CATHERINE RAINWATER

Catherine and Soshi (1975-1985)

A Few Things About Me

I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. In the safer world of the early 1960's, my friends and I were free to play unsupervised on long expanses of undeveloped shoreline, and to walk and ride bicycles throughout most of the town almost any time of day or evening. The beaches were my favorite places. Anything—fascinating or disgusting—was likely to wash up onto the shore, linger awhile, then disappear with the tide. One summer, my friend, Lynn, and I found a raft made of logs. For about a week we'd find it each day where we'd left it the day before. A couple of nine-year-olds felt pretty adventurous steering their mysterious craft out around the concrete jetties and back, especially since we knew our parents would never have allowed it, had they known. One day, the raft was gone, fetched out to sea by a high wind or tide, perhaps to turn up in some other kid's life. One of my favorite writers, Barry Lopez, has written an essay about the mysterious histories of objects as they follow their mapless course through the world. When I read this essay, I always think of our raft.

Recently I have begun to pursue a new direction in writing. I have always admired the genre now called "creative nonfiction," which essentially means "literary nonfiction." Writers of this genre I admire include Loren Eiseley, Barry Lopez, Scott Russell Sanders, and Annie Dillard, among others. I was honored to receive the 2004 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Literary Award from Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for my essay called "My Father's Clothes."

I still like to take long walks and I miss beachcombing. These days, I find primarily dogs and cats whose owners should be taking better care of them. As a member of several organizations that rescue animals, I do my best to educate people on the subjects of responsible pet ownership and the ethical treatment of non-domesticated animals. If you are thinking of getting a pet, please take the time to learn as much as you can about the type of animal you are acquiring, the characteristics of the particular breed, and the steps you will need to take to enjoy the best possible relationship with your new friend. For instance, a Labrador Retriever might be just the right dog for someone who would be making a big mistake getting a Siberian Husky. Dogs are not all alike in their needs, behavior, or temperaments.

portrait of dog Kodi Kodi (1991- 2004 )

In the early 1970's, I left Corpus Christi to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in English, followed in 1976 with an M.A. in literature from the University of California at Irvine, and a Ph.D. in American Literature from UT Austin in 1982.

The development of my professional career as a teacher and a scholar has been one focus of my interests and energies for many years. I have taught a wide variety of university-level courses in writing and literature. I am the author of a variety of articles and books. In 1990, I received the Norman Foerster Prize from the Modern Language Association for one of my pieces on Louise Erdrich. My book Dreams of Fiery Starswon a Choice Award in January 2000. More recently, I have co-edited (and contributed an essay to) another book with my long-time friend and colleague, Mary S. Pollock of Stetson University; it's called Figuring Animals: Essays on Animals in Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan of St. Martin's Press, 2005), and it contains fifteen essays exploring the ways in which animals are represented, along with the implications of such representations for human consciousness and cultural development. I am also president of the Ellen Glasgow Society and editor of the society's newsletter. I have taught at St. Edward's University since 1985, where I am a professor of English.

My other interests include dogs, especially the Northern breeds such as my Samoyeds and Siberian Huskies. In what little leisure time I have, I also enjoy making stained glass windows, drawing and water color painting, and reading about a variety of subjects, not all necessarily related directly to my professional work. However, as I always tell my students, you might one day be surprised that what you read today, thinking it has no "use," will tomorrow be the source of some important insight or idea. Another thing I always say is that a good writer is always an avid and alert reader.

portrait of dog Nikki Nikki (1985-1996)

I teach a variety of courses, from composition to advanced courses in literature, including literary theory. I am passionate about the subject matter of my discipline, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others who care about it. I also care very much about teaching writing. I try to emphasize how important it is for a student of any subject to put in 100% effort. A wise Southern Ute/Picuris elder, Joseph Rael, says this about effort, and I know it to be true: "Effort puts us in touch" with higher dimensions of being. "Effort brings us joy and happiness. The less effort we put in, the less joy we get in return." Some of the best things about my job are the joys that come from

actually earning a living by thinking with, and talking to, people about ideas;
knowing that I've done a good job in communicating some difficult or new material;
having time to read and write so that the wellsprings of my own creativity never run dry;
seeing the way some students look when they realize they have learned something important that will change their whole way of viewing the world and themselves.

Currently, I regularly teach the American Literature survey (EngL 3301 and 3302) and Literary Criticism (EngL 4341). I teach a variety of other literature and writing courses. Many students from a variety of majors enjoy my course in Native American literature (CULF 1318), so check out the page.

portrait of dog Crystal Crystal (1996- )

When people meet English professors, often the first thing they do is apologize for their grammar and announce that they intend to take a refresher course very soon. (I've always wondered if people who meet mathematics professors apologize for their arithmetic.) Now, sometimes that apology sure is appropriate, and that refresher course might be a good idea. However, most of us really aren't mentally diagramming the sentences of people we meet. So I'm going to end this page with An English Professor's Wish: when you meet me, don't apologize for your English. Instead, tell me about your dog, or about what you have been reading lately, or about something that interests you. Here are some excellent books I've read recently. Maybe you'll like one of them.

The Essential David Bohm, ed. Lee Nichol
The Spell of the Sensuous:Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World, by David Abram
Feral Children and Clever Animals: Reflections on Human Nature, by Douglas Keith Candland
Mind of the Raven, by Bernd Heinrich
House of Shattering Light: Life as an American Indian Mystic, by Joseph Rael
Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Universe, by F. David Peat

Here are some titles I enjoy re-reading:

Arctic Dreams, by Barry Lopez
The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley
Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson

portrait of dog Timber Timber (1998- )

Here are a few more pictures of me, old and new.

Here I am at Hamilton Pool, around 1985.

Yours truly, 28 years old.

Me again, at McKinney Falls sometime in the 1980s.

Photo by Bill Kennedy, 2004.

Here I am with a friend at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D. C., 2005.

I'm sitting in what used to be the Butterfly Garden at St. Ed's, about 1999. Too bad it's gone now.

Well, I hope you know me a little better. Any questions? Drop me a note, especially if you have questions about any of my classes you might be taking. Now I know you want to see more of those dogs.