CURRICULUM VITAE

Zelma (Zee) I. Edgell
Assistant Professor of English Kent State University

EDUCATION  I  ACADEMIC  I  ADMINISTRATIVE  I  PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE  I  PROFESSIONAL HONORS
OTHER  I  FELLOWSHIPS  I   INVITED LECTURES, READINGS, TALKS  I  PUBLICATIONS  I  SCREENPLAYS
WORK IN PROGRESS  I  PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES  I  SERVICE  I  OTHER

EDUCATION:

Postgraduate Student, M.Phil., University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica. Accepted into M.Phil. Program in 1991. Currently working on "Images of the Caribbean in 19th Century British Travel Writing."

Diploma In Journalism, The School of Modern Languages, Polytechnic of Central London, formerly the Regent Street Polytechnic, London, England, U.K., 1965

Trainee Journalist, The Daily Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica, 1959-1962.

St. Catherine's Academy, Belize City, Belize, C.A.1954-59

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ACADEMIC:

Kent State University, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Kent, Ohio, 44242, Fall, 1993 Present.

Old Dominion University, Visiting Writer-In-Residence, Department of English, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529, Spring Semester, 1993.

University College of Belize, Lecturer, Department of Education, Belize City, Belize, Central America, 1988-1989.

St. Catherine Academy, High School Teacher, Belize City Belize, Central America, 1980-1981.  

St. Catherine Academy, High School Teacher, Belize City, Belize, Central America, 1966-1968.

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ADMINISTRATIVE:

Government Of Belize, Director, Department of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Community Development, and Social Servics, Belmopan, Belize, Central America, 1986-1987.

Government of Belize, Head, Women's Unit, Ministry of Labour, Community Development and Social Services, Belmopan , Belize, Central America, 1981-1982.

The Belize Chamber of Commerce, Editor, The Reporter, a monthly newspaper, 1966-1968.

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Programme For Belize, Consultant, Belize City, Belize, C.A., 1990-1992.  

UNICEF Consultant to the Somali Women's Democratic Organization, Mogadishu, Somalia, 1984-1985.

Altion Productions, Scriptwriter for Jane Alexander, President, Altion Productions, The William Morris Agency, New York, N.Y. 10019, 1982-1983.

Concerned Women For Family Planning Secretary to the Governing Board, Dacca, Bangladesh 1978-1980.

University of Wisconsin, Marinette Center, Assistant to the Public Information, and Fine Arts Coordinator, Marinette, Wisconsin. 1976-1977.

University of Wisconsin, Marinette Center, Instructor, short, non‑credit course, on the culture of Afghanistan. 1977.

Menominee County Michigan Teachers Consultant, federally funded Global Education Project, 1977.

YWCA, Enugu, Nigeria,(at the end of the Biafra War) Third Vice President, 1970-1971.

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PROFESSIONAL HONORS:

The Research Council of Kent State University: Academic Year Research and Creative Activity Appointment, 1994-95.

Government of Mexico, Homenaje: at the Third, Conference of Central American Intellectuals, Casa de la Cultura, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. 24-27 May, 1993.

University College of Belize, Citation: "For outstanding and meritorious contribution to the development of Belize," 1987.

National Arts Council of Belize, Ministry of Education Government of Belize, Citation: ... "for her contribution to art and culture ... has displayed a... level of excellence meriting this ... award," 1984.

The Fawcett Society Book Prize for BEKA LAMB, London, England, U. K., 1983,Joint Winner, shared prize with Pat Barker, U.K., author of UNION STREET.

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OTHER:

"A Writer's Life, A Country's Transition", article by Professor Irma McClaurin, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, Photographs by Gary Harwood, Kent State University, Americas Magazine, published by the Organization of

American States, Washington, D.C., July/August, 1994

  Caribbean Examinations Council, BEKA LAMB: selection of this novel as a curriculum requirement in many high schools in the English speaking Caribbean.

  Reviews, citations, papers, book chapters, dissertations on the novels, BEKA LAMB (1982) and IN TIMES LIKE THESE (1991).

