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Popular Culture Review
Sarah Pawlak earned an AA with honors from Antelope Valley College before
transferring to Cal Poly Pomona where she earned, first her BA, also with
honors, and later her MA, both of which are in English Literature. She is now at
UNLV pursuing her PhD in the same subject. Her wide-ranging interests include
19th and 20th century British literature, drama of all periods, genre fiction, and
popular culture. In addition to her two contribution to this volume, she is also
currently at work on her first novel.
Lauren Rocha graduated from Bridgewater State University with a Bachelor of
Arts degree in English. Her research interests include 19th and 20th century
vampire literature with a particular emphasis on depictions of female characters
in the vampire genre. She is pursuing graduate study in English starting in the
fall.
Ross Talarico is an award-winning author and Professor at Springfield College,
San Diego campus. The epic poem he alludes to in his article was eventually
published, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, the topic for a keynote speech at the
2009 Far West Popular Culture Conference, and the subject matter of a panel
discussion at that same conference.
Dr. Matthew R. Turner is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of
Communication at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Dr. Turner is an
interdisciplinary scholar with diverse research interests. His article, “Performing
Pop Parody: Lady Gaga, ‘Weird AT Yankovic, and Parodied Performance” will
be published in The Performance Identities of Lady Gaga a collection
forthcoming from McFarland (2012). Another article “Orpheus in Brazil:
Culture, Race, and Representation in Three Retellings of the Orpheus Legend”
is scheduled to be published in Hogar, Dulce Hogar: Ideologies of Home and the
Latin American, Latino/a Experience (In circulation. Expected 2012). He has
also published articles on comedy westerns and the Marx Brothers.
Jennifer Woolson hails from the Jersey Shore. As an undergraduate at Penn
State, she double majored in English and Journalism, while minoring in
Women’s Studies. She is currently a student in the English M.A. program at the
University of Nevada Las Vegas. Her interests include contemporary prose by
American women of color, as well as feminist and race theories.