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Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’
Professor sitting outside with trees and a metal trailer behind him.

Jay Kirk, a lecturer in Penn's Creative Writing Program, just had a new book published, "Avoid the Day: A New Nonfiction in Two Movements." (Image: Julie Diana)

Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’

Penn and Philadelphia are woven throughout a new book by Jay Kirk as he pursues the mystery of a missing music manuscript by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, traveling from Vermont to Europe to the Arctic Circle. Penn Today spoke the lecturer in nonfiction creative writing about “Avoid the Day: A New Nonfiction in Two Movements.”

Louisa Shepard

Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections
The Russian flag cracked diagonally overlaps with the US flag behind it

Russia has been making headlines in the U.S. this election cycle, but it's not the meddling narrative of 2016.

Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections

Amid allegations of Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers and of hackers trying to steal vaccine research, Penn Today spoke to two experts to get their take and how the developments play into the U.S. presidential election cycle.

Kristen de Groot

Cancel culture on the silver screen
Professor in front of a bookshelf filled with books

Meta Mazaj is a senior lecturer in cinema studies at Penn. (Image: Taja Mazaj)

  • Q&A

    • Cancel culture on the silver screen

    Iconic films like the 1939 blockbuster “Gone With the Wind” are being scrutinized in light of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice. Cinema studies’ Meta Mazaj says framing films within context is more valuable than erasure and disclaimers.

    Louisa Shepard

    Pandemic project: Odyssey-a-Day
    Professor Emily Wilson dressed in costume as three different characters in the Odyssey, one with a fringed scarf around her head, one with an eye patch and a fur headband, and one with a wig with long red hair.

    Penn Professor Emily Wilson created a new project while at home during the pandemic, reading short passages from each of the 24 books of her translation of Homer’s “Odyssey,” complete with costumes, props, and voices. The characters included (from left) Helen of Troy, Polyphemus, and Calypso.

    Pandemic project: Odyssey-a-Day

    Classics Professor Emily Wilson created a project where she filmed herself reading short passages from each of the 24 books of her celebrated translation of Homer’s “Odyssey,” complete with costumes, props, and voices.

    Louisa Shepard , Louisa Shepard

    What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice
    Screenshot of four people in a grid form, top left is Mary Frances Berry, top right is Margo Natalie Crawford, bottom left is Guthrie Ramsey, bottom right is Dagmawi Woubshet

    Clockwise from top left: Mary Frances Berry; Margo Natalie Crawford; Guthrie Ramsey; and Dagmawi Woubshet. (Image: Penn Arts & Sciences)

    What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice

    In an effort to amplify the messages of the recent protests against racist violence, Penn Arts & Sciences created a special series: What Happens to a Dream Deferred? 60-Second Lectures on Racial Injustice.

    From Omnia

    Partisanship and the pandemic
    Six people sit socially distanced in folding camping chairs in a public park

    A socially distanced get-together during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Partisanship and the pandemic

    Partisanship, not health concerns, is the main driver of whether Americans are social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study.

    Kristen de Groot

    Advancing knowledge on archaea
    Petri dish with a honeycomb-like growth

    Biologists found that the archaeon Haloferax volcanii rapidly forms honeycomb structures in response to changes in its environment. They hope to gain more insights into the microbes through a new initiative, the Archaeal Proteome Project. (Image: Courtesy of the Pohlschroder lab)

    Advancing knowledge on archaea

    An open-source data platform for researchers studying archaea is paving the way for new insights and educational opportunities.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Plato was right. Earth is made, on average, of cubes
    Statue of Plato against blue sky

    The ancient philosopher Plato conjectured that the universe was composed of particular geometric shapes; the earth, of cubes. Findings from a multidisciplinary research team found truth in Plato's belief. 

    Plato was right. Earth is made, on average, of cubes

    The ancient Greek philosopher was on to something, the School of Arts & Sciences’ Douglas Jerolmack and colleagues found.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Amid COVID-19, young adults aging out of foster care are especially vulnerable
    Masked young woman staring out of window

    Youth aging out of foster care are among those bearing the burden of COVID-19’s economic and social consequences, according to a Field Center study

    Amid COVID-19, young adults aging out of foster care are especially vulnerable

    With limited resources, youth who are aging out of foster care are bearing a heavy social and economic burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing under or unemployment, education disruption, homelessness, and food insecurity.

    Kristina Linnea García