Michigan Poet Laureate Gives Poetry Reading for English Department Assembly

On November 14, 2023, Nandi Comer was the guest presenter at the English Department Assemly. She read selections from her books Tapping Out (2020) and American Family: A Syndrom (2018). The reading was followed by a Q&A from students and guests and moderated by our very own Lily Burke (senior). Thank you Nandi Comer for sharing your words with us!

      

 

Alumnus Update

On a recent trip, Dr. Pittman ran into and had the pleasure of catching up with English alum, Jordan Soliday (BA English). Jordan now puts his English degree to work by serving as a lead facilitator for the MIT xPRO Technology and Innovation Acceleration Program. Thanks, Jordan, for demonstrating the diverse ways in which an English degree leads to fulfilling employment!

 

2023 Waller Lecture Series Features Superior Court Judge and Poet

Craig van Rooyen is a poet and a judge in San Luis Obispo, California. He graduated from Andrews University with a BA in Journalism in 1990, then worked as a newspaper reporter before attending law school. He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1996 and worked as a prosecutor and civil litigator before being appointed to the bench by Governor Jerry Brown in 2016--the same year he graduated with an MFA in poetry from Pacific University. His poems have appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Best New Poets, The Cincinnati Review, Narrative, New Ohio Review, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. He is a past winner of the Rattle Poetry Prize and the Neil Postman Award, and is currently Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California, San Luis Obispo County.

We were honored to have Justice Van Rooyen talk with our students at several events throuhgout the day on October 12, 2023.

     

The event culminated in his lecture entitled "Shame Healing: Poetry and Incarnation" in Newbold Auditorium at 7:00pm the same evening.

  

 

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THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
What do Toni Morrison, Matt Damon, Emma Watson, and Dr. Seuss have in common?

They all have English degrees!

The English Department, within a framework of Christian faith and purpose, develops graduates who are competent, creative, and critical readers, writers, and thinkers, capable of a variety of careers.

 

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