The Fall 2025 semester is underway — and we’re looking forward to some great events ahead!
This semester, many of our events will be Hyflex (in-person with a concurrent streaming option), so we can accommodate colleagues and students who may not be able to join us on campus. A continuing advantage of this format: we can welcome to a shared virtual space our out-of-town alumni, students, and friends. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Below are some of our upcoming events to add to your calendar:
~ Our Visiting Writers Series includes two authors this fall. We’ll first hear from K-State English alum Mel Hammond (MA ’14), an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction for kids and young adults. She co-wrote her latest book, Lucy, Uncensored, with her sister, Teghan Hammond, and Mel and Teghan will offer a joint reading on Monday September 15 at 7:00pm in Union Wildcat Chamber and on Zoom (register for the link at https://tinyurl.com/hammondkstate). We’ll then hear from poet Jennifer Knox, who is known for her poems featuring dark, imaginative humor and as the author of five books of poems, including Crushing It (2020) and Days of Shame & Failure (2018). Jennifer will read from her work on Friday October 24 at 3:30pm in Union Wildcat Chamber and on Zoom (register for the link at https://tinyurl.com/knoxkstate).
~ Going to the 2025 Kansas State Fair? Traci Brimhall, in her role as Kansas Poet Laureate, will be there on Saturday September 6, 5:00-6:30pm, for a reading of the State Fair poems of 2025! This year’s reading — “Eat Your Words: Poems at the Kansas State Fair” — will feature the poems posted throughout the fair about a range of foods — bierocks, tomato jam, baked beans, and more. The event builds upon the pairing of poets and recipes in Traci’s new edited collection Eat Your Words: A Kansas Poetry Cookbook (Meadowlark Press, 2025), one of her many Poet Laureate projects. Stop by on September 6 to enjoy poetry, Kansas food trivia, and giveaways!
~ Traci Brimhall will also be at the Kansas Book Festival on Saturday September 20, along with a number of K-State English alumni, including Ed Skoog and Bryn Greenwood. Held on the campus of Washburn University, this annual festival — now in its 14th year — features 50 speakers, and all events are free. Of special note: a panel session in honor of Dr. Jonathan Holden, Professor Emeritus of K-State English and first Poet Laureate of Kansas, with reflections from his former students and poets Amy Fleury, Kevin Rabas, and Ed Skoog.
~ Friday October 31 brings a lecture by Dr. Noah Heringman, who will share his expertise in British Romanticism and digital humanities. The talk is sponsored by the department’s Graduate Concentration in Literature, and it will take place in Union Wildcat Chamber at 3:30pm.
~ Explore the theory and practice of cultural studies with our 2025 Cultural Studies Mini-Seminar. Sponsored by the Graduate Concentration in Cultural Studies, the mini-seminars will take place this fall in anticipation of the 35th Annual Cultural Studies Symposium in Spring 2026. Contact Greg Eiselein, Concentration Coordinator for Cultural Studies, at eiselei@ksu.edu for more information.
~ K-State scholarly and creative expertise in English will be on display for our Fall 2025 Colloquia Series on Wednesday October 22 and Wednesday November 19 at 3:30pm. Watch our social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram and our online calendar to learn which faculty members and graduate students will present!
Keep up to date on all events — and find links for the online sessions mentioned above — at our online calendar. You can also and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for photos and recaps — and check back here each week for highlights of research and creative activity from our faculty and students, perspectives from our current students and alumni, glimpses into the department’s past, and plans for its future.
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 