Professor Megan Quigley to Present at THE POUND ERA AT 50: HUGH KENNER’S MODERNISM

 Professor Megan Quigley will present at talk titled, "Was Hugh Kenner an Eliot Fan?" at The Pound Era at 50: Hugh Kenner's Modernism. The event will take place on April 7 from 4:30-8:00 pm at Princeton University in Chancellor Green 103.

Daisy Fried's The Year the City Emptied, out now!

Daisy Fried's new book of poetry, The Year the City Emptied, is out now from Flood Editions.

From the press:

 “There’s a lot of fake anger out there, masking dangerous fear. Daisy Fried gives us the real thing: anger born of despair, love, desire, injustice, and loss. She’s a grave robber, revivifying the corpse of Baudelaire to mess with him and help her to cope. His ghoulish presence accompanies her as she haunts Philadelphia, ‘that old worker,’ recording riots, suffering, stench. This book has killer atmosphere, fragrances fine and foul. It growls with the cavernous hunger of our ‘graveyard Nation’ mid-pandemic. But the calm center of The Year the City Emptied is Fried’s dying husband. Just try and read his last lucid words, swansong of a lost world, without choking up.”—Jennifer Moxley

Professor Kamran Javadizadeh in Residence at the James Merrill House

 Learn more about Professor Kamran Javadizadeh's residence at the James Merrill House in this article. 

From the article:

"Oh, and 'yes, I've been working mostly in Merrill's secret study, the one you enter through a bookcase,' Javadizadeh says. 'How great is that? It's amazing. I've heard some of the (Merrill) fellows are more interested in the possibilities of a quiet space to work and maybe aren't particularly fans of Merrill or even poetry. For others like me, though, this is a magical opportunity because of how deeply we revere the man who lived and wrote here. You can certainly feel his presence.'"

Professor Javadizadeh will give a virtual reading from the Merrill House on Saturday, March 26 at 5:00 pm.

English Professors Present Research at 2022 ASECS Conference

Professors Joe Drury, Evan Radcliffe, Kimberly Takahata will present their research at the 2022 ASECS Conference, taking place in Baltimore from March 31-April 2.

Professor Joe Drury is presenting on the roundtable "Do We Still Need the Human?" and the panel "The Unproductive--Sexualities." Professor Evan Radcliffe is presenting on the roundtable "Bad Feelings in the Eighteenth Century." And Professor Kimberly Takahata will chair the roundtable "Eighteenth-Century Studies in Dialogue with the Work of Dionne Brand, Saidiya Hartman, and Christina Sharpe" (as co-chair of the Race and Empire Caucus) and present in the roundtable "Publish or Perish? Perspectives on Publishing in Grad School." Professor Chelsea Phillips, from Villanova's Theatre department, is  presenting on the panel "Reproduction and Futurity I" and chairing  the panel "Reproduction and Futurity II".

The Apocalypse Isn't Here Yet: Climate Stories and Writing for Change

Join the English department for a panel for the 2022 Teach-In on Climate and Justice on Wednesday, March 30 at 5:00 pm on zoom or in Bartley Hall 2044. More information about the teach-in can be found on this website.

VU English Career Panel 2022

Join us for the 2nd Annual Villanova English Department Alumni Career Panel on Wednesday the 23^rd at 6:30 p.m.! Four former Villanova English majors will discuss the work they do, the paths they took to their current jobs, and how their English studies contributed to their careers.

The speakers will be...

Joanna Bowen, ’07, Director, Augustinian Volunteers

Patrick Mullaney, '09, Marketing Manager at Verity Pharmaceuticals

Meghan Muniz, '05, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Partnerships, Pfizer 

Greg Watry, ’13, Editorial Content Writer at Road Runner Sports

There will be chances to ask questions and exchange information as well.

For the Zoom link to this event, please reach out to michael.malloy@villanova.edu.

Fall 2022 Race and Social Justice Classes

A pdf of the poster available here.

Research in the Alice Dunbar-Nelson Papers

On Friday, March 18, 2022, Professor Jean Lutes took English & Humanities major Cynthia Choo (Class of '23), and Peace and Justice major Trinity Rogers (Class of '24) to do research in the Alice Dunbar-Nelson Papers in the Special Collections Department of the University of Delaware Library.  

Cynthia and Trin -- along with  English & Criminology Major Kashae Garland (Class of '22) -- were recently named Idol Family Affiliate Fellows for 2022. They are working on the 'Steenth Street Project, a collaborative initiative that aims to develop curriculum resources for K-12 teachers on Black women writers and to produce a digital edition of a short story collection Dunbar-Nelson wrote based on her experience teaching Black kindergarteners at the White Rose Mission in New York City in the 1890s. 

Dunbar-Nelson, who had a long career as an author, activist, and educator, left behind one of the most extensive archives of any Black woman of her era. The archive in Delaware includes literary, professional, and personal papers: an extensive collection of correspondence, a comprehensive collection of manuscripts of her writing, including novels, stories, poetry, drama, and essays, her diary, and family papers, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and memorabilia.

Tales From the Keystone State

Announcing a new online zine and creative writing project called Tales From the Keystone State, which aims to showcase eccentric, nostalgic, cryptic, and magical realist stories about the state of Pennsylvania. The goal of the project is to create an immersive, illustrative experience of what it is like to live in the state - even if the reader has never been there before. 