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FELLOWSHIP:

  University of Miami, Summer Institute For Creative Writing,  July, 1991.

 INVITED LECTURES, READINGS, TALKS:

Grinnell College, Department of English, Grinnell, Iowa 50112: Lecture, "Personal Experience and Fiction;"

Reading, The Festival of San Joaquin; meeting with the Rosenfield Program for Public Affairs; outside judge for the Henry York Steiner Award for Short Fiction. March 30 - April 3, 1997.

Youngstown State University, Department of English Youngstown, Ohio 44555, Reading, The Festival of San Joaquin

Poetry Center Reading Series, Kilcawley Art Gallery, November 22, 1997.

St. John's College, Belize City, Belize Reading, Thg_, Festival of San Joaqui Fordyce Chapel,

March 25, 1996; Seventh Annual Signa Yorke Memorial Lecture Bliss Institute, March 27, 1996.

Spalding University, 851 South Fourth Street Louisville, KY 40203-2188, Reading October 9, 1995.

Nickleby's Bookstore Cafe, 1424 Grandview, Columbus, Ohio, Reading August 19, 1995.

The Kent Multicultural Journalists Group, Reading, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio April 26, 1995.

"Tings Bruk Down: Missed Connections and Failed Coalitions in the novel, In Times by Zee Edgell, a paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Caribbean Women Writers, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, April 20-23, 1995. Panelist, Reading.

Southern University, New Orleans, Lousiana Readings, April 30 and April 31, 1995.

John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Panelist, Conference, February 17, 1995 Paper: "A Fiction Writer's Country."

International Development Bank, Cultural Center, Speaker, Lecture Series, September 30, 1994, Washington, D.C.

Readers' Club, Discussion, Powder Mill Road, Kent, Ohio, August 12, 1994

Northern Michigan University, Fiction Workshop, July 25 - August 5, 1994, Marquette, Michigan.

Ohio University, Athens, a reading, sponsored by Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the Center for Afro American Studies, the English Department, and Latin American Studies, April 14, 1994.

Kent State University, The Third Thursday Colloquium, Women's Studies Program, February 17, 1994.

The University of Chicago, Culture and Society Workshop, Department of Sociology, Reading, January 11, 1994.

Peace Corps Volunteers Training Program, Peace Corps House Belize City, Belize, Reading, June, 1993.

Old Dominion University, Women's Studies Program, Reading, February 18, 1993.

Miami Book Fair International, Writers from Caribbean, Reading, with Rashidah Ismaili Abubakr, Lyn-Anne Tamara Ali Rawle Frederick,Pearl Eintou Springer, and Mutabaruka, November 21, 1992.

University of Miami Summer Institute, for Caribbean Creative Writing. Reading, July, 1992.

University of the West Indies. Creative Arts Centre, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica, Reading, February, 1991.

Immaculate Conception High School, Constant Springs, Kingston, Jamaica, Reading, February 1991.

Campion College, Hope Road, Kingston, Jamaica, Reading, February 1991.

St. John's College (High School),Caribbean Shores, Belize City, Belize, Talk, February 27, 1991.

St. John's College Sixth Form, (Associate Degree Program) Caribbean Shores, Belize City, Belize, Lecture, March, 1991.

Ecumenical College, Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize, Guest Speaker, March 23, 1991.

Books and Books, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, Reading, July 12, 1991.

International Women's Club, Lion's Club Building, Princess Margaret Drive, Belize City, Belize, Guest Speaker, 1991.

University of Miami Summer. Institute For Caribbean Creative Writing, Lecture: July 16, 1991. Directors: George Lamming and Kamau Braithwaite.

Florida International University, South Campus, Miami, Florida, Reading, July 19, 1991.

Twelfth International Festival of Authors, Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront, Toronto, Canada, Reading, with Michael Ignatieff, and Christoph Ransmayr, October 25, 1991.

The University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, Texas, Reading, October 28, 1991.

