Nathaniel Mackey’s poems entwine across pages and volumes and years, nearly half a century now. Somerville’s Black Ocean has recently published “Lay Ghost,’’ a potent — and beautiful to hold — set of eight pieces lifted from Mackey’s ongoing series of poems, “Song of the Andoumboulou.’’ In his unmistakable cadence, Mackey writes of a gang of cosmic wanderers moving through memory, thought, and actual world. “Earthy someone said, abstract,/would it were able, mind ridding itself of/ itself.” His… read more about Poems that join and bind through books and years »
The English Departments is honored to announce the winners of its 2017 writing contests. The department administers writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry works by English majors and non-major undergraduates. Fiction(The department offers two awards in the fiction category) 2017 Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Fiction WinnerVivian Lu The Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing was established by the family and friends of Anne… read more about 2017 Creative Writing Contest Winners »
The William M. Blackburn, Francis Pemberton, and Margaret Rose Knight Sanford Scholarships are awarded each spring semester by the Creative Writing Committee to undergraduate students for work done in one or more creative writing courses. Nominations are made by English faculty. Students must be eligible for financial aid to receive these scholarships. William M. Blackburn Scholarship: Recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of creative writing. Established in 1962 by students and… read more about 2017 Creative Writing Scholarship Winners »
Chloe Hooks (T’18) weaves the “mythed mesquite” and “sargasso green” grass that grow in her home state of Texas into poems of intricate lyrical sincerity and deft, fatally precious power. Hooks is a sophomore majoring in the Department of English and minoring in the Department of Theater Studies, with plans to graduate in an abridged three years in order to pursue acting and creative writing professionally. She is currently enrolled in Professor Nathaniel Mackey’s “Advanced Poetry Workshop,” where we first met and from… read more about Chloe Hooks (T’18) on Idiom, Poetry, and Audrey Hepburn »
In essays, Brodhead shows a university thinking its way forward through challenges read more about 'Speaking of Duke': New Brodhead Book Reflects on the University & Higher Education »
Patrick Morgan, English Ph.D. candidate, was invited to present his paper, “Thoreau in China: Reflections on Teaching Walden to Chinese Students” at the West of Walden: Thoreau in the 21st Century conference hosted by Huntington Library, in California on April 7-8, 2017. The Huntington Library owns seven draft manuscripts of Thoreau’s Walden. Thoreau scholars attended the conference as 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of Henry David Thoreau’s… read more about Morgan Presents at West of Walden: Thoreau in the 21st Century »
Are you an undergraduate who enjoys creative writing? You could win an award for your talents! The Rosati Creative Writing Prize is awarded each spring in recognition of an outstanding work of creative writing. All Duke undergraduate students are eligible to submit work for consideration. Projects may be any genre and take any form (audio/video, digital media, etc.), but must include a substantial creative writing component. Deadline: May 15th, 2017 Prize:… read more about The Rudolph William Rosati Creative Writing Award »
Duke alum Sara Danius peels the cover back on the Nobel process ... Read more read more about How to Win a Nobel Prize in Literature »
Swedish Academy official, a Duke alumnus, will explain what goes on that we don't see...Read more read more about How to Get a Nobel Prize In Literature, Explained »
Fast forward to young adulthood, where Ward is a junior majoring in English at Duke and one of only three “Ambassadors” for the Duke Department of English. Along with the other two ambassadors—Elizabeth George (T’17) and Alexandra Bratton (T’17)—Ward plays a critical role promoting and contributing to the Department of English’s work. Ward’s physical presence this year alone in the Department is contagious: reading for Department marathons of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Fitzgerald’s The Great… read more about Ambassador Emphasizes Value of English Degree »
On a Thursday afternoon around an oversized table in the Allen Building, a student says they’re unsure about the aesthetic possibility of pipetting (scientifically pouring out fluids through thin tubes) as it appears in the first draft of their essay. The student’s fellow classmates disagree—the pipetting must stay. They discuss the lines with the tension of defensive readers, whose favorite lines in a piece have been threatened. One student mentions the satisfaction that comes from reading about the formation… read more about The Aesthetic Joy of Writing about Research »
