My latest book, COVENANT, has been released by Gold Wake Press. This book is actually a reissued text, combining Donora Hillard’s Theology of the Body (2011) with the Silence of Sickness (2011). The book itself is beautifully printed with larger font size for those who had trouble reading S.O.S. You can purchase it on Amazon and BN.com. 

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/covenant-donora-hillard/1106764718?cm_mmc=affiliates-_-linkshare-_-tnl5hpstwnw-_-10%3a1&ean=9780983700159

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Covenant-Donora-Hillard/dp/098370015X/

The Mythological Hero’s Journey of Self: Orphic-Inspired Descents into the Underworld (centered on Book 11 of Homer’s Odyssey, but including other orphic-inspired ‘descents’: Orpheus, Aeneas, Gilgamesh (maybe), Dante, etc.

[I will finalize my title and official proposal (and prospectus) in July, but this appears to be the direction I am headed in for my interdisciplinary dissertation at Drew]

I have lyric poems forthcoming in Drew University’s Insanity’s Horse and Pace University’s Aphros.  

I am proud to say that I’ve been accepted into the Union Theological Seminary to study [Early] Church History and Christian Thought. I am floored… 

My paper “Faith and Fatherland: Bishop O’Dwyer, the Irish Catholic Church, and a New Irish Nationalism following the Easter Rising of 1916” was recently accepted by the international meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies. The conference, scheduled for mid-March of 2012, will be held in New Orleans. 2012 is the 50 year anniversary of this conference, so I am even more excited to present this research!

After much soul-searching and a phenomenal semester in the “Tools of the Titans: Psychodynamics of Mythology,” as well as more studies in spirituality (“Life and Works of GK Chesterton”), I have decided to return to Mythology/Spirituality as my doctoral focus. I had time to explore my interests in Irish History while building credits, but I am returning (for good) to my original literature-related love.. Mythology, but with an interest in religious/spiritual Studies. I feel like I’m back home, and hope to teach a few myth based literature and writing courses in the Spring. 

I attended and presented Valley History Conference (OVHC) in Murray, Kentucky. I presented “Father Coughlin, Bishop Sheen, Mid-20th Century Mass Media, and the Irish-American Catholics’ Fight Against Communism.” After presenting this same paper at Georgetown, I felt that I was able to communicate it more effectively. Though it was less than week after the ACIS Mid-Atlantic, and a 2,300 mile round trip drive, Krista and I thoroughly enjoyed our roadtrip. Imagine: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and all of Kentucky (as Murray is 2 hours north of Nashville)… yes, we even had dinner in Nashville hours after the conference! I was incredibly impressed by the size of the conferences, the audience, the qualifications of presenters and panelists, and the state of the art facilities. 

My history paper “Father Coughlin, the New York Christian Front, and the Irish-American Catholics’ Fight to be American, 1938-40” was recently accepted for presentation at the American Conference for Irish Studies (Mid-Atlantic Regional) on October 1st at Manhattan College (Bronx, NY).

After returning to NJ from an excellent weekend in Georgetown, D.C., where I presented a research paper at Georgetown University, I asked my girlfriend to marry me…she said yes, and we are going to get married. I am a little more than pleased!

There is always such a great feeling of accomplishment (well, mainly relief) when one has completed all of his end of the semester grading, especially when he teaches English, or Philosophy, or History, Languages, or Creative Writing (the humanities = essays!) … and for those Math and Science professors, it just isn’t the same experience!. Now I can look forward to a summer taking a couple of my doc. courses at Drew, presenting at Georgetown, reading and researching, hanging out with K. and friends, traveling a little, and, of course, teaching 2 or 3 summer classes at B.C.