Browsing by Author "Boyd, Melanie"

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    The Bob Gibson Collection of Speculative Fiction, University of Calgary
    (Science Fiction Studies, 2010) Boyd, Melanie
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    Group SInging in the Oral Tradition as Source of Spiritual Opening: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis
    (Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2012) Boyd, Melanie
    Group singing for many individuals is a compelling activity accompanied often by physical, emotional, social, intellectual and/or spiritual benefits. However, most studies demonstrating these benefits are based on singing groups that employ all, or a combination of, written lyrics, musical notation, ‘set’ parts, and performance. Another study shows that some people don’t like singing, or sing only alone, owing to self-consciousness, self-judgment and/or perceived judgment by others. Because of such findings, and based on my own experience with group singing, I founded and facilitate No Wrong Notes (NWN). No Wrong Notes is non-auditioned, non-performing group singing for people of all levels of experience. Singing is a cappella. Songs are secular – chosen for meaning, sound and ease of learning. All songs are shared orally, with no use of written words or music. Emphasis is on enjoyment and freeing the voice in a supportive, nonjudgmental atmosphere. In 2007, I began a workplace NWN group for women. Numerous participants have expressed perceived benefits from singing with the group. This paper is an interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experience of one participant, Evelyn MacKenzie (name changed), from the perspective of her spiritual self.
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    Library-Faculty Relations -- Gaps and Bridges: Connecting within our Communities
    (2014-01-06) Boyd, Melanie
    Librarians must be proactive in personally connecting with faculty members as colleagues and collaborators - rather than as "service providers" - especially as technology increasingly separates faculty from the physical library.
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    Longing for Wilderness: The Human and the Other - Vis à Vis - in the Poetry and Poetics of Don McKay
    (2008-01) Boyd, Melanie
    Canadian poet, Don McKay, describes wilderness as “the placeless place beyond the mind’s appropriation.” Though ever elusive, a poet must seek this wilderness through “poetic attention” – “a sort of readiness, a species of longing which is without desire to possess.” Essentially, poetic attention is a longing for wilderness; it is also an act of humility and gratitude – however inept – offered to “the other” (i.e. that which is not human), irrespective of reciprocity or even the potential for it. Authentic humanity depends upon this act, no matter how futile it may be. McKay’s own intense longing for wilderness is embodied in his self-adopted role as “nature poet”, and the way in which he chooses to write as one (for example, through the prolific use of thoughtful anthropomorphizing, a gesture that shakes up imposed human order and appropriation). Through a close reading and analysis of two of McKay’s books, Another Gravity and Vis à Vis, Field Notes on Poetry and Wilderness (complementary volumes of poetry and poetics respectively), this paper reveals how, for McKay, the journey to a poem is an attempt at a personal journey to the other. As well, it demonstrates how McKay’s poetry offers the reader an experiential conduit to the philosophical contemplations found in his poetics, all of which he clearly hopes will have some ameliorating effect on how we (humans) regard, treat and relate to the other – be it tin cup, tiger, toothpick, or tree.
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    On the Front Line? Metaphors of War and Violence in Academic Libraries
    (2019-07) Amedegnato, Ozouf Senamin; Boyd, Melanie
    English: Is there room for war metaphor in academic libraries? Is there a good, or justifiable, reason for its use? In this paper, we argue the answer to these questions is no. The paper will discuss the nature of metaphor in general, the effects of its use, and why those effects matter. Grounded in this discussion, it will consider and analyze the use of war metaphor, specifically in the academic library world. Finally, it will offer suggestions for how, through individual and collective effort, the metaphor of war might be purged from the academic library lexicon. Français: La métaphore guerrière a-t-elle une place dans les bibliothèques universitaires? A-t-on une bonne raison d’y recourir? Cette contribution répond aux deux questions par la négative. Le texte définira dans un premier temps la métaphore et exposera son fonctionnement ainsi que ses manifestations. Suivra ensuite une analyse de l’usage de la métaphore guerrière dans le contexte précis des bibliothèques universitaires. Enfin, les auteurs expliqueront comment, à travers un effort individuel et collectif, les interactions bibliothécaires peuvent être expurgées de leurs contenus belliqueux.
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    The Whole (So Far) Grasped in the Particular.
    (Association for Literature, Environment & Culture in Canada, 2010) Boyd, Melanie