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Louisa Shepard
Senior 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 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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