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Literature

Patti Smith as a Kelly Writers House Fellow
Patti Smith and Al Filreis at microphones.

Smith and Filreis held a public discussion, filled with her stories and readings of her works, on the morning of Feb. 25.

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Patti Smith as a Kelly Writers House Fellow

Singer, songwriter, poet, author, and musician Patti Smith was in residence at the Kelly Writers House for two days, telling stories about the people in her life throughout the decades, reading passages from her books, and performing her songs.
Penn has preserved a pair of gloves said to belong to Shakespeare. Did they?
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.

Edible Books at the Kelly Writers House
Seven people around a table with cake during the Edible Books event.

The 14th-annual Edible Books party at the Kelly Writers House featured 30-some creations based on literature titles, often involving puns.

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Edible Books at the Kelly Writers House

The annual Edible Books contest at the Kelly Writers House features food creations inspired by books, often involving puns based on the titles. In this 14th year, 30-some entries were admired and (mostly) eaten.
Libraries exhibition explores the movement of books
a hand on a hand-made book with moveable parts

Various types of books were created for the exhibition that visitors can touch, including one of wood inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts.

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Libraries exhibition explores the movement of books

A new exhibit at the Penn Libraries explores the myriad ways books move—as physical objects in different formats, and across space and time—featuring 24 items from the collection, a video wall displaying 26 additional items, and interactive models.
The English major’s cheerleader and champion
Jennifer Egan standing in front of class gesturing with one hand and holding papers in the other

Egan first taught literature at Penn in the spring of 2019, but she restructured the course and wrote new lectures for this year’s class.

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The English major’s cheerleader and champion

Bestselling author Jennifer Egan taught an undergraduate literature course in the spring as an English Department artist in residence in the School of Arts & Sciences. A 1985 Penn graduate, she is a passionate advocate for the English major, the humanities, and a liberal arts education.
Josephine Park on authoring identity
Josephine Park.

Josephine Park, School of Arts & Sciences President’s Distinguished Professor of English.

(Image: Courtesy of OMNIA)

Josephine Park on authoring identity

The School of Arts & Sciences President’s Distinguished Professor of English discusses the way literature has influenced the experience of being Asian American in the United States.

Blake Cole

How to donate 80,000 comic books—and get a marvelous tax break
Forbes

How to donate 80,000 comic books—and get a marvelous tax break

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 Quimby of the Kislak Center.

Measuring readers of romance
two people looking at laptop computers

James English (left) and J.D. Porter have been collaborating on the research project for more than three years. 

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Measuring readers of romance

Researchers at Penn's Price Lab for Digital Humanities conducted a quantitative analysis of the romance genre, studying thousands of avid readers and the hundreds of thousands of books in their collections in Goodreads