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A ‘celebrity translator’ takes center stage
emily wilson sitting in the penn museum auditorium

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A ‘celebrity translator’ takes center stage

Emily Wilson, professor of classical studies, is renowned for her English translations of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poems, first “The Odyssey” and now the “The Iliad.”
Exploring Jane Austen and Taylor Swift
Melissa Jensen standing on a stairway

A 1989 Penn grad, Melissa Jensen has taught literature and writing at Penn for 15 years.

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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.
‘Bartok’s Monster’ challenges conventions of theater
A cellist performing on stage.

“Bartok’s Monster” is a fusion of lecture, concert, and theater.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Live Arts)

‘Bartok’s Monster’ challenges conventions of theater

In “Bartok’s Monster,” an interdisciplinary collaboration, Daedalus Quartet will perform Bartok’s String Quartet No. 3 and other string pieces mixed with acting, choreography, and an array of striking visuals.
Through first-year seminar, a glimpse of Black queer traditions
Dag Woubshet leading a class of students.

Associate professor of English Dag Woubshet leads students of the course “Black Queer Traditions” in Fisher-Bennett Hall. 

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Through first-year seminar, a glimpse of Black queer traditions

Dagmawi Woubshet, an associate professor of English, led a new first-year seminar in the fall that explores Black queer media and its intersection with history and politics.
The best scholarly books of 2023
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.

‘PoemTalk’ podcast at 200 episodes
five people sitting at a table with microphones and books in front of a wall of windows

The 200th episode of PoemTalk was filmed at the Kelly Writers House on Nov. 30. From left: Host Al Filreis and poets William J. (Billy Joe) Harris, Aldon Lynn Nielsen, and Tyrone Williams, and featured poet Evie Shockley. 

(Image: Zach Carduner)

‘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.
Coca-Cola in Africa
Sara Byala portrait and book cover for Bottled How Coca-Cola Became African by Sara Byala

Sara Byala, a senior lecturer in creative writing and associate director of the Penn Global Documentary Institute, is the author of a new book, "Bottled: How Coca-Cola Became African." 

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  • Q&A

    • Coca-Cola in Africa

    A new book by Sara Byala of the School of Arts & Sciences examines the century-long history of Coca-Cola and its local social, commercial, and environmental impact in Africa.
    An inauspicious arrival for the ambitious Benjamin Franklin
    The young Ben Franklin statue on Penn’s campus.

    The “Young Benjamin Franklin” statue in front of Weightman Hall on 33rd street depicts Penn’s founder as the 17-year-old who arrived in Philadelphia 300 years ago.

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    An inauspicious arrival for the ambitious Benjamin Franklin

    Penn’s founder arrived in Philadelphia on Oct. 6 300 years ago as a nearly penniless 17-year-old looking for a job as a printer.
    The Iliad: How modern readers get this epic wrong
    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.