11/15
Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
Louisa Shepard covers English, history of art, music, theater, classical studies, and cinema and media studies, among other subject areas, in the School of Arts and Sciences. She also supports coverage for the Kelly Writers House, the Graduate School of Education, the Penn Libraries, the Penn Museum, the Arthur Ross Gallery, and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, as well as fine arts in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
Once rejected by Starbucks, writer-in-residence is a National Book Award finalist
Up four flights of stairs in the house-like home of Penn’s Creative Writing Program is the office of Carmen Maria Machado, writer-in-residence and celebrity author in the making.
Students from Seven Universities Gather at Penn for Political Dialogue
In what was characterized as a path-breaking experiment at the University of Pennsylvania, nearly 100 students from seven universities came to discuss politics with each other, despite their differing perspectives.In groups of 10, they tackled tough questions posed by Penn faculty during the two-hour event, “Can We Talk? Political Dialogue in Donald Trump’s America.”
Penn Freshman English Seminar Explores Philadelphia as Its Classroom
A 20-minute trolley ride and a world away, the woods of Bartram’s Garden became an outdoor classroom for a group of University of Pennsylvania students this fall.
A Journey of Discovery in Kenya
Nearly 200 children sit shoulder-to-shoulder in neat rows on the floor of a refugee settlement classroom, their sunlit faces looking up and toward the front. It’s a familiar scene, a primary school in Kenya with too many students, too few resources, too uncertain a future.
Poetry in symphonic motion
“I can’t stop thinking about corn.”The line had been in his head for years.Its meaning was a mystery for Herman Beavers, a professor of English and Africana Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences.
The coming spectacular colors of fall
Fall foliage is expected to be especially bright and colorful this year because plentiful summer rains, followed by September’s warm days and cool nights, have kept the leaves on the trees longer than drier seasons, says a Penn horticulturist.
Support and collaboration between U.S. and Mexico crucial for success
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón engaged in a wide-ranging discussion about global and national issues during the inaugural Penn Biden Global Leaders Dialogue.
Opera Composed by Penn’s Jay Reise Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Russia
Celebrating its 10th year on stage in Russia, an opera composed by University of Pennsylvania music professor Jay Reise will be performed in Moscow’s new Stravinsky Hall this fall.
Alum Todd Lieberman Brings Sneak Preview of New Film “Stronger” to Campus
At a pre-release screening of his new movie “Stronger” at the University of Pennsylvania, Academy Award-winning producer alumnus Todd Lieberman discussed filmmaking, his career and the movie business with Penn Professor Peter Decherney, director of the
Obsidian Blues Is a New Poetry Chapbook by Penn Professor Herman Beavers
The line had been in his head for years: “I can’t stop thinking about corn.” Its meaning was a mystery for Herman Beavers, a professor of creative writing and literature at the University of Pennsylvania.“I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what it meant,” Beavers said.