I hope that this post might help other victims of bullying. The unions at my college have a bullying support group. Many employees may not have a support system, but I’ve been reading this website over the past few months, and found it to be very helpful. If you are being bullied, be sure to document what’s happening, go to counseling if you have that luxury, and talk to people you trust. Image adapted, click for original
Both the church where we married and the house we owned appeared in Blue Velvet, filmed before we moved to town. At our wedding reception, Hopper entered the restaurant, with dyed Mario Bros. hair, and obliviously asked the bride (Kathleen wore a full-length bridal gown, complete with a veil) if he could get lunch. “Gee Mr. Hopper, let me see if we have a table.” I missed this whole exchange somehow, but our wedding guests were outraged that K didn’t seat him. But perhaps my strangest quasi-encounter with the Hopper-verse is that I got offered a non-speaking role in a film with him. Problem was, it was a nude scene. Seriously. I didn’t do it. More than five years ago, I ran an anonymous website called Foetry. It got a little bit of attention: articles in the New York Times, the Guardian, and Boston Globe, as well as cover stories in the LA Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Being anonymous had its benefits, but it also become a crutch. Sometimes I got a little cocky and acted in ways I never would have, if I’d had a name and a face. Thinking he was anonymous, Daniel Nester was one of my victims. He pissed me off and I did the dishonorable thing in retaliation: I outed him. Now, strangely, we’ve become buddies. Read the first part of his interview with me at We Who Are About to Die. I’m sure Jennifer is delighted with you right now. Remember when I was in Guanajuato for three weeks? Well my friends are there for five months! Each of them has a blog devoted to their stay, so I combined all of the feeds into one in order to keep up. Their son is an astonishingly good writer in fourth grade, enrolled in Mexican public school. I am teaching online for the first time: a one credit class in library research. I’ve already encountered numerous problems, most of which were related to backdated assignments. Have I caught them all? Not sure, but another module gets released tomorrow, so I’ll probably know then. I tried Saraveza with Andy yesterday and Mum’s Kitchen on my ride home. Both deserve their own posts. Last weekend I pressure-washed the patio and set up the fountain with K. We’ve had meals outside three times so far and I’ve had a few wifi & beer sessions too. Installed a new mason bee house and they’ve already moved in. No hummingbirds at the feeder yet, but I see and hear them every day. My friend Su’s getting married for the first time at 42 this summer, so we’re heading to LA for the wedding. Her sister, MJ, another dear friend, will be there with her family. I’ve never met their three young boys. Also going to DC and VA this summer for a conference and to visit friends and family. On my birthday (last week), I moved to a new campus. It’s conveniently located just 2.7 miles from my house by bike. I’ve vowed to ride as often as possible. You may view my progress on this google spreadsheet. That should keep me honest.
Update August 6, 2010: Molly laid a new clutch! |
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Copyright © 2010 Alan Cordle - All Rights Reserved |
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