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Sharon Pajka

 

Member profile details

First name
Sharon
Last name
Pajka
 

Personal information (200 word limit for Bio, please)

Personal photo
Bio
Sharon Pajka, PhD, is a professor of English at Gallaudet University. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Gallaudet University and the University of Virginia. She has a certificate in public history from the University of Richmond. On the weekends, find her in the cemetery giving history tours or volunteering, as well as leading the Virginia Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies.
 

Website and social media (please include "http://")

 

Chapter Information

VWC Chapter (if any)
None
 

Speakers' Bureau

Speaker Area(s) of Writing Expertise
  • Non-fiction (general)
  • Non-fiction (journalism)
Other Topic(s) of Expertise
cemetery historian, college essays
 

Poems, Novels, Plays, or other Works

Work 1 - Title
The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of His Family, Friends and Foes
Work 1 - Genre
(Nonfiction) History
Work 1 - Cover
Work 1 - Description
Journey to the burial places of the people who lived in Poe's world.
Edgar Allan Poe considered himself a Virginian. Credited with originating the modern detective story, developing Gothic horror tales, and writing the precursor to science fiction, Poe worked to elevate Southern literature. He lived in the South most of his life, died in Baltimore and made his final home in Richmond. His family and many of his closest associates were southerners. Visit the graves of the people with whom he worked and socialized, who he loved and at times loathed and gain a fuller understanding of Poe's life. These were individuals who supported, inspired, and challenged him, and even a few who attempted to foil his plans. Professor and cemetery historian Sharon Pajka tells their stories.
Work 2 - Title
Women Writers Buried in Virginia
Work 2 - Genre
(Nonfiction) History
Work 2 - Cover
Work 2 - Description
America has an array of women writers who have made history—and many of them lived, died and were buried in Virginia. Gothic novelists, writers of westerns and African American poets, these writers include a Pulitzer Prize winner, the first woman writer to be named poet laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the first woman to top the bestseller lists in the twentieth century. Mary Roberts Rinehart was a best-selling mystery author often called the “American Agatha Christie.” Anne Spencer was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. V.C. Andrews was so popular that when she died, a court ruled that her name was taxable, and the poetry of Susan Archer Talley Weiss received praise from Edgar Allan Poe. Professor and cemetery history enthusiast Sharon Pajka has written a guide to their accomplishments in life and to their final resting places.
Work 3 - Title
"Marking Fred Gwynne's Unmarked Grave with Flowers" in Death’s Garden Revisited
Work 3 - Genre
(Nonfiction) Nonfiction
Work 3 - Cover
Work 3 - Description
Death’s Garden Revisited collects 40 powerful personal essays — accompanied by full-color photographs — to illuminate the reasons people visit cemeteries. Spanning the globe from Iceland to Argentina and from Portland to Prague, Death’s Garden Revisited explores the complex web of relationships between the living and those who have passed before.

Genealogists and geocachers, travelers and tour guides, anthropologists, historians, pagan priestesses, and ghost hunters all venture into cemeteries in these essays. Along the way, they discover that cemeteries don’t only provide a rewarding end to a pilgrimage, they can be the perfect location for a first date or a wedding, the highlight of a family vacation, a cure for depression, and the best possible place to grasp history. Not to mention that cemetery-grown fruit is the sweetest.
Work 4 - Title
"Hygge and Halloween Spirit in Hallmark's Good Witch" chapter in The Hallmark Channel: Essays on Faith, Race and Feminism
Work 4 - Genre
(Nonfiction) Nonfiction
Work 4 - Genre (Other)
Academic
Work 4 - Cover
Work 4 - Description
Originally known as a brand for greeting cards, Hallmark has seen a surge in popularity since the early 2010s for its made-for-TV movies and television channels: the Hallmark Channel and its spinoffs, Hallmark Movie Channel (now Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) and Hallmark Drama. Hallmark’s brand of comforting, often sentimental content includes standalone movies, period and contemporary television series, and mystery film series that center on strong, intuitive female leads. By creating reliable and consistent content, Hallmark offers people a calming retreat from the real world.
This collection of new essays strives to fill the void in academic attention surrounding Hallmark. From the plethora of Christmas movies that are released each year to the successful faith-based scripted programming and popular cozy mysteries that air every week, there is a wealth of material to be explored. Specifically, this book explores the network’s problematic relationship with race, the dominance of Christianity and heteronormativity, the significance placed on nostalgia, and the hiring and re-hiring of a group of women who thrived as child stars.
Work 5 - Title
"Jeepers Creepers: The American Vampirization of the Female, Immigrant Teacher in Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots" chapter in Growing Up With Vampires: Essays on the Undead in Children’s Media
Work 5 - Genre
(Nonfiction) Nonfiction
Work 5 - Genre (Other)
Academic
Work 5 - Cover
Work 5 - Description
Vampire narratives are generally thought of as adult or young adult fare, yet there is a long history of their appearance in books, film and other media meant for children. They emerge as expressions of anxiety about change and growing up but sometimes turn out to be new best friends who highlight the beauty of difference and individuality. This collection of new essays examines the history of vampires in 20th and 21st century Western popular media marketed to preteens and explores their significance and symbolism.
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