Member Maria L. Mogford, an Instructor of English at Albright College who’s a doctoral student at Alvernia University, would like to use the first Society conference in October to launch her research. The conference will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rabbit, Run, and Maria is going to write her dissertation on the moral and spiritual leadership aspects present in Rabbit, Run.

“I was thrilled to find out that Alvernia will be hosting the first John Updike Society Conference this October,” Maria writes. She would like to set up and run a volunteer-only focus group consisting of Updike scholars to discuss the nature of leadership in Rabbit, Run. “The opportunity to work with experienced academics in John Updike’s hometown is very exciting. I would greatly appreciate the chance to use this focus group to explore my own ideas and perhaps crystallize and build upon those of others at the same time.”

Updike scholars who are planning on attending the Society’s first conference in October and who would like to help Maria can contact her directly to express a willingness to be a part of her focus group. Here’s her email: mmogford@alb.edu.