Dorena Wright “If I don’t have anything to read I suffer from what I think of as print deprivation. I suffer acutely when I don’t have access to writing or print in some form,” says Dorena Wright, professor of English. “In situations where the only thing to read is the back of a cornflakes box, I’ll read the back of a cornflakes box.” Wright’s love of books goes back to her childhood. “I used to read my way through the summer,” she says. She would make frequent trips to and from the library, soon becoming a quick reader. “That confirmed me in a love of reading and a love of books.” Today Wright enjoys certain types of detective fiction that offer “intellectual satisfaction combined with psychological satisfaction.” Depending on other demands on her time, she can easily polish off two books a week, sometimes more. The test of a good book is if it stands up to a second reading, Wright says. She believes the reader can appreciate it more the second time through because they are not swept up in what happens. “You always find more in a good book on a second reading that you did the first,” she says. Although re-reading books once enjoyed as a child can often be disappointing. “You’ve changed so much, the book isn’t the same for you.” While studying at Oxford University, Wright opted to take a degree in comparative philology - the love of words and the study of languages in relation to one another with a focus on language and history. Learning about language and literature, Wright often encountered texts in other languages. Her mastery of French and Latin in high school, and later German, soon came in handy. “That was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she said. “I found German immensely useful in many ways.” “Looking back I wish I’d had an opportunity to take courses in animal behavior,” Wright says. “If they had been around when I was an undergraduate, my life might have taken a completely different course.” She is fascinated by most animals, especially felines of all kinds; particularly tigers as a child. Wright grew up in High Wickham, England, a small town approximately 30 miles east of London. This ancient market town, she says, has history that dates back to the Middle Ages. “Of course as a child I didn’t realize how interesting it was,” Wright says. “I thought it was boring, it was what I had always known. I wish I’d taken advantage and gotten to know it when I was living there.” Her journey to La Verne did not take a direct route from Britain; it made a couple stops first in Australia because “it seemed to be an exciting thing to do at the time. It expanded my view of the world.” The next stop was Oregon. “I found the West Coast of the United States at that time very exciting,” Wright says. “Because it’s a small university and small department, you have a great deal of freedom to innovate and do what you want,” she says about offering courses and interdisciplinary cores. While on sabbatical in 2005, Wright is working on turning sections of her dissertation into a book, a process that has involved re-writing and creating new material. Her dissertation, titled, “The figure of the courtesan actress in the 18th and 19th Century novel,” centers around the courtesan found most commonly in French literature. “Very much the European version of the Japanese geisha,” she says. With her knowledge of French, Wright is able to read the original works. She is also working toward a study of Irish detective fiction set in Ireland by Irish or part Irish authors. Her main research, again, is reading, a not so tough job for a woman who loves to do so. “In some ways I’m not a very hobbyish person,” she says. In her spare time, Wright serves as the treasurer for the Peace with Justice Center of the Pomona Valley. She became a member soon after coming to ULV, but decided to become more active in late 2001 “after the obvious invasion of Afghanistan and probably Iraq.” “The purpose is to promote both peace activism and peace education,” she says. The group hosts various speakers and films on important issues. Although the group is small, Wright says, “Its impact is limited but, in fact, movements depend on small groups of people everywhere sticking with that they believe in.” “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” Wright quotes Ghandi, and adds in her own words, “the idea of doing something rather than wishing. Anything you can do to get that change is ultimately important.” RETURN TO FACULTY LISTmailto:dwright@ulv.edu?subject=HELLOHome.htmlshapeimage_1_link_1
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