Washington Irving Society

July 10, 2019

BY TRACY HOFFMAN

Well, it’s been awhile. And I have much to say, but I’ll try to keep it short. My purpose is simple: jump back into Washington Irving Wednesdays!

Today, I updated the Washington Irving Society page, so you can check out our recent panels from the American Literature Association in Boston over Memorial Week. We had three exceptional panels.

I can’t fully put into words how incredibly proud I am of the outstanding work graduate students, emerging Washington Irving scholars, and seasoned scholars are doing. We never have a lack of things to say and consider about the Father of American Literature.

At our business meeting in Boston, it was decided that Sean Keck would remain as vice-president and I would remain as president. John Anderson will be assisting with Facebook, and Jeffrey Scraba will be monitoring Spanish posts in Twitter.

However, we did not have a volunteer for a Washington Irving Society Treasurer. If you’re interested, please let me know. Basically, Sean Keck and I don’t feel comfortable receiving money on our website, spending such funds, and moving forward as a 501C3, without having a treasurer in place. We don’t mind hiring an accountant to take care of taxes, so you won’t have to worry about that. Again, let me know if you’d be willing to serve in this capacity.

Speaking of treasure. So, later this afternoon, I’ll be cruising over to the city archives in Irving, Texas, to continue working on my Washington Irving and Texas book project. I’ll definitely be reporting back on some of the hidden treasures I’m bound to uncover.

I’ve also been in Paris, one reason why I haven’t been blogging on Wednesdays. Irving’s visit there is once again on my mind. I’ll try to write about my trip’s connections with Irving in some upcoming Wednesday blogs.

Next week, I’m being interviewed for another podcast about The Sketch Book, so I’ll be doing some prep work for that interview this week. The big question I must address: “What’s so great about The Sketch Book?” Let’s just say that my blog next Wednesday will probably involve teasing out this question. It’s an overwhelming question considering all the possibilities, and I’ll definitely break it down to something manageable. My answer will probably begin with “Well, it’s great to me in these ways…”

Until next Washington Irving Wednesday…