Professors Present Books at MBFI

Geoffrey Philp

Geoffrey Philp, chairman of North Campus’ College Prep Department, will introduce his latest book, Marcus and the Amazons, on Nov. 20  at 11 a.m. in Wolfson Campus’ Room 1164.

The children’s book focuses on the story of Marcus, an ant who discovered that his colony and his fiancée Princess Amy have been enslaved by the Amazons.

Marcus must now rally his colony to stand against their oppressors, but he faces the moral dilemma as to whether or not to participate in the upcoming violence due to his pacifist philosophy.

“I took out my iPod and began listening to Bob Marley’s “Rat Race” for inspiration. I had also gone to a presentation at the University of Miami where this author, George Lamming, had presented his book Of Age and Innocence; there was a section about ants, and then the book eventually came together in about three weeks,” Philp said.

Philp has been a full-time faculty member at Miami Dade College since 1991, when he started as an English Professor. He has published one novel, two short story collections, six poetry collections, one drama, and two children’s books.

Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich, an English professor at Wolfson Campus’ Honors College, will present his collection of poems, The Animals Beyond Us, on Nov. 20  at 12:30 p.m. at Wolfson Campus’ Centre Gallery.

“I had written the collection within the course of a year; I worked on it every day. The collection had initially comprised of 150 poems. Afterwards, I reviewed and revised them and chose about 55 poems that went the best together. It was really an experiment to see how fast I could write,” Hettich said.

Hettich explained that the poetry in the book dealt with grief and dealing with loss, primarily familial. Hettich has been teaching at MDC for more than 20 years. He has published 12 books and chapbooks of poetry.

Paul George

Paul George, a professor of history at MDC will have his latest work The Paths to Justice, the Story of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit shown on Nov. 20 at 11 a.m. in Wolfson Campus’ Room 7128.

“Members of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit asked me to do it. I liked the idea of a challenge. It was a two-year project that started in the summer of 2009 and I had finished it in April of 2011, George said. “I really want to provide interesting information on urban history, and highlight institutions that people always seem to take for granted.”

George has previously written works about a myriad of criminal and historical issues. A good deal of the books he’s published have dealt with South Florida history. He is the author of 13 books and more than 100 articles and book reviews.