You can submit your stories and showcase your work by emailing Manoli Despines at  talesfrompa (at) gmail.com

 

Home is Where the Books Are: How the English Department Saved a Future Doctor

 By Chloe Cherry

Villanova English Alum, Ishi Ranjan

        Few people occupy the daunting space that emphasizes two parts of our brain: the right and the left. Although some people argue that all forms of thinking are intertwined, there, there remains a huge distinction between the way the arts/humanities and the scientific/vocational career paths are taught. Ishi K’s journey through Villanova formed on the thin rope between humanities and sciences as a Biology and English major challenges the general understanding of the field of medicine and literature.Throughout her college career, the curiosity that led her to the sciences was fulfilled through her intense Biology classes, but there was something else missing that she couldn’t quite push aside. We spoke about this feeling that I was very familiar with as a person who dared to major in English after majoring in CBN (Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience) and then Psychology. Ishi beautifully described the sensation of “craving a sense of home”. 

Coming from a diverse town where critical conversations were the daily routine, transitioning to the college of sciences at a predominately white institution was challenging. Even more so when you are only occupying PowerPoint-driven classes and biology labs. As someone who experienced sciences classes myself, and later found that I thrived in discussion-based, writing classes, the sciences just felt cold. 

However, both Ishi and I were able to find the sense of warmth that we were looking for from the English department. After wandering into the English department on a hunch just to see if there were any classes that might fit her schedule or coincide with her Biology track, she was encouraged to major in English so she could make sure that she got the classes she wanted. Travis Foster emphasized that doing so was not a commitment, so she would be able to drop it when she was ready. But after taking her first two English classes—"Harlem Renaissance” and “Journals, Diaries, and Blogs”--- Ishi knew she would be with the English department for the long haul. “Well, I have to see Dr. Lucky again” Ishi laughs as she recounts what her past self knew for sure. Clearly, her loving relationship with Dr. Lucky and the English department in and of itself was a huge part of her college journey.

Ishi thrived as she continued with the major. In fact, she found that her performance in the English Department far exceeded her performance in Biology. Her hunger for learning the biological and cellular processes sustained her throughout her time at Villanova even with her disheartening grades. She continued with the Biology department even as her anxiety about being at the apex of such different fields increased. Dr. Lucky, however, was able to reveal that this seemingly insurmountable challenge of Ishi’s was simple: she could be a doctor with a stack of books by her table.

Now, despite her initial grades that doubters said would prevent her ability to go to med school, Ishi has already been accepted into two medical schools. After graduation Ishi decided to go receive her masters in order to boost her science grades and is currently working for a homeless center. She is doing incredible work and has already been promoted at the job. Because of her English major, Ishi did exceedingly well on the MCAT. She scored in the 90th percentile for a section that is known for being the most challenging. However, people who have been reading extensively can succeed in this section, which she did. 

Ishi attributes her acceptance into the medical school to the English department which has been so welcoming to the both of us. Her admission essays, which Dr. Lauren Shohet and AGP (Dr. Adrienne Perry) helped edit, were filled with references sourced from her English classes. One of her essays was essentially an argument for why she should get into medical school. Coincidentally, one of her final classes her senior year, included a range of texts with references to medical school and medical school entrance, so she was able to use those and show her similarity to the characters in the story to detail why she is fit to go to medical school.

I knew Ishi prior to this interview from the BIPOC Writing Hangout, hosted by the English Department. I remembered her for her tender, gentle spirit and warm personality. I knew that she would be entering a profession where that patient and loving energy she shares with those around her would be appreciated. But I had no idea that she was in the health industry, and what I think we uncovered from this interview is that Ishi amplifies that innate gift of loving sciences and the arts as an English (and Bio) major turned medical professional. Even though Ishi’s drive to learn more biology remained throughout college, she began to doubt going into this field throughout senior year—another reason why she got her masters, to spend some time before going into medical school—but while working at her job at the homeless shelter she has realized she was looking for a health profession that she would ultimately forge for herself: an environment that brings the tenderness and humanity found in the English department. As Ishi states, “English just brings another life to the table”, which is why it seems to be a critical point in her journey to becoming a doctor.

Pre-Registration Reception Recap & Fall 2022 Course booklet

A fun time was had by all at the pre-registration reception. Check out the course booklet for fall 2022 courses and stay tuned for more English department events! 

Professor Alan Drew and Professor Chiji Akoma

A great group of students

listening to presentations about new courses

more listening

The people who make it all possible: Thank you Professor Heather Hicks, Mike Malloy, and Amanda Eliades

Professor Joe Drury explains his new course--"Strange Cases"

The one and only Karina Zakarian discusses her legal internship

Professor Tsering Wangmo Dhompa reading in The Nation Poetry Reading Series, tonight!

 Tonight at 7:00 pm ET, catch Professor Tsering Wangmo Dhompa reading her poetry and answering questions as part of The Nation Poetry Reading Series. More information, including the link to register, available here.

Villanova Student Theatre Presents Romeo and Juliet

Villanova Student Theatre is bringing their spring production of Romeo and Juliet to life starting March 16th to March 20th! This timeless tale of young, obsessive love has been transformed into a world full of raves, grunge music, and glowsticks abound! Professional Director Lisa Villamil puts forward a passionate and energetic vision that revitalises the tale for our 21st-century audience in a way that preserves the agony of young heartache and familial chaos while currying a sense of incredulous joy as we watch these beloved characters navigate love in modern clothing, wild parties, and grunge motifs.

If you are interested in seeing updates and behind-the-scenes from the production team, follow @romeoandjuliet.villanova and @vstheatre on Instagram! The tickets are on sale now, so click the link and get yours before they are gone!

Professor Kimberly Takahata will give the keynote at the NUCL

 Professor Kimberly Takahata will give the keynote at the Northwestern Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL) on March 19th. Her talk is titled, "Indigeneity and Indigenous Life in Colonial Virginia." The conference website is here.