spotlight
Poem by Major Jackson Featured in On Being Podcast
Nov. 9, 2021—Gertrude Conaway Professor Major Jackson’s poem “Blunts” was featured on the podcast Poetry Unbound. Pádraig Ó Tuama gives a reading and discussion of the poem, which appears in Major’s first book “Leaving Saturn” which will have been published twenty years ago next year. To listen to the podcast click here.
(11/11/2021) Tommy Orange, fiction (pre-recorded virtual reading): 7 PM
Nov. 8, 2021—Tommy Orange is an American novelist and writer from Oakland, California. His first book, There, There, won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the American Book Award. He is a recent graduate from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and he...
Read Sandy Solomon’s Poem “Spring Recalled in Spring” in The New Yorker (10/18/2021)
Oct. 18, 2021—Congratulations to Sandy Solomon on the publication of her poem, “Spring Recalled in Spring,” in this week’s (10/18/2021) copy of The New Yorker! Click here to read the poem and to listen to audio of her reading it.
Poem by Tiana Clark Published in The Atlantic
Sep. 23, 2021—Congratulations to Tiana Clark, who received her MFA in Creative Writing at Vanderbilt University, on the publication of her poem “Broken Sestina Reaching for Black Joy” in The Atlantic! Click here to read the poem.
VU Graduate Bryan Byrdlong Receives Prestigious Poetry Fellowship
Sep. 14, 2021—Bryan Byrdlong (he/him) was recently announced as a 2021 recipient of the Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship. Byrdlong majored in English/Creative Writing at Vanderbilt University, is a Black writer from Chicago, Illinois. He is a graduate of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, and a PhD candidate in Creative...
Pallavi Wakharkar Wins 2021 Iowa Review Award for Fiction
Jun. 10, 2021—Congratulations to Pallavi Wakharkar on her reception of the 2021 Iowa Review Award for Fiction! Click here to see the announcement.
See Sandy Solomon’s New Poem in The New Yorker
Jun. 1, 2021—Congratulations to Sandy Solomon, whose poem, “The Great Confinement,” is featured in the June 7, 2021 issue of The New Yorker ! To read the poem and to enjoy the “Audio: Read by the author” feature on The New Yorker ‘s website, click here.
Congratulations Class of 2021!!!
May. 7, 2021—The Department of English is proudly graduating 50 majors this spring. In honor or their accomplishments over the past four years, we asked them to share their favorite author, literary work, or paper they wrote. Jade Ayers My favorite paper I wrote for an English class is “A Bin for Loonies: The Loony Bin...
Hortense Spillers elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Apr. 23, 2021—Congratulations to Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor Hortense Spillers for her election tot he American Academy of Arts and Sciences. To see all newly elected members, click here. Hortense J. Spillers Biography: Having taught in the U.S. academy for three decades now (and counting), I am reluctant to look back for all those mythical reasons that...
Commencement – Class of 2021
Apr. 19, 2021—