MCLA Professor Receives Award at MLA Convention

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David Zachary Finch

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' David Zachary Finch, an assistant professor of English at the College, recently received the John N. Serio Award for the best published article on poet Wallace Stevens at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association in Chicago.

Finch's essay, "He That of Repetition is Most Master: Stevens and the Poetics of Mannerism," was published in The Wallace Stevens Journal in fall 2012.

Judges for the award praised Finch's analysis for being “grounded in both a knowledge of the history of mannerism since the Renaissance and also critical theory. It is an original and exciting approach that promises to open the field for future criticism."


"It was a real honor to have some of these very critics acknowledge and celebrate my own ideas about Stevens," Finch said. "Stevens has always inspired and influenced my work as a poet. Because his writing is notoriously complex, several years ago I began trying to understand my personal attraction to his poetry in greater detail by writing some criticism about it."

Finch, who teaches a range of literary and creative writing courses at MCLA — including poetry — also is the faculty advisor to "Spires," the campus' literary magazine. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, his Master of Education at the Warren Wilson Program for Writers, and his doctrate from SUNY-Buffalo.

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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
 
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
 
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
 
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 
 
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
 
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
 
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC. 
 
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