Warhawk Almanac

Maya Angelou was a significant poet in the literary scene who made her mark in different mediums. She was born Margeurite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4^th, 1928 and died on May 28^th, 2014 in North Carolina at age 86.[1] Her career involved several different pathways, including those of a civil rights activist, author, poet, historian, playwright, singer, dancer, actress, composer, director and producer. She broke some barriers by being the first African American woman to create a screenplay for a pivotal movie and the first female inaugural poet in the United States.[2] Angelou is known the most for her autobiographical books, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was a New York Times bestseller for two years. Her literary works are known to have made a crucial impact on society by providing more diversity to literature and theater. [3] In addition to these accomplishments, Maya Angelou also was the first black woman allowed to drive a cable car in San Francisco, spoke six languages, and edited the Arab Observer. She also wrote two cookbooks and had her own line of Hallmark Greeting Cards.[4]

Maya Angelou visited the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Rock County in Janesville on February 12^th, 1985, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirk Denmark Theatre.[1] She discussed a plethora of topics, including racism and equality, family and lineage, the human condition, and others. One of the most profound, insightful things she said was this: “If your great-great-great grandmother could see you now, she would know you are the reason she left Ireland. You are the reason she slept in slave ships. You are the reason she stayed at Ellis Island and had her name changed to something indescribable.” [2] She also remarked that “There’s a world of difference between being trained and educated. If you are intoxicated with the idea of being educated, you have a lifelong course ahead of you. Take advantage of this institution.” [3]

Today, Maya Angelou has cemented her place in countless cultural venues, including poetry, politics, and others. She is a reminder to all of us that even when a person is going through dark times, there is a psychological, cerebral strength within all of us that can be accessed and used to find our strongest human capabilities. 
 

Holly Wilson is an accomplished author and professor of creative writing. She has been an associate professor in the literature, writing and film department for thirteen years, making a name for herself both as a writer and as a well-liked and respected professor. 

Holly went to college at Wichita State University and got her Master’s of Fine Arts at Wichita State. After she got her MFA, she became a Kingsbury Fellow at Florida State University, where she got her doctorate in creative writing.[1] 

Holly began her writing career by publishing in various literary magazines, such as Narrative, Redivider, Northwest Review, Short Story, New Stories from The South, etc. 

                                                                                Interview with Holly Wilson 

As a writer, I frequently look to other writers to glean more information and expand my knowledge base of the craft. Being able to to learn from other writers is one of the most important tools in a writer’s kits. I emailed my former creative writing professor, Holly Wilson, to see what I could discover about her identity as a writer and what her writing process is. I include in this post a few of the questions and answers from the interview. 

 Q. How do you approach overcoming writer’s block? 

  A. The only thing that works for me is 1) reading more, and 2) just writing through it. If you keep your butt in the chair, eventually something will show up.

Q.  What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about writing?

A. Write the sort of book that can only exist because you exist. 

Q. What advice would you give someone trying to get published for the first time? 

A. Read as much as possible, don’t send your work out until it’s as good as you can possibly make it, and learn to love rejection.

Q. Were there any particular moments or milestones that solidified your confidence as a writer?

A. Nothing really hits quite like walking into a random bookstore and seeing your book on display for the first time. I still feel like an imposter most days, but that moment for sure helped. 

Q. Who were your biggest influences as a writer? 

A. Too many influences to name, but Mark Richard has been a very important writer to me. His prose was a revelation when I first encountered him. His short stories and novel Fishboy gave me permission to do all sorts of things.

                                                                    Reviews

For Holly Wilson’s debut novel, Kittentits, there are several reviews that praise her distinctive writing. In one, the reviewer notes, “Wilson demonstrates exceptional artistry with the supporting characters, capturing the fundamental experiences of trust, friendship, love and loss.”[2] In another, a reviewer says that ‘Kittentits’ by Holly Wilson is a whimsical and provocative exploration of identity, femininity, and the intersection of humor and vulnerability.”[3]

If you are interested in reading a book that is absurdist and outside of your traditional perspectives, I would recommend you read Kittentits by Holly Wilson as a challenge to your sensibilities and perspective of the world around you. 

Eva Kinney Griffith was an accomplished, ambitious woman who was part of the first class here at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Born in Whitewater in 1852, Eva attended the Whitewater State Normal School from 1868-1871, aspiring to be a teacher. [1]

After she graduated, Eva began her extraordinary working life by teaching one semester at the Elkhorn High School and two semesters in Cold Spring, Wisconsin. She took a year off of teaching after that to pursue a career in journalism in Chicago. She temporarily returned to teaching from 1879 to 1880 in Hays City, Kansas. [2]

After finishing teaching in Kansas, Eva came back to Wisconsin and got involved in the temperance movement in 1883, joining the Wisconsin Women’s Temperance Union and participating as both a speaker and administrator for seven years. The Women’s Temperance Union was founded on December 15^th, 1873, when a Boston doctor named Dr. Dio Lewis had a lecture in New York. After the lecture, he was invited to come to a Sunday evening church service and talk about temperance. After the church service, in which the doctor delivered a passionate speech on temperance, Rev. Lester Williams asked the women at the church to hold a meeting. Fifty women responded, prepared to take action, signifying the beginning of the important organization.[3] For Eva Kinney Griffith, she became known as the “Wisconsin Chalk Talker” for her inspiring illustrated lectures.[4] While she was actively involved in the temperance movement, she also became a writer, publishing two books: A Women’s Evangel (Chicago, 1892), and Chalk Talk Handbook (1887). As well as the books she wrote, she also wrote and published temperance lessons and poems in journals such as the Temperance Banner and the Union Signal. She also wrote and published in True Ideal, a journal that focused on purity and faith studies. 

