Popomology

Tonight was the night!  Popomology, the launch party of the university's literary criticism journal Essais, was tonight at 7:00 in one of campus' conference rooms.  As one of the published authors, I was invited to give a presentation on my paper.  Apparently not all of the authors published were asked to speak, so I suppose I should feel pretty honored for having been asked.  As I was preparing my slideshow last night and writing index cards this afternoon, it didn't feel so much like an honor.  It felt like stress.  And as I sat there eating the catered dinner, waiting for my turn to get up and speak, it felt like anxiety.  But as luck would have it, my body didn't tremor and my voice didn't quake when it came time to speak.  I was the second presenter of the second panel, and I did pretty darn well.  Afterwards, I felt completely relieved.  And when it came time for the Q&A portion, my good luck continued and I answered questions in a fairly intelligent manner!

So, now that it's all over and I have a certificate to prove it, I feel honored.  Honored and grateful for having been published alongside some fantastic and compelling essays.  My essay, "The Theatricality of Truth in Kafka's The Trial," was one of four published essays on the same novel.  We were all in the same English 3090 class.  My paper focuses on allusions to theater that I found in the novel and how those instances argue for a post-structuralist reading of the text, asserting that truth is elusive and our presumed reality is a pretense.  Maybe someday I'll post it up here... but I might not be able to now that it's published.  Hmm.

Anyway, the night was a success and I'm happy I participated.