Limestone English Professor To Speak At "Library Week" Event

Erin Pushman, an Associate Professor of English at Limestone College, spent nearly a year pulling glass refuse from Little Sugar Creek in Charlotte. The creek has a turbulent history of contamination and pollution, and that is precisely what drew Pushman to its banks and even – with the protection of boots – into its water.

"It's one of the few natural water bodies in Charlotte, so I go to Sugar Creek to experience nature and to clean up what I can,” said Pushman, who is also the Director of the Writing Center at Limestone.

She has written an essay, published in "Cold Mountain Review," about reclaiming the glass and about her creekside adventures. "I'm drawn to environmental literature, and I often write place-based narratives," Pushman explained.

Pushman will be reading from her essay and discussing her reclaimed glass project during National Library Week events being held at Limestone’s A.J. Eastwood Library April 13-15. Pushman will speak from 11:30 a.m. until 12 noon on Wednesday, April 15. Other Limestone faculty members will present a variety of topics over three days in the library atrium.

An avid do-it-yourselfer, Pushman reclaimed the glass she calls "creekglass" to create a border for the tile work in a bathroom she remolded with her husband. Since one source of contamination in Little Sugar Creek is the nearby wastewater treatment plant, Pushman had to carefully clean the glass before putting it on her walls.

Pushman’s nonfiction writing has also appeared in "The Gettysburg Review," "Confrontation," "Segue," "Toasted Cheese," and "The Asheville Citizen-Times" among other journals. She has published dramatic writing in "More New Monologues for Women by Women" (Heinemann) and "Boomtown: Explosive Writing from Ten Years of Queens MFA Program," and her plays have been produced on stages across the Carolinas. Pushman is a member of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the Conference of College Composition and Communication, and the Carolinas Writing Program Administrators.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.

At Limestone, on Monday, April 13, Dr. Shelly Meyers will speak at 11:30 a.m. on “Connected Reading As A Formative Assessment Strategy,” while Dr. Jerry Wright will do a presentation at 1:15 p.m. on “The Monster Under the Bed Was Called Algebra: Why You Can’t Do Algebra Word problems!”

On Tuesday, April 14, Dr. Scott Tanner will present “Your Immune System And Colon Cancer” at 10 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., Dr. Paula Schubert and Dr. Cindy Cavanaugh will present “Professional Development In Action: Going Back To Elementary School.” At 11:30 a.m., Stephen Gilmore will present “Alice In Wonderland And Mathematics – Or Mathematics Lessons For Those Who Are Afraid Of Mathematics.”

On Wednesday, April 15, Dr. Randy Nichols will present “Using Pinterest & Other Pop Apps For Serious Research” at 11 a.m. Pushman will present “Into Sugar Creek: A Reading And Discussion Of Literary Nonfiction” at 11:30 a.m.

For more information on National Library Week at Limestone, please call (864) 488-4612.