After her work as a temperance activist, she decided to move back to Chicago in 1891 and become a journalist again. She first became a special writer for the Daily News-Record, and then an editor on the Chicago Times. Through the Chicago Times, she publicly showcased her opinions on the temperance of alcohol and tobacco. 

Eva also displayed advanced views on different topics for a woman living during the late 1800’s. One of the observations she made in The Author was that “as alcohol is a brain poison and nicotine, the active principle of tobacco, is a nerve poison, no writer who desires long life or aims for the highest in his work should indulge even moderately in the use of liquor and tobacco.” Along the same lines, she mentioned that “the unused organ is certain to lose its strength and fall an easy prey to disease.” [5]

Eva Kinney Griffith will be remembered as a trailblazer and an inspiration to women that, with perseverance, dedication, and a strong belief in yourself, you are capable of doing nearly anything that you set your sights on. 

Written by Jacob Ober

As we start Homecoming Week, let’s look back at how the campus celebrated 50 years ago. The theme for 1974’s homecoming was “New Images,” reflecting the university's changing nature as it welcomed a new chancellor, increased enrollment, and a championship football team.[1] The festivities at Homecoming ’74 were highlighted by the nationally renowned jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears making an appearance on Thursday night, performing hit songs such as “You Make Me So Very Happy” and “Spinning Wheel,”[2] both of which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969,[3] as well as songs off their new album “Mirror Images,” reflecting the “new images” theme of homecoming. Soft-rock band Heartsfield also made an appearance, providing a mellow contrast to the more upbeat style of Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

The Homecoming Parade kicked off Saturday's festivities. The organizing committee thought it to be the largest Homecoming Parade to date. [4] The UW-Whitewater football team took the field that afternoon, facing off against UW-River Falls at Warhawk (Perkins) Stadium. The result was a resounding 28-14 victory, highlighted by wide receiver Roger Gename’s 11 receptions, setting a new school record at the time.[5] 

Other festivities throughout the week included a bonfire, bed rally, a dance, and the annual “Yell Like Hell” contest.[7] In congruence with the official homecoming celebrations, the sorority Sigma Gamma Rho sponsored the annual “Black Homecoming” that featured a dance in the Badger Commons on Saturday. Karen Jarrart, basileus of the Sigma Gamma Rho chapter in Whitewater, was quoted as saying that she “hopes everyone will attend the homecoming because this will benefit future events for all black students.”[8] 

By all accounts, Homecoming ’74 at UW-Whitewater proved to be a big success. Students expressed positive sentiments about the celebrations, and in the spirit of “New Images,” Homecoming ’74 “offered an image that reflected the varied interests and contrasts of the student body.”[10]

Written by Riley Smith Today, the students and athletes at UW-Whitewater are fondly known as the Warhawks and are accompanied by a hawk mascot named Willie. Though, that was not always the case. Throughout the university’s early years, the student body had no real nickname or mascot to call their own. They did, however, have a school color- purple. “The Purple” was a common way to refer to school teams, whether athletic, for the football team, was referred to as “The Purple” in the 1934 Minneiska, the university’s yearbook, as well as other student organizations, such as the debate team.[1] Yet, as early as 1929, the football team also used the moniker of the “Quakers.”^[2] As students were trying to determine a mascot or symbol that represented them, the Quakers won out as the unofficial school mascot. It would be used in reference to the school’s athletic teams for the next couple of decades. 

Many stories exist as to how the name came to be. One story states that a traveling baseball team came to Whitewater to play a game and left their jerseys here, which had “The Quakers” printed on the back.^[3] A variation of said story claims the baseball team was bankrupt and unable to pay for a hotel, so they left the aforementioned jerseys as a form of payment.^[4] Another story is that a local team, named the Quakers, provided the jerseys.^[5] Regardless of how the name came to be, the student body would come to accept it as their own. It was not long before a mascot, who represented the new Quaker identity, started showing up to parades and other athletic events. The mascot’s face also soon appeared on signs at sporting events and on the homes of students and fans. 

Despite the new nickname and mascot’s popularity, the school did not officially recognize the symbol of the Quaker as a mascot. With growing dissatisfaction with the passive symbolism associated with Quakers, students and staff alike were interested in adopting a mascot that had a fighting spirit.^[7] In the late 1950s, a contest was held in hopes of bringing upon a name the school could officially adopt.^[8] Four students, August Revoy, Ron Hall, John Rabata, and William Jolly, came up with the name “Warhawks”.^[9] The name was then officially approved by the school’s president at the time, Robert C. Williams.^[10] While the student body is no longer known as the Quakers, both the name and mascot hold a unique place in UW-Whitewater’s history.