News from

Literature

Reset All Filters
134 Results
Literary characters as masks: A reflection on identity during a pandemic
student wearing a dark mask with pom-poms with words #IRunWithMaud

For the final project in a Penn English course on young adult literature, Amy Juang created masks for characters in five books. A double major in English and visual studies from Minneapolis, Juang graduated in May. 

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.
Virtual visitors at the Kelly Writers House
Four people speaking from home each on the computer screen in a videoconference

Two of the three Kelly Writers House Fellows public conversations were held remotely this year, livestreamed online. April’s guests were Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham (top row, left to right) who produce The New York Times podcast “Still Processing.” The question and answer session was managed by Penn’s Julia Bloch, Creative Writing Program  Director, and Lily Applebaum of the Kelly Writers House (bottom row, left to right). 

Virtual visitors at the Kelly Writers House

The Kelly Writers House Fellows course continued remotely this semester for the class sessions and public conversations. Last week’s guests were Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham of The New York Times podcast “Still Processing.”
The coronavirus class divide: Space and privacy
The New York Times

The coronavirus class divide: Space and privacy

Emily Steinlight of the School of Arts and Sciences said narratives about the hazards of close living quarters for poor people date back to Charles Dickens’ 1852 novel, “Bleak House.” “It’s the poorest and most socially marginalized people in the novel who disproportionately die of this disease,” she said. “That also has resonance for what we’re seeing now.”

Professor Emily Wilson named 2020 Guggenheim Fellow
Professor stands outside leaning against a stone wall with trees in the background.

Penn Professor Emily Wilson has been named a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow. (Image: Kyle Cassidy)

Professor Emily Wilson named 2020 Guggenheim Fellow

The School of Arts and Sciences professor has received a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in the humanities category for her translations of ancient Greek and Roman literature and philosophy. 
Tales of bringing the dead back to life
Writer and doctor Vikram Paralkar in his research lab.
  • Q&A

    • Tales of bringing the dead back to life

    Meet Vikram Paralkar, an oncologist at Penn Medicine who has received extraordinary attention for his new fiction novel, “Night Theater,” a story where a surgeon is asked to bring the dead back to life.

    Dee Patel

    Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
    Two grad students and library curator looking at Joanna Banks Exhibit

    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.

    Dee Patel

    Archive of pioneering author and artist comes to Penn Libraries
    Ashley Bryan gestures with his hands open at a library at an elementary school reading his books to children seated on the ground.

    Archive of pioneering author and artist comes to Penn Libraries

    The collection of Ashley Bryan’s work includes thousands of pieces of art, correspondence, photos, manuscripts, and books. A small exhibition of his collection is now on display at the Libraries, and a major symposium and exhibition are expected in 2022.
    English professor J.C. Cloutier’s latest book sheds new light on African American literature
    J.C. Cloutier standing in front of a picture of Batman.

    Jean-Christophe Cloutier, an assistant professor of English at Penn, has written a book that uncovers his discoveries in archives over the past decade and explains his theories on why African American literary collections are often undervalued. (Image: Shira Yudkoff)

    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.