Listed below are selected author's presentations that I am making this year.  If you would like to read a detailed review of Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern American Sampler, click on this URL:  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/biography/v024/24.4kilcup.html  

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato
Sunday, February 24, 2002 10:00 a.m.
Presentation: "The Value of Telling Your Own Story"
Suzanne Bunkers, professor of English at MSU, is an avid diarist, memoirist, and family historian. She will be sharing insights about writing autobiography and memoir and  will comment on her recently published book, Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern Sampler.  Music by Santiago Gimenez.    URL: http://mankatofellowship.org/mankato/ 

Thursday, February 28   University of Wisconsin-River Falls
7 p.m. - Women's History Month Presentation  http://www.uwrf.edu/calendar/cal_tmp.php?f=02_february   

Author Suzanne Bunkers will be speaking about her writing and her book, Diaries of Girls and Women. Ms. Bunkers is on the faculty of Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn. Her presentation is the kick-off event for Women's History Month. There will be a drawing for free journals following the presentation. Refreshments will be served. This event is co-sponsored by the Library Exhibits and Presentations  Committee and the Wyman Series.

March 03, 2002    Book-signing: Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern American Sampler   Minnesota History Center in St. Paul       Phone: 651-296-6126 (TTY: 651-282-6073)   http://www.mnhs.org/events/calendar/all.html#368  

Suzanne Bunkers will discuss and sign copies of her book, "Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern American Sampler," which is based on a 15-year study of diaries kept by women from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin from 1837-1999. The diaries excerpted represent various cultures and classes. The book both explores ways in which diaries can document the diverse experiences of individuals and families and helps readers understand the ways in which diaries have functioned as forms of life writing.

**During summer 2002, I worked as a MSU Teaching Fellow as I study diaries and prepare a new course, English 213: Diaries and Diarists.  For additional information about the course, click on http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~susanna/diaries.htm

August 31, 2002.  Manchester, Iowa.  Coffin's GroveFest and McGee School Reunion.

McGee Country School Reunion/Coffin's GroveFest. The reunion of former students and teachers will be held at the Coffin's Grove Park, near the Stagecoach Inn and the McGee School.  The restoration of the McGee School has begun outside (tuckpointing & brick replacement).  Suzanne Bunkers will speak about the life and diary of Sarah Gillespie Huftalen, a Manchester native who once taught at the McGee School.

September 18, 2002.  Delta Kappa Gamma, Mankato, MN. "Diaries as Windows into Women's Lives."  7:00 p.m.  Multi-Church Center, 2nd Street.

The author's presentation will focus on ways in which manuscript diaries can provide insights into the daily lives of so-called "ordinary" women.  

October 31, 2002.  Wisconsin Librarians Association Annual Convention.  Middleton, Wisconsin.  "Diaries of Women & Girls--Programs & Preservation"

Professor Suzanne Bunkers will speak on her experiences in gathering, editing, and using diaries in her teaching and research. Her approach to diaries as historical documents, folk literature, and forms of therapy can be applied to library programs in "family values," literature, history, and genealogy. She will also touch on the use of diaries in genealogical research and the importance of collecting and preserving diaries in library and local history archives. Suzanne Bunkers is professor of English and director of the honors program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her newest work, Diaries of Girls and Women: A Midwestern American Sampler, is published by the University of Wisconsin Press. For information about the conference, click on this URL:      http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wla2002/   For information about the autograph garden at the conference, click on this URL: http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wla2002/autograph.htm   

November 15-16, 2002.  Iowa Women's Archives Symposium at the University of Iowa.  Iowa City, Iowa.   This symposium will pay tribute to Louise Noun and Mary Louise Smith and will explore the significance of the collections in building a history of Iowa and Midwestern women. I will be a panelist at this symposium.  For more information, contact (319) 335-5068. For information about the symposium, click on this URL:  http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/symposium.html  or contact: karen-mason@uiowa.edu   Karen Mason is the Director of the Iowa Women's Archives.   Home page for the Iowa Women's Archives:  http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/