Anna Mukamal (T’17) speaks of T. S. Eliot as a writer who wrote into words the anxiety of his time even while mired in his own anxiety. Eliot was a poet—a seer contributing acts of charity. But in the tense years surrounding World War I in Europe, he was a poet in the lost and lonely spaces of this charity, steeped in and yet prescient of the neuroses of his time, acutely feeling the malaise that gripped much of Europe but also objectifying it in verse—a detachment exemplified as he rose above the silence of the post-WWI… read more about In Anxious and Thoughtful Rose-Leaves: Formalistic Thesis Searches for Eliot »
The woman of the green grass, imbued with the green grass’s charm. The woman who, like a field sowed in the fallow of a Jane Eyre summer, carries her fertility within her. The woman who is a bird, a fig leaf, our idea of hard seeds and each of the hard-sunned seasons. Entrenched in the Victorian English tradition, we find these associations: women as the natural embodiments of nature; associations that seem as natural as the venerability of the Victorian literary tradition itself.In starting her thesis, senior… read more about Eco-Feminism Thesis Pushes for Activist Focus »
Professor Aarthi Vadde’s, English 490 course “Trivial Pursuits” from Fall 2016 explored theories of reading and knowledge production. This course was created to help students answer naysayers who question how certain majors will lead to employment and to explain why the majors in question should be taken seriously. Professor Vadde introduced her students to theories of reading and knowledge production, which took both amateur pleasures and professional aspirations seriously. The works featured throughout… read more about Trivial Pursuits: What is an intellectual community? »
Victor Strandberg, beloved English professor with 52 years at Duke under his belt, has earned a singularly positive reputation among students and faculty. One of the first things a prospective English student is sure to hear is, "You've got to take a Strandberg class; he has the voice of God." What they say is true—his speaking voice, which must carry throughout a lecture hall full of hundreds of students, does possess a certain deep, divine quality. But Professor Strandberg also has a voice of reason, creative brilliance,… read more about Strandberg: A Teacher and Legend at Duke University »
Since Alyssa Wong (’13) started writing, some people have asked her, “Why don’t you write something nice?” At the time of inception, Wong’s stories may be romantic comedies or light fantasies, but ultimately they make their way into the nebulous area of literature known as horror, or dark fantasy. Wong says she never makes a conscious choice to craft a horror piece – “that’s just how my brain works.” She counts the Food Network among her foremost inspirations. Drawing from pop culture and the world around her, Wong writes… read more about Science Fiction Writer Returns to Give »
“I am most interested in those moments in modernist and contemporary fiction where unachievable dreams of global transformation yield critical insights into the world as it currently exists.”—Aarthi Vadde read more about An Interview with Aarthi Vadde, Author of “Chimeras of Form” »
Would you like to take a course that studies and discusses the world of sports? During the Fall of 2016, a group of Duke University students did just that. Sasha Panaram, a Duke University Ph.D. candidate, selected this topic for her Fall 2016 English 90S course "Sports and Spectacle," which was also cross-listed as African and African American Studies 190S. How does this course differ from the traditional courses taught in English Departments? One way my course differs from the… read more about A Look Inside Fall 2016's English 90S | African and African American Studies 190S - "Sports & Spectacle" »
When Bailey Sincox (English ‘15) played Adriana in her middle school production of “The Comedy of Errors”, she found William Shakespeare cool: “I thought, ‘This is fun and quirky and we get to talk about inappropriate things!’” Not every 7th grader is so drawn to Shakespeare, but neither is every college graduate. Sincox, who is pursuing a Master of Studies in English Language and Literature at Oxford, is still absorbed in Shakespeare's work. And while the middle school taboos featured in Shakespeare’s plays no longer… read more about Recent Graduate Searches for Lost Stories »
