March 3, 2022

Episode 73 - Women Writers Buried in Virginia

Episode 73 - Women Writers Buried in Virginia

Jennie and Dianne welcome writer and professor of English Sharon Pajka, PhD back to the show to discuss her latest book, "Women Writers Buried in Virginia". What started out as a summer visit to the grave of acclaimed Gothic horror writer VC Andrews, soon became a trek across Virginia to visit the graves and share the stories of 44 Ordinary Extraordinary women writers whose final resting places are scattered throughout the state. Join us for part one of our delightful discussion as we kick off Women's History month on this episode of the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery podcast.

Dr. Sharon PajkaProfile Photo

Dr. Sharon Pajka

Sharon Pajka is a Professor in the Department of English. She holds a Ph.D. in English Education from the University of Virginia. Her recent publications focus on deaf characters and dead (e.g. vampire) characters in adolescent literature.

Her doctoral research focused on the portrayals and perceptions of Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature. She currently keeps a research blog on the topic: http://pajka.blogspot.com/.

She enjoys teaching courses in adolescent literature and literary studies along with teaching interdisciplinary courses, including “Vampires: Their Historical Significance in Literature, Film, and Pop Culture,” which made The Washington Post's list of "The 15 Oddest College Courses in the D.C. Region".

In 2018, Dr. Pajka completed a graduate program in Public History at the University of Richmond while developing a course focused on dark tourism.

On the weekends, you can find her in the cemetery giving history tours, and running River City Cemetarians; or, you can find her in the blogosphere at http://Goth-Gardening.blogspot.com/ where she uses “gardening” as a metaphor for living a more gothy life.