Hawk-eyed OUPblog readers may have noticed a few changes recently and it’s high time we came out with them. May I present UK blog editor Nicola Burton, who joined the UK publicity team at Oxford University Press in August 2011. In addition to her work on OUPblog, Nicola is the publicist for Dictionaries and OUP’s language reference, music and religion trade titles. She also tweets @OUPAcademic, @OEDonline and @OxfordWords. In previous years, Nicola could be found working in technology PR, drinking in East London pubs, and globetrotting with an overly large pink backpack. She is now mostly to be found in charity shops satisfying her button-buying habit. And now on to our Q&A… –Alice
What’s your favourite word?
This changes regularly, but at the moment I’m a fan of abbreviating words à la The Only Way Is Essex. For instance, “Don’t be ridic, I’m well jel! That party was totes amaze.” There’s a great blog post on Sentence First about this phenomenon.
What is your favourite fiction book?
It’d be impossible to pick one for all time, so instead I’ll share my favourite fiction read of 2011: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I was fascinated by the destructive propensity of the narrator’s psyche to perpetuate a self-constructed ideal with which she compares and berates herself.
What weird things do you have in your desk drawer right now?
Some steel wool, artist’s fixative spray, and a stack of Oxford World’s Classics’ Kamasutra postcards . Do I need to expand further?
Name three acceptable bribes that potential guest bloggers could send you.
Buttons, pearls, and Hendrick’s gin are incredibly acceptable forms of bribery.
What’s your favorite animal?
The ladybird [Ed: known as a "ladybug" to Americans]. They have a propitious habit of unexpectedly rocking up when I’m feeling undecided or generally woebegone, so I’ve become convinced they are my lucky talismans.
What’s your most obscure talent/hobby?
Something I can only describe as ‘button art’ – using mixed vintage and modern buttons to create mosaics and decorate accessories. Here’s one I made earlier…
What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?
Without researching word counts, I guess it would either be A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, or Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. Both effortlessly seduced me through to their last pages.
Fill in the blank: I’m chuffed to be the OUPblog editor because it is _________
…Without a doubt the
I'm super thrilled to share with you that I'm a newly elected member of the Board of Directors of Seattle's
Ethnic Heritage Council.
If you've spent any amount of time in Seattle, you've likely seen the Ethnic Heritage Council at work through one of their
many events that they produce or sponsor throughout the year.
With offices based in the
Seattle Center, Seattle's cultural hub and home to the Space Needle, EMP, Science Center, Children's Theatre, and many more, the Ethnic Heritage Council is behind many of the festive events that liven up the Center House throughout the year. Check out the beautiful event
photo galleries.
EHC is probably best known for their
Annual Naturalization Ceremony which, for the past 26 years has taken place on the Fourth of July, and during which thousands of new American citizens have been sworn in.
The
Ethnic Heritage Council (EHC) of Seattle, Washington was established in 1980 and has grown in membership from a few individuals, to hundreds of ethnic and cultural organizations and individuals.
EHC's mission is to preserve and promote ethnic and cultural traditions, foster mutual understanding, enrich lives and celebrate our heritage.
I'm honored to have been invited to join the Board of Directors of the Ethnic Heritage Council, and I look forward to using my skills in Communications, PR, Marketing and Social Media to support this stellar and vital organization of our community.
Please visit the Ethnic Heritage Council website at
http://www.ethnicheritagecouncil.org and get to know this fabulous organization dedicated to celebrating the ethnic diversity of our region.
0 Comments on Get to Know: Ethnic Heritage Council, Seattle Washington as of 1/1/1900
Kirsty Doole has been part of the OUPblog team since…possibly forever, and yet I don’t know that we’ve ever properly introduced her to all of you. Formerly known as the ‘UK Early Bird,’ she is our UK Contributing Editor and keeps me on my toes at every turn. To my great delight, she’s also joined me on the @OUPblog twitter account! Without further adieu, I present this (fantastic) Q&A. -Lauren
If you had to reread one book every year for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Jane Eyre. It’s my joint favourite book, alongside Mrs Dalloway. But the thing about Mrs Dalloway is that you (or rather, I) have to be in the mood for it. Jane Eyre works anytime. Also: Matilda by Roald Dahl.
What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?
A love of Victorian literature means I’ve read a few doorstops. I’ve just finished The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope, which is 1,024 pages. It’s brilliant, by the way, you should definitely read it.
What’s your most obscure talent/hobby?
I’m desperately boring and can’t think of anything particularly obscure. How about my favourite obscure historical figure? Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham.
If you lost your voice for a week, and could only communicate by playing portions of a song, what song would you choose?
‘I Am The Walrus’ by The Beatles. Might as well have some fun confusing people.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
It wasn’t funny at the time, but it’s funny now. Ten days before my undergraduate English Literature final exams I broke my writing arm. Due to the short notice I had to get friends and family to scribe for my exams because most of the postgrads who would have done had already left for the summer, or were in the middle of their own exams. A friend scribed the first exam, and out of the first three words of the first essay in the first exam, he misspelled two of them. Funny now. Thought I was going to cry then. How did I break my arm? Long story.
Where did you grow up?
A small town called Barrhead , about 8 miles outside of Glasgow, Scotland. The most famous alumnus of my high school is Gregor Fisher, of Rab C. Nesbitt fame. I have no idea if Rab C. Nesbitt made it outside of the UK, so it could be that as far as you’re concerned I’m my high school’s most famous alumnus.
If you had to live outside of the UK, where would you move?
I’m better at dealing with cold weather than I am with hot, so I might go and join my Dad in Oslo. That said, apparently Norwegian is tough to learn. So, how about New York during the Snowpocalypse? (You can tell I’m British by how important weather is to me.)
Cat’s Cradle vs. Rubik’s Cube. Go. (Unless you don’t know about cat’s cradle?)
Neither. When I was a kid I had a Rubik’s *Clock* .
How do you feel about hats?
Given a beanie hat and my husband’s glasses, I look like Meg from ‘Family Guy.’ Seriously.
How do you feel about American versions of British TV shows?
*Obviously* they are inferior. I’ve seen your version of &
