2022 Gordon Parks Celebration

Sarah Price (left), Katy Karlin (center), and Aileen Wang (right) present at the 19th Annual Gordon Parks Celebration in Fort Scott, KS, on October 7, 2022. For 19 years, the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott, Kansas, has hosted the Annual Gordon Parks Celebration, honoring the Fort Scott native who made history as a groundbreaking … Continue reading 2022 Gordon Parks Celebration

From the Archive: Taylor Swift’s evermore (Emily Dickinson’s Version)

Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson (left) and Ella Hunt as Sue Gilbert (right) in Dickinson (image: Apple TV+) Since our blog debuted in 2017, we have published 300+ posts.  While some of you may have been with us from the start (thank you, loyal readers!), others may have joined us more recently. So, we're highlighting … Continue reading From the Archive: Taylor Swift’s evermore (Emily Dickinson’s Version)

September 2022 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Cover image for The Material Culture of Writing, edited by Cydney Alexis and colleague Hannah J. Rule (Utah State UP, 2022)   Each month during the academic year, we assemble a newsletter of the department's recent publications, presentations, announcements, and awards. We're happy to recognize the recent successes in research, scholarship, and creative activity outlined … Continue reading September 2022 Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Kansas State Indigenous Peoples Day

Prairie Band Potawatomi Chairman Zeke Rupnick, Chairman of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas Lester Randall, and Communications Director of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska Olivia Brien speak at the 2022 Indigenous Peoples Day Conference (10 October 2022) Monday, October 10, 2022 was Indigenous Peoples Day. At Kansas State, it was the seventh year that the … Continue reading Kansas State Indigenous Peoples Day

Fall Undergraduate Open House 2022

Clue: A 9-Letter Word for “Lively Student Gathering”? Answer: Open House! The English Department’s annual Fall Undergraduate Open House, held October 6, welcomed English majors, minors, and certificate students not only to explore the latest information and resources available in English, but also to connect with professors, advisors—and, most of all, each other. One student … Continue reading Fall Undergraduate Open House 2022

Alumni Spotlight: Kase Johnstun

Kase Johnstun (MA '01) with Mary Van Leeuwen (M.A. 2002) during their time at K-State Kase Johnstun's recent novel, Let the Wild Grasses Grow (Torrey House Press, 2022), has already received a number of accolades: The Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) has selected it for its 2022 Great Group Reads, it's a finalist for the … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Kase Johnstun

Here’s the Pitch: “Fiction into Film” Students Win Rights to Adapt Stories

The Staten Islanders vie to win the rights to Lucas Cook’s story, “Waiting,” with a presentation of mis-en-scene ideas, including costume designs. In the course of studying cinematic adaptations of literary works, students in ENGL 220 "Fiction into Film" (Section H) are preparing their own film adaptations. They’ve organized themselves into production teams, read short … Continue reading Here’s the Pitch: “Fiction into Film” Students Win Rights to Adapt Stories

Grad Student Spotlight: Fereshteh Majdi

A photo from Twitter shows a woman setting fire to her headscarf during a protest in Tehran on Monday, Sept 19, 2022. Source: BBC From the very first day of school, we have been told that police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a country to ensure citizens' safety, health, and possessions. Now … Continue reading Grad Student Spotlight: Fereshteh Majdi

Recognizing Banned Books Week 2022 at K-State

Banned Books Week 2022 (Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association) “People tried to ban The House on Mango Street!?” Yes, as ridiculous as it may sound. It was challenged due to themes of racism, sexuality, and poverty. My friend recently read the long and daunting list of challenged books. He was more than surprised … Continue reading Recognizing Banned Books Week 2022 at K-State

Poetic Postal Routes in ENGL 763

Letters to sections of the day's reading in ENGL 763 This semester I am teaching ENGL 763 "Creative Writing Workshop: Poetry," our graduate poetry workshop in which we read collections of contemporary poetry to study craft elements we can emulate. We often use the space outside our classroom and have different craft stations so we … Continue reading Poetic Postal Routes in ENGL 763