Susanna Holmes
Associate Professor English

I don't know about you, but I've always loved school. When I was a student, each new semester was an adventure. Often I felt a bit wary of certain classes (like algebra) and sometimes even nervous, but I was always excited by the prospect of new books, new teachers, new ideas. And so, I hope you look forward to your classes and are prepared to meet the challenges of the coursework. And please, remember to keep up with your reading, attend class, and talk to me if I can help in any way. You may email me at susanna_holmes@hotmail.com .

I should perhaps tell you - though you've probably discovered this for yourself - that reading is the key to learning. I rather like what the British novelist E. M. Forster said about why certain books have meaning for us:

" I suspect that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have yet gone ourselves."

These are the books that left me somehow changed after I'd read them. Several I read when I was almost a child; others I discovered as an adult. But each one has helped shape the way I think and see the world.

  • Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
  • Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
  • Old and New Testaments - King James version
  • Pride and Prejudice & Emma by Jane Austen
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
  • Winds of War & War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

The books in this next list I read (and reread) for fun. As you can tell, I particularly like British mysteries and follow favorite writers.

  • The Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter
  • The Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George
  • The Adam Dagliesh series by P. D. James
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Possession by A. S. Byatt
  • Random Harvest byJames Hilton

Often I like to read poetry aloud - even when I'm alone. I enjoy the sounds of the words as well as the idea the poet may be suggesting. As you can tell from the list of poets below my taste is fairly eclectic.

  • John Donne
  • Gerard Manley Hopkins
  • Rudyard Kipling (yes, I know he may not be politically correct, but I still love him)
  • Wilfred Owen
  • William Butler Yates
  • D. H. Lawrence

(and yes, I know I'm the product of a "DWM" emphasis in literature)

And perhaps I should mention that other "literature" captures much of my interest............................

These are the movies I love – for all the reasons we watch movies. You’ll probably notice that they don’t fit any category. It would take too long to explain the particulars.

  • Gunga Din – Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks (1937)
  • Bringing Up Baby – Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant (1939)
  • Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House – Cary Grant and Myrna Loy (1947)
  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir – Jean Tierney and Rex Harrison (1946)
  • The Searchers – John Wayne and the John Ford regulars (1951)
  • Ben Hur – Charleton Heston (1958)
  • Lawrence of Arabia – Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif (1960)
  • Becket – Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton (1964)
  • Joe versus the Volcano – Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks ( 1984)
  • Out of Africa – Meryl Streep and Robert Redford (1984)
  • Meet Joe Black - Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt (1999)
  • You’ve Got Mail – Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (2000)
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – too many names (2001-2004)