English | Penn Today

‘I celebrate myself, and sing myself’

Two centuries after his birth, Walt Whitman’s poetry still resonates with audiences today. The Penn Libraries is leading a region-wide, yearlong celebration of Whitman at 200.

W.E.B. Du Bois sits at his desk in his office.

The times and life of W.E.B. Du Bois at Penn

In 1896, Du Bois was appointed an assistant instructor at Penn and began his investigation of the Seventh Ward of Philadelphia—research that he would turn into his groundbreaking work, “The Philadelphia Negro.”

Robert Berry and JC Cloutier read comics in Van Pelt-Dietrich Library

Through comics, profs draw path to visual literacy

In Making Comics, an English course for undergraduates, students learn the theory of comic books while working with others to make them—all in the name of visual literacy.

Professor Charles Bernstein awarded Yale’s 2019 Bollingen Prize for Poetry

Charles Bernstein is the 51st poet to be honored with the biennial prize, one of the most prestigious given to American writers. Bernstein’s latest collection, “Near/Miss,” was published last year.

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.”

Student looking closely at a rare document in a plastic sleeve he is holding, while seated in a library.

Walt Whitman up close

As part of the Penn Manuscript Collective, students transcribe rare documents and original works by Walt Whitman in the University’s collection. Their discoveries will be included in an international symposium at Penn this spring, Whitman at 200, led by the Penn Libraries marking the anniversary of the poet’s birth.

Writers House reborn

Renovations were recently completed at Kelly Writers House to expand its premier Arts Cafe and make the space more technologically friendly.

A classic hat trick

In one year, Sheila Murnaghan, Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Professor of Greek, published a translation of Medea and books on the Beat generation and classics for children.

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.”

Televion wall displaying many different channels simutaneously

TV marathon

With many taking time off over the holidays, Rahul Mukherjee of cinema studies shares his thoughts on binge-watching television.

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