You could call this my last will and testament. I will begin with the testament, based on my institutional memory going back sixty years. After earning my PhD at Brown in 1962, I taught at the University of Vermont for four years and came to Duke in 1966 in search of a higher salary and warmer weather for my family. My new salary was $9500, a nice jump from the $7600 I got in Vermont, and I bought my first house, with two baths and nine rooms, including a full cellar and huge family room, for $22,000.… read more about Farewell Letter from Vic Strandberg »
When Madeline Sutton, assistant professor of the practice for the Thompson Writing Program, was in the fourth year of her Ph.D. program, she applied for a highly competitive national fellowship in education. The application process was intense: She needed a personal statement, a work plan, a detailed narrative about her dissertation research, and letters of recommendation from mentors. The people whose opinions Madeline Sutton valued most didn’t see her fellowship rejection as… read more about Freedom to Fail: Madeline Sutton »
Angelli Garibaldi-Arias is a first-generation student born in Lima, Peru, and raised in Denver, Colorado. She is double majoring in English and Romance Studies with a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Her research focuses on medieval and early modern literature — particularly Dante’s Divine Comedy and Cervantes’ Don Quixote — exploring questions of ethics, migration, empire and human value. Through literary and philosophical analysis alongside interviews with immigrants, her honors thesis, “Global Inequalities:… read more about Angelli Garibaldi-Arias '26: Reading Migration Through Literature »
JR Cassidy is a senior from Seattle, Washington, double majoring in English and Theater Studies. At Duke, his work has centered on music, literature and theater. Cassidy studied abroad in the Duke in London - Arts and Duke in Seoul programs. In 2025, Cassidy directed Euripides’ “The Bacchae” for Duke Players, which earned him a Duke Arts Award for excellence in directing. He also received the Reynolds Price Award for Screenwriting for a screenplay he wrote through the Duke Arts Studio program. He is a contributing editor… read more about JR Cassidy '26: From Directing “The Bacchae” to Writing for Film »
Trisha Santanam is a senior majoring in English with a minor in Music. Her academic interests focus on literature, music and questions of identity, diaspora and belonging. In addition to serving as a Trinity Ambassador, Santanam is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow researching how diasporic experiences can be heard through music and literature, as well as a member of the Bass Connections Archives and Creative Process team studying the archives of a feminist record collector and writer. On campus, she serves on the… read more about Trisha Santanam '26 Finding Home in Literature and Music »
The Duke English Department is thrilled to unveil the 2026 Creative Writing Contest winners and this year's standout critical essayists. Every year, we honor the imaginative voices and sharp insights of English majors and undergraduates from across the university. Meet the winners in each category below and dive into their award-winning works through the links provided. FICTIONAnne Flexner Memorial Award for FictionFamily members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (… read more about 2026 Creative Writing, Critical Essays, and Department Award Winners »
On April 17, 2026, the Duke English Department celebrated its annual Undergraduate Distinction Day, where twelve graduating English majors proudly unveiled their senior thesis projects before an audience of over 50 attendees. Following their presentations, each student participated in a lively panel, delving deeper into their work and engaging with thoughtful questions from the audience. Below you can find the recording of the 2026 Duke English Undergraduate Distinction Day in its entirety.… read more about RECORDING: 2026 Undergraduate Distinction Day »
The Office for Faculty Advancement has awarded seed grants to seven new projects led by Duke faculty members. The theme for this grant cycle is “Building Community and Strengthening Networks to Improve the Faculty Experience.”Faculty were invited to propose innovative initiatives to build community, creative approaches to address specific mentorship needs, and novel approaches to improve the faculty experience.The seed grant program will provide financial support for these projects through April 2027. Project leaders… read more about Trinity Faculty Awarded Seed Grants by Duke Office of Faculty Advancement »
Sancia Milton knew what she wanted: a strong research university with a solid liberal-arts base. She found the right combination at Duke, “plus beautiful weather, a perfect campus size and basketball,” she adds.Her exact course of study was another matter. While creative writing and poetry have always been central to her identity, so has a penchant for biology — and a fascination with classical studies. “I came to Duke with a lot of interests,” she says, “and no clear sense of how they could fit together in a major.” It was… read more about Biology or English? She Chose Both »
