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Louisa Shepard
News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu
English
On identity and poetic form: Ahmad Almallah’s ‘Bitter English’
On identity and poetic form: Ahmad Almallah’s ‘Bitter English’
Ahmad Almallah, a lecturer in English and Arabics, took over five years to write his debut poetry collection. But in many ways, the book is the result of a decades-long journey.
Literary characters as masks: A reflection on identity during a pandemic
Literary characters as masks: A reflection on identity during a pandemic
An English and visual studies double major, May graduate Amy Juang created five masks to reflect the identities of characters in novels she studied in a young adult literature course taught by Melissa Jensen.
Herman Beavers named faculty director of Civic House and the Civic Scholars Program
Herman Beavers named faculty director of Civic House and the Civic Scholars Program
Beavers has taught at Penn since 1989 and is a professor of English and Africana studies, a distinguished poet, and a widely published scholar of 20th-century, and is a leader in the Penn community.
Penn junior Misha McDaniel named a Beinecke Scholar
Penn junior Misha McDaniel named a Beinecke Scholar
English major Misha McDaniel has been awarded a 2020 Beinecke Scholarship to pursue graduate education. McDaniel is one of 18 Beinecke Scholars chosen from throughout the U.S., and the 13th recipient from Penn since the award was first given in 1975.
With ‘The Sacramento of Desire,’ Julia Bloch completes a personal trilogy
With ‘The Sacramento of Desire,’ Julia Bloch completes a personal trilogy
The creative writing professor’s most recent book of poetry focuses on her desire for making a family as a member of the queer community.
A time traveling Harriet Tubman, brought to life on stage
A time traveling Harriet Tubman, brought to life on stage
English faculty Lorene Cary’s first play features a time traveling Harriet Tubman who toggles between her 19th-century life and a present-day Philadelphia prison where she recruits soldiers to fight with her in the Civil War. Playing to sold-out audiences, “My General Tubman” is on stage through mid-March at Arden Theatre Company.
Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
A major exhibition and symposium organized by two Penn graduate students highlighting African American women literature is open in the Penn Libraries’ Kamin Gallery.
Author Carmen Maria Machado and her ‘Dream House’
Author Carmen Maria Machado and her ‘Dream House’
Carmen Maria Machado, who teaches speculative fiction as a writer in residence in the Creative Writing Program, has received extraordinary attention for her new memoir, “In the Dream House,” using multiple genres to describe an abusive relationship.
In memoriam: Penn remembers those who passed in 2019
In memoriam: Penn remembers those who passed in 2019
Penn professors and faculty reflect on the giants in art, academia, and beyond who left us this year.
English professor J.C. Cloutier’s latest book sheds new light on African American literature
English professor J.C. Cloutier’s latest book sheds new light on African American literature
Like a literary detective, English prof Jean-Christophe Cloutier sifts through library archives searching for material written by African American authors that is often hidden, uncatalogued, misfiled, or forgotten.
Media Contact
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn professor awarded MacArthur genius grant
Emily Wilson of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about being named a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. “I’m excited about the publicity it potentially brings—not to me personally, but to the fields of translation, poetics, history,” she said. “And I hope it’s a way to get other people to engage in those fields.”
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Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane (WHYY-FM)
Lorene Cary’s ‘Ladysitting’
Lorene Cary of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about her new memoir, “Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century.”
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NPR
‘Ladysitting’ offers candor and a singular take on a tale familiar to many
Lorene Cary of the School of Arts and Sciences has published a new memoir called Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century. The book explores complex family relationships and the history and effects of American racism.
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The New York Times
Bollingen Prize in American Poetry and nominees for the National Book Critics Circle and Edgar Allan Poe Awards are announced
Charles Bernstein of the School of Arts and Sciences has been awarded the Bollingen Prize in American Poetry. “I am overwhelmed at being in the company of my fellow Bollingen winners,” Bernstein said. “How great that ‘Near/Miss’ has been so warmly welcomed into the world.”
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The Atlantic
How James Baldwin’s writings about love evolved
Dagmawi Woubshet of the School of Arts and Sciences analyzed James Baldwin’s literary evolution. If Beale Street Could Talk “marked a crucial turn in how the author sought to characterize the most abiding theme and moral principle of his work: love.”
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PBS NewsHour
Brief but Spectacular: Imani Davis
English and Africana Studies major Imani Davis of New York City performed a #MeToo movement-inspired poem on the “Brief but Spectacular” segment of the “PBS NewsHour.”
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