What will Spring 2017 English 90S.01 "Mystery Fict" be about? read more about Take A Listen To the Description of English 90S.01 "Mystery Fiction" Offered Spring 2017 »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Vincent Price, provost of the University of Pennsylvania since 2009, has been elected Duke University’s tenth president, announced David Rubenstein, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, on Friday. In addition to being the chief academic officer at Penn, Price is the Steven H. Chaffee Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication and professor of political science in the School of Arts and Sciences. Price was selected by Duke’s Board of Trustees Friday morning. He will succeed… read more about Vincent Price Named Duke University 10th President »
What will Spring 2017 English 90S.04 "Space After Space Travel" be about? read more about Take A Listen To the Description of English 90S.04 "Space After Space Travel" Offered Spring 2017 »
What will Spring 2017 English 90S.02 "Writing Poetry & Pop Music" be about? read more about Take A Listen To the Description of English 90S.02 "Writing Poetry & Pop Music" Offered Spring 2017 »
WHAT is Spring Breakthrough? Five-day seminars taught by some of Duke’s most engaging professors. These courses, and all meals and materials, are 100% free. There are no pre-reqs, grades, or credits. The only expectation is that you attend and engage with the group. Participation will be noted on transcripts. WHO is it for? Duke sophomores and first-year students. WHEN? (Spring Break 2017) Sunday, March 12, through Thursday, March 16. Courses generally run from mid-morning through afternoon. There… read more about 2017 Spring Breakthrough program »
Where might you find a lecture on Alfred Hitchcock films at Duke University? On Wednesday, October 26, Professor Michael Valdez Moses and his students discussed and analyzed Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic psychological thriller Vertigo starring James Stewart. This fall 30+ Duke University students are in enrolled in English 390S: Hitchcock & Co. a special topics in film course offered by the English Department. What would you like to see students take away… read more about English 390S: Hitchcock & Co. Taught by Michael Valdez Moses »
Degree and Year: BA 2011 Professional Title: Technology Correspondent Employer: Reuters Professional Background: Journalism How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?: The writing skills I honed at Duke have helped me earn a place in the fiercely competitive journalism market. read more about English Alum - Julia Love, Technology Correspondent, Reuters »
Degree and Year: BA 2005 Professional Title: Co-Founder, Lead Developer Employer: RocketBolt Professional Background: PhD in English; Senior software engineer; Founder ofa venture-backed technology startup; 2012 Microsoft Fellow; Author ofThe Krzyzewskiville Tales How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success? English and software development rarely overlap, but the research skills I cultivated in Duke's English program gave me… read more about English Alum - Aaron Dinin, Co-Founder, Lead Developer, RocketBolt »
Degree and Year: BA 2013 Professional Title: Literary Assistant Employer: Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Professional Background: Editorial intern at One Story magazine and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?: If I hadn't been an English major, I would never have made the connections I needed to succeed in the publishing industry today. The Duke in New York: Arts and Media program helped… read more about English Alum - Holly Hilliard, Literary Assistant, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. »
Degree and Year: BA 2009 Professional Title: Doctor Employer: NYU Langone Medical Center Professional Background: After graduation, I went to medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a prominent medical school in New York City known for both its commitment to East Harlem and to the humanities. After this, I matched at NYU Langone Medical Center for internal medicine residency training. How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your… read more about English Alum - Amar Parikh, Doctor, NYU Langone Medical Center »
Degree and Year: BA 2010 Professional Title: Software Engineer Employer: Google Professional Background: After graduating, I did an M.A. in Comparative Literature and another in Computational Linguistics before moving to my current role. How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?: Duke's English program imparted to me the an appreciation for possibility. I try to see the world in terms of learning opportunity, rather than as… read more about English Alum - Cory Massaro, Software Engineer, Google »