In English 101, professor Thomas Ferraro always says, “Don’t give me the Duke answer. Give me your answer.” I remember feeling so embarrassed, angry even, the first time he told me I was flat out wrong. It was probably the second day of class. We were reading Willa Cather’s “A Lost Lady,” and I voiced my thoughts on the main character. I said that I believed Mrs. Forester to be a weak female lead, doomed due to her lack of power in a patriarchal society. Professor Ferraro simply looked at me and said, “No. That’s… read more about Don’t Give Me the Duke Answer: Say What You Really Think »
Trinity English alumna Annabel Monaghan is the bestselling author of several contemporary romance novels. Her newest book, “Dolly All the Time,” will be released May 26, 2026. (Headshot courtesy of Monaghan) Annabel Monaghan, T ’91, didn’t set out with a tidy, linear plan to become a bestselling novelist. In fact, for a long stretch of her adult life, writing seemed like the dream she had quietly shelved. But the foundation for the career she has now, writing contemporary romance novels… read more about From the English Classroom to the Bestseller List: How Trinity Shaped Annabel Monaghan’s Writing Journey »
Trinity creative writing professor Amin Ahmad’s forthcoming novel A Killer in the Family explores wealth, family secrets, and the hidden costs of the American dream. (Photo courtesy of Ahmad) When Amin Ahmad, lecturing fellow of English, began thinking about his new novel, inspiration arrived unexpectedly along the New Jersey Turnpike. “I saw a license plate on a car that said, ‘Singh is king,’” he said. “I thought, that’s a cool license plate. It’s a declaration.” That… read more about English Professor Amin Ahmad’s New Novel Examines the Hidden Costs of Power »
Before zombies shambled about, ghoulishly feasting on the flesh of those too slow to flee, aliens from outer space ruled movie theaters, drive-ins and late Saturday night creature features on television.Even as Hollywood still drives how Americans envision little green men with big eyes and bigger heads, fiction soon could be separated from — or revealed as — fact if government agencies release secret files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs as called for in February by President Donald Trump.The science fiction genre… read more about Priscilla Wald Discusses How Hollywood’s Narrative on UFOs and ETs reaches back decades »
On the third floor of the Allen Building, tucked into a corner room with a beautiful view of Abele Quad, you’ll find the office of Professor of English Victor Strandberg. Covering the walls of his office is an extensive, carefully curated collage of influential figures and moments from history, collected over his more than 90 years of life. read more about After 60 years of stories, English Professor Victor Strandberg closes out his chapter at Duke »
Congratulations to Professor Jarvis McInnis, winner of the 2026 Pauli Murray Book Prize for his work "Afterlives of the Plantation: Plotting Agrarian Futures in the Global Black South" (Columbia University Press, 2025). read more about 2026 Pauli Murray Book Prize Winner - Prof. Jarvis C. McInnis »
On the third floor of the Allen Building, tucked into a corner room with a beautiful view of Abele Quad, you’ll find the office of Professor of English Victor Strandberg. Covering the walls of his office is an extensive, carefully curated collage of influential figures and moments from history, collected over his more than 90 years of life.Some images are from his 60-year tenure as an English professor at Duke University. Others represent personal points of interest. From images of the first moon landing to newspaper… read more about After 60 years of stories, English Professor Victor Strandberg closes out his chapter at Duke »
During Full Frame week in downtown Durham, Belem Destefani moves with quiet purpose. A volunteer has a question about their shift. A filmmaker needs to do a tech check for their film. A screening is about to let out, and the lobby is filling fast. Destefani takes it all in, then pivots to the next task. “I like to think of my role as putting everything together,” she says. “Giving people the tools they need, then trusting them to do what they do best.” Since 2024, Destefani (T’09) has served as Operations Director… read more about From Trinity to Full Frame by Means of Curiosity »
One of the year’s most talked-about films has left audiences pondering a haunting literary “what if”: Did the death of William Shakespeare’s young son shape the writing of “Hamlet”? Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel of the same name, “Hamnet” the film stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, navigating their grief after the death of their 11-year-old son during the plague of the 1590s. While the film imagines an intimate family tragedy, the questions it raises about grief and… read more about From the Red Carpet to the Classroom, Shakespeare is Having a Moment »
