English

Emily Monfort and Izzy DiCampli work on set design.

A humanities pathway to pre-med

Pre-med students majoring in English, theatre, history, and other humanities fields find satisfaction in tapping into multiple interests—and see benefits for a career in medicine.

Erica Moser ・

Four people sit in chairs on an auditorium stage in front of a sign reading Living the Hard Promise.

Open expression and the role of universities

The second installment of the School of Arts & Sciences’ new dialogue series featured a discussion about the current state of discourse around universities.

Kristen de Groot ・

A person holding a stack of books while reading one.

The power of chick lit

Meghan Hall, lecturer and associate director for graduate studies in the Department of English, talks about what gives the popular literary genre its staying power.

From Omnia ・

Nolen, Lorene Cary, and Finister speaking with each other at Kelly Writers House.

‘Ladysitting’ on stage 

The new play “Ladysitting” at the Arden Theatre Co. is by Penn English faculty and alumna Lorene Cary, based on her memoir about caring for her grandmother in the last of her 101 years.

Louisa Shepard ・

Melissa Jensen standing on a stairway

Exploring Jane Austen and Taylor Swift

In a first-year English seminar taught by Melissa Jensen in the School of Arts & Sciences, students focus on the teenaged writing by now-famous authors, musicians, and artists, including Jane Austen and Taylor Swift.

Louisa Shepard ・

five people sitting at a table with microphones and books in front of a wall of windows

‘PoemTalk’ podcast at 200 episodes

The 200th episode of the pioneering poetry podcast “PoemTalk” was recorded at the Kelly Writers House last week, 16 years after the first. Founder Al Filreis (left) of the School of Arts & Sciences is the creator and host of the discussion-based monthly podcast that features a “close, but not too close” reading of a poem.

Louisa Shepard ・



Media Contact


Louisa Shepard

Louisa Shepard Senior News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu

In the News


Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn has preserved a pair of gloves said to belong to Shakespeare. Did they?

Alicia Meyer and Tessa Gadomski of Penn Libraries are researching whether a pair of centuries-old gloves belonged to Shakespeare, with remarks from Zachary Lesser of the School of Arts & Sciences.

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The New York Times

Jerome Rothenberg, who expanded the sphere of poetry, dies at 92

Charles Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the late Jerome Rothenberg was the ultimate hyphenated person: a poet-critic-anthologist-translator.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

A collector donated 75,000 comic books to Penn Libraries, valued at more than $500,000

Alumnus Gary Prebula and his wife, Dawn, have donated a $500,000 collection of more than 75,000 comic books and graphic novels to Penn Libraries, featuring remarks from Sean Quimly of the Kislak Center and Jean-Christophe Cloutier of the School of Arts & Sciences.

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The best scholarly books of 2023

Jed Esty of the School of Arts & Sciences is lauded for his 2022 book, “The Future of Decline,” which compares the current decline of U.S. power to the dissolution of the British empire.

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BBC

The Iliad: How modern readers get this epic wrong

In a Q&A, Emily Wilson of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses what the Iliad can tell us about modern society, from masculinity to environmentalism.

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The Washington Post

To his final days, my father always knew how to pull off the landing

In an Op-Ed, Paul Hendrickson of the School of Arts & Sciences reflects on his father’s legacy as a pilot and their complex relationship.

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