My Interview in SDSU NewsCenter:

http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news.aspx?s=74658

7 Things Story

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

7 Things About Edith Frampton

Edith Frampton has been a part of the SDSU family since 2000.

Edith Frampton is a faculty member in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University, where she teaches classes on literature in English from Britain and around the world.

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Edith Frampton

She is the recipient of multiple awards for her teaching, including a College of Arts and Letters Excellence in Teaching Award and two Outstanding Faculty Awards.  She researches and publishes on contemporary women’s writing and is a reviews editor for Oxford University Press’s academic journal Contemporary Women’s Writing.  As a former actress and director, she also has expertise in theater and drama.

Frampton is collaborating on a new SDSU alliance with the Cygnet Theatre in Old Town and leads a popular book club series for the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park.

1. What inspired you to do this kind of work?

I’m endlessly fascinated by people and their stories.  That’s what draws me to novels, poetry, theater and teaching.

2. How long have you worked at SDSU?

I’ve taught at SDSU since 2000, although in the beginning I was commuting back and forth from England to finish my Ph.D. at the University of London.

3. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Like what you have and not what you don’t have.

4. What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love working with SDSU students, helping them to make sense of the world and reach their goals.

5. What about your field or position do you think would surprise people the most?

I work seven days a week, even if I’m only in the classroom two or three days a week.

6. What is the most interesting or surprising thing about you?

I’ve written a steamy college romance that’s now with my agent in New York; I’m hoping it will find a publisher soon.  It’s called “Last Fall.”

7. If you could only rescue one thing from your burning office, what would it be?

I’d rescue the groovy clay statue of Oroonoko that a student sculpted years ago.

Bonus questions

1. What is your favorite kind of music/what are your favorite bands?

My daughter, Isabel Wade, is my expert music consultant.  Today, I worked out to Beyonce’s new album.

2. What is your favorite sports team or who is your favorite individual athlete?

What’s not to like about Roger Federer? He makes me want to play tennis.

Charlotte Bronte’s Portrait

Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley is an underrated book.  Maybe because it opens with a flutter instead of a bang, people never get past the early pages.  But what a read, if you carry on!  She’s all about the imperfections in us…which make us so perfect.  And, come to think of it, that’s like this novel itself: perfect in its imperfections.  (BTW – don’t you love Charlotte’s crooked smile in this 1850 portrait by George Richmond?)

The Wind in the Willows Mingei Event August 8th

Mingei International Book Discussion - Wind in the Willows Looking for some summer reading?  Kenneth Grahame’s original 1908 The Wind in the Willows has often been mistaken as children’s literature when, in fact, it is an idyll that fulfills the longing in all of us for a more peaceful, simple life in harmony with nature.  Come join us for an informal evening discussion of this longtime favorite at the Mingei International Museum on August 8th.