March 14, 1996
Issue No. 3

•Editor's Note
•Alumni & Graduate Students' Words
• Student News
• What do you think of our newsletter?
•  Teacher News
• Astrological News

Sister Heliéna Krenn (賀永光修女) participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women / NGO Forum on Women in Beijing/Huairou in the first days of September this past year. Sister reports that this was "a once in a lifetime experience, because it brought together people from all parts of the world, even from the most unlikely corners of it. All came to contribute to make this world a better place for all, by making it a better place for women to live in." The theme of the ten day Forum was Looking at the World Through Women's Eyes. Sister had plenty of decisions to make, as each day of the program usually offered three large plenary sessions and up to 400 different workshops. There were thirteen workshop topics, including Economy, Human and Legal Rights, Media, and Ethnicity. "I mostly chose workshops," she notes, "because there you got in touch with people more directly than in the Plenaries."

A word too on language and sharing over meals: since many of the participants were multilingual, language was never a real barrier. Meal times ("even the most earnest Forum attender needed to eat some-times . . .") were occasions to make new friends. With-in five minutes you could "share food and a world vision with a woman whom you would probably never meet again." Good links were made, says Sister, name cards exchanged, lives enriched, changed, renewed, and encouraged. Sister, we're proud of you, our ambassador at this historic forum on Women in Beijing/Huairou. The editor also congratulates Sister Heliéna, the editorial board, and the contributors for the new issue of Fu Jen Studies, Literature and Linguistics, now fresh from the printer.

Cecilia Liu (劉雪珍) has had an eventful time over the past year. In August of last summer she became Chair of the English Department in the night division at Fu Jen. A month later she began teaching (Modern Drama) in our graduate institute. On December 8th she was our first Institute alumna to be given the prestigious "Distinguished Alumna of Fu Jen" award. Cecilia, this is not only an honor for you, but for all of us. Way to go!

Cecilia recently published a lengthy commentary of a 1993 play by Peter Shaffer, author of the celebrated Equus (1973) and Amadeus (1980). The subject of Cecilia's remarks is the drama The Gift of the Gorgon, first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Pit Theatre in the Barbican Center. Associate professor Liu says Gorgon is "drenched in stage blood, Greek mythology, and high rhetoric about creativity, violence and justice. Once again, Shaffer somehow makes riveting drama out of it all." Happily, Cecilia hasn't lost her flair for humor. "Shaeffer has always divided the critics," she muses in her paper. "As one major critic praised the play highly for extending the boundaries of theatre, another hailed it as a turkey for Christmas." Ah, our editor sighs with relief that he's not the only turkey in the neighborhood.

A strong supporter of our efforts to stay in touch with alumni, Brother Nicholas Koss OSB (康士林修士) again offers a good slug of news. Last summer he met for dinner one night with several students from the good old days, the years when he was the Director of the Institute (editorial humor: just joking, just joking). Among the attendees were organizer Jane Chien, and the likes of Janet Sun, Cynthia Wu, Wallace Li, J.J. Lyu, Anne Chao, and Christina Chen. Remarks Brother K: "All are doing well, and are busy teaching, studying, writing, or pursuing other interests." Apparently the evening was a success, since the group again convened in the autumn. This time David Chien and Cecilia Liu also came to lend a hand. Believe it or not, a third meeting is now being planned - - what is this, a full scale literary conference? Says Brother Koss, "Anyone interested in attending, please contact Jane Chien."

Readers should not think that Brother Koss has only been frequenting area restaurants and coffee shops. This past semester he offered a seminar on Charles Dickens, and currently he's teaching one on Fitzgerald and Hemingway. His thesis writers have also kept him up till the wee hours with work on Jane Austin, William Faulkner, and Mr. Fitzgerald. Brother Nick has been to mainland China several times recently, as he continues to explore possible exchange program ideas with English departments in Beijing and elsewhere.

Associate professor Lynda Scott (施琳達副教授), Director of the College of Foreign Lang./Lit Theatre, submitted a report on theatre activities that the editor considers eminently quotable. "Exciting performances in English scheduled for this spring! First is the Evening Division performances of Grease, March 16-18 (7:30 p.m.) Terrific rock 'n roll music of the 1950s captured by Eric Chen's professional musicians, and pulsating choreography by Hot Dance Club teacher Beverly." Wait wait, what's this about HOT DANCE, Miss Scott? Josephine Wu is giving you a big smile from her penthouse in New York. Back to Lynda: "Here's a chance to look back at those teenage years of the 1950s - the music, the dances, the 'jive', and young romance." Sounds great!!

For the really stout of heart, March 27 and 28 are dates to mark, as the Freshmen will bring their one act play contest to the stage, including two new works by women playwrights, Night Sky, by Susan Yankowich, and Rites, by Maureen Duffy. The Evening Division play contest is Saturday April 13th.

Topping the year of English productions is the May 23-25th English Department annual play, Thomas Sheridan's directed by Dr. Carolyn Scott. To double check clock times, call theatre secretary Jennifer Lee (李慧珍) at 2903-1111-2524. Lynda Scott, congratulations on your program over there, and all good wishes to the actresses, actors and back-up crews over there.

Father Bauer reports a surprise office visit by Alice Lee (李靜芝) in November. Alice is busy with Mom and wifely duties while forging ahead in her translation career with an area publisher. Father B. also enjoyed Cantonese cuisine one July evening with Florence Lee (李小清), Brian Hsu (許貴運) and Corina Hsieh (謝鳳玉). Corina was visiting Taipei on a break from ro-antic Vienna. Their classmate Doris Chang (張黎文)'s ears must have been buzzing, because her name came up so often in the conversation. (Doris couldn't make it because of her Ph.D. classes in Comp. Lit.) Recently Father Bauer and Brian Hsu managed only sheer befuddlement on directions while enroute to a second round on that dinner. They must have flunked the path finders chapter in their Boy Scout Handbook when they were kids. Said the one to the other the next day on the telephone, "For a guy who wrote an M.A. thesis on Joseph Conrad, I thought you were smarter than that!" "For someone who sat on my thesis committee," replied the other to the one, "I thought you were smarter, yourself." (Brian by the way says his post at The China Post leaves little time now for his old love, Mr. Conrad.) When he's not getting lost on the way to fancy restaurants, Father B. still dabbles in jogging and Chinese-English translation. Since the end of September he has been writing a weekly (and weak) column on education and cross cultural issues for a certain English newspaper in Taipei.◆