The University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, Reading, October 28, 1991.

Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa Reading, November 1, 1991.

Second International Conference of Caribbean Women Writers, Faculty of Arts and General Studies, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, Panelist, with Nancy Morejon, Casa de las Americas, Cuba, Eulalia Bernard, University of Costa Rica, Laura Niesen de Abruna, Ithaca College, and Ismene Krishnadath, Surinam. April 24-27, 1990.

Jesuit International Volunteers Program, Talk, August 2, 1989

Pride Belize, Belize City, Belize, Radio Talk, April 7, 1989.

St. John's College (High School), Career Day, Belize City, Belize, Talk, March 8, 1989.

Sacred Heart College, San Ignacio Town, Cayo, Belize Talk, April, 1989.

West Georgia College: "Four Caribbean Writers," with Merle Hodge (Trinidad), Earl Lovelace (Trinidad), and Vincent Placoly (Martinque), readings at Spelman College, the Atlanta‑Fulton County Library, and West Georgia College, Atlanta, September 26, 1988.

First International Conference, on Women Writers of the English Speaking Caribbean, Wellesley College, Wellesley,

Massachusetts, Panelist with Joan Riley and Elizabeth Nunez‑ Harrell, April 8-10, 1988. First International Feminist Book Week, Reading, Africa Centre, 38 King Street, London, England, June 8, 1984.

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PUBLICATIONS:

Books:

THE FESTIVAL OF SAN JOAQUIN, published by Heinemann International Literature and Textbooks, Oxford, England, U.K., Spring, 1997, 151 pages.  

IN TIMES LIKE THESE, a novel, published by Heinemann International Literature and Textbooks. Oxford, England, U.K., 1991, 307 pages.

BEKA LAMB, a novel published by Heinemann International Literature and Textbooks, Oxford, England, U. K. 1982, 171 pages.

Short Story:

"Longtime Story," a short story in the anthology, Women Writers From The Caribbean edited by Elaine Campbell and Pierette Frickey, Three Continents Press from Lynne Rienner Publishers, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1997

Monograph:

"Belize: A Literary Perspective," a talk given at the Cultural Center, Inter‑American Development Bank, Washinton, D.C. on September 30, 1994, was published by the Cultural

Center in January, 1995.  Number Eight in its Lecture Series.

Anthologies:

Beka Lamb was included in a book entitled, 500 Great Books By Women, A Reader's Guide, by Erica Bauermeister, Jesse Larsen, and Holly Smith, published by Penguin Books USA Inc., N.Y., N.Y., 1994.

Selected chapters from BEKA LAMB have been used in each of the following anthologies: DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA Edited by Margaret Busby, Pantheon, U.K., 1991; HER TRUE TRUE NAME, Ed. Elizabeth Wilson and Pamela Moredecai, Heinemann, 1989; DER MOEDERVLEK SUITE, Het Wereldvenster, The Netherlands, 1987.

Translation:

Beka Lamb was translated into German by Uta Goridis,and published by Orlanda Frauenverlag, Berlin, Germany, in 1989.

Beka Lamb, a chapter, was translated into Dutch published in the anthology, DE MOEDERVLEK SUITE, HET WERELDVENSTER, The Netherlands, 1987.

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SCREENPLAY:

Good Intentions,  a screenplay, unproduced, commissioned by

Jane Alexander, Altion Productions, New York, N.Y.,10019, completed in 1983.

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WORK IN PROGRESS:

…a generational novel which shows the experiences of a Carib/Garifuna Belizean family from 1881-1981.

(working titles):

"The Telephone Call," "Glitterfunk," "A Meagre Season."

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PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

 

JOURNAL BOARDS:

"Journal of Caribbean Studies", Association of Caribbean Studies, Department of English, University of Kentucky, Member Board of Advisory Editors, 1996  

"Journal of Belizean Affairs", St. John's College, Member, Advisory Board, 1984 ‑ 1986.

"The Belizean: Journal of the University College of Belize," Committee Member 1988‑1989