In a 1985 profile in People Magazine, the late Rick James called Teena Marie “the most important White female singer since Barbara Streisand; and her own race forgot her.” James’ comments came on the heels of Marie’s only taste of crossover success, with the top-ten pop hit “Lover Boy.” More than 40 years later, and 15-plus years after her death at the age of 54, Marie is remembered as an important contributor to R&B and Soul music, who against all logic sustained a 30-year-plus singing career with an overwhelmingly… read more about Mark Anthony Neal: What Black Audiences Loved About Teena Marie »
For years, Duke English graduate students sought a department space exclusively for their use. Nancy Armstrong, Gilbert, Louis, and Edward Lehrman Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, and Former Associate Director of Graduate Studies, understood this need, since the department’s lounge (Allen 328) is a busy, public area often full of distractions. She agreed that students needed a quieter, private space, but no extra room was initially available. However, when Professor Armstrong retired… read more about Duke English - "Armstrong Graduate Suite" »
As the story goes, hip-hop music was born a little over 50 years ago at a house party in the Bronx. But that version of history doesn't account for an entertainer from Durham, North Carolina, with the incredible name Pigmeat Markham. In 1968, Markham released a hit song called “Here Comes the Judge.” The tune fused comedy, funk, and what can only be described as an early form of rapping — years before hip-hop officially burst onto the scene. So was this largely forgotten figure actually the first rapper? read more about Mark Anthony Neal Asks About the First Rapper's North Carolina Roots »
Marcia Chatelain remembers that it was almost impossible to turn on the radio in 1996 and not hear the Fugees’ smooth cover of “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” That remake transformed the group’s sophomore album, The Score, which dropped on Feb. 13 of that year, into a decade-defining juggernaut.But The Score was more than just that chart-topping single. For Chatelain, 46, the album delivered the thrill of recognition. Consisting of East Orange, New Jersey, rapper and singer Ms. Lauryn Hill, Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean,… read more about Duke Professor Mark Anthony Neal Discusses why 'The Score' Still Resonates 30 Years Later »
Julianne Werlin spends much of her scholarly life thinking about how writers understand themselves.Specifically, how they live, what they hope for, and what it means to make art within the limits of a human lifetime. An associate professor of English at Duke, Werlin works on English Renaissance literature, focusing largely on the mid-16th to the late-17th century. read more about Julianne Werlin on the Death of the Writer and Life of the Author »
Professor Jarvis McInnis's new book, Afterlives of the Plantation, is one of five finalists selected by the AAIHS Conference fellowship committee for the 2026 Pauli Murray Book Prize for the Best Book in Black Intellectual History. read more about 2026 Finalists for the Pauli Murray Book Prize in Black Intellectual History »
Associate Professor of English Taylor Black specializes in 20th-century American literature, popular music studies and queer theory. A Duke faculty member since 2019, he is currently working on two projects: the American fascination with cults and cult leaders, and a cultural history of New York’s downtown arts scene during the 1980s. Black is the author of the 2023 book “Style: A Queer Cosmology” and a recipient of the 2025-26 Langford Lectureship Award. read more about Faculty Spotlight: Taylor Black »
Associate Professor of English Taylor Black specializes in 20th-century American literature, popular music studies and queer theory. A Duke faculty member since 2019, he is currently working on two projects: the American fascination with cults and cult leaders; and a cultural history of New York’s downtown arts scene during the 1980s. Black is the author of the 2023 book “Style: A Queer Cosmology” and a recipient of the 2025-26 Langford Lectureship Award. read more about Faculty Spotlight: Taylor Black »
Congratulations to Duke English professors Taylor Black, Jarvis McInnis, Marguerite Nguyen, and Richard So! Nearly 40 scholars representing eight of Duke’s schools have recently been awarded tenure. In March, Duke’s Office for Faculty Advancement will host a two-day celebration and leadership retreat for newly tenured faculty members. read more about Duke Awards Tenure to Faculty Across Disciplines »
Professor Corina Stan was recently quoted in The Atlantic article, The Return of MAGA’s Favorite Forbidden Book, noting her scholarly expertise. read more about The Return of MAGA’s Favorite Forbidden Book »
Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
On a continent where "multilingual” means not two or three languages, but thousands, years of working in literature have given Munyao Kilolo a unique perspective on the power of translation. In addition to being the founder and editor-in-chief of the Ituika Literary Platform and director of the Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize, Kilolo is the former managing editor of the magazine Jalada Africa[1]. Its Translation Issue revolutionized ideas about what translation could mean in… read more about “To See Their Mother Tongues In Text”: The Transformative Power of Translation »