Professor Major Jackson recently read his poem "Stand Your Ground" on PBS News Hour. The poem was written in response to the Florida law justifying deadly force that resulted in a "legal loophole" for the killing of young black men, including Trayvon Martin, opening up and legitimizing "assaults based on fear" in the process. For Jackson, poetry is not just a form of expression, but "vehicle of exploration."

December 14, 2017

Professor Jean Bessette's new book Retroactivism in the Lesbian Archives: Composing Pasts and Futures examines how the rhetoric of grassroot lesbian collectives helped reinvent the discourse surrouding sexual identity. Drawing from a wide range of primary sources, she looks at the ways in which retroactivists "revised and replaced dominant accounts of lesbian deviance," creating "versions of a queer past that challenged then-present oppressions." Director of the Digital Transgender Archive KJ Rawson calls the book "a fresh and incisive account of lesbian rhetoric in the second half of the twentieth century."

December 7, 2017

With his newest collection of poetry, Dialogues Among Lost Tourists, Professor Anthony Magistrale takes us through both literal and metaphorical journeys to foreign places. These dialogues mediate "between the living and the dead, past and present, real and imaginary," inviting the reader to travel along and discover "the mystery, humor, sadness, and magic of a unique journey." Along with an exploration of loss and understanding, author Emeritus Professor David Huddle says that the collection "finds illumination and the possibility of joy."

October 27, 2017

Tolkien and Alterity, a collection of essays exploring Tolkien's relationship to "the Other," was published earlier this month. The collection was co-edited by Senior Lecturer Christopher Vaccaro and Ramapo College Professor of Literature Yvette Kisor, and also features the work of Professor Val Rohy with her chapter "Cinema, Sexuality, Mechanical Reproduction." Tolkien examines "issues of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, language and identity" in the author's works, setting them against "his life, personal writing, and beliefs." Tolkien specialist Dimitra Fimi notes that "this timely collection addresses one of the most misunderstood areas of Tolkien's creativity."

October 23, 2017

Lecturer Didi Jackson's "Signs for the Living" will be featured in the October 2017 issue of The New Yorker. The poem explores themes of "joy and sorrow," delving into the complexity of loss. Jackson's book Killing Jar was recently a finalist for the Lexi Rudnisky First Book Prize.

September 28, 2017

Professor Major Jackson's poetry can now be found in the NYC subway for all to read and enjoy. "Leave It All Up to Me" has been selected to appear on MTA cars as part of the Poetry in Motion program. Poetry in Motion, a collaboration between the Poetry Society of America and the Metropolitan Transport Authority, was started in 1992 to help "create a national readership for both emerging and established poets." It has since placed poetry on the transit systems of over 20 cities.

August 28, 2017

Professor Andrew Barnaby's new book Coming Too Late is a reflection on Freud and belatedness. Barnaby focuses on the relationship between son and father, arguing that it "is governed not by the sexual rivalry of the Oedipus complex but by the existential predicament of belatedness," a state of feeling late or delayed. By breaking down Freud's own writings and analyses, he considers "just what is at stake in the foundational relationship between psychoanalysis and literature."

June 26, 2017

Congratulations to Lecturer Eve Alexandra for winning the LGBTQA Center's Glen Elder Award!

June 6, 2017

In Professor and Senator Philip Baruth's new biography Senator Leahy: A Life in Scenes, he "brings a thriller-like intensity to the most spectacular scenes" from Leahy's career, arguing that his success as a politician lies in his ability to be a "top cop" in both post-Watergate Vermont and post-9/11 America. Publishers Weekly says the book "brings Leahy's long string of accomplishments to life in clear detail." Senator Leahy is currently the most senior member of the US Senate, the longest serving US Senator in the history of Vermont, and was third in succession for the presidency from 2012 to 2015.

May 5, 2017

Professor John Gennari's book Flavor and Soul: Italian America at Its African American Edge was published today by the University of Chicago Press. With Flavor, Gennari dives into the "cultural contact zone" between the Italian-American and African-American communities, looking at the affinity the two have shared for over a hundred years. He sees this "edge" as "a space of mutual emulation and suspicion, a joyous cultural meeting sometimes darkened by violent collision." The Berkshire Eagle says the book "succeeds in making clear how inevitable and beautiful," if often difficult, the mutual understanding of races and cultures can be.

March 18, 2017

"For eight adventure-filled issues, Isaac Cates has been immersed in the pen-and-ink world of Cartozia Tales.” Lecturer Isaac Cates and his cartoon series for all ages, Cartozia, are featured in the most recent issue of Seven Days. Each issue of Cartozia is an anthology, highlighting the work of its nine creators as they explore a place that's "not quite like any other fantasy world." Scientific American has called the series "a story about maps made a time when the maps no longer matter to the creators."

August 30, 2016

Lecturer Stephen Cramer and Alejandro Merizalde have published a translation of the work of Mexican writer Jaime Sabines. "Sabines' poetry is personal, intense and, in my opinion, one of the most important in Latin America and in the Spanish language," says Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz. A Jar of Moon Air: Selected Poems of Jaime Sabines brings one of the greatest Spanish voices to a wider public. The most extensive collection of Sabines yet to be published in English, this book contains poems from each of the poet's collections, split up into four sections based on theme.

April 12, 2016

Professor Tom Simone has revived his concert series with aid from UVM’s President Tom Sullivan. The series started as a way for Sullivan to introduce his students to music from the literary periods they were studying, with the events soon becoming free and open to the public. "The concerts are sure to be memorable to the students and public alike, as many in Simone's series have been," says Seven Days.

February 24, 2016

Lecturer Stephen Cramer appeared on "The :30" on WCAX to discuss his new book A Little Thyme and a Pinch of Rhyme. A cookbook written in haikus and sonnets, A Little Thyme is filled with healthy recipes and humorous culinary wisdom. "Stephen Cramer's book will make you a more lyrical as well as a more skillful chef, and a more delighted and appreciative eater."

2015

Professor Greg Bottoms has been named a recipient of the Dean’s Lecture Award for 2015-2016. Bottoms will read from his memoir White Kid: A Memoir of Race, Racism, Class, and Culture in the 1970s on November 10, followed by a brief talk. White Kid tells the story of Bottoms' childhood in Hampton Roads, Virginia, a white, working-class neighborhood surrounded by poor, black neighborhoods. The book "explores the devastating effects of institutionalized racism and the overt and covert expressions of white anxieties about race."

November 5, 2015

English Alumn Marie Schley has won a 2015 Emmy award for her costume design on "Transparent." The show chronicles the journey of a trans woman and her family as she explores her identity. "Of course it's amazing and wonderful to win the Emmy, but especially for this show, which has so much heart and love and passion at its core," said Schley, Class of 1994.

September 12, 2015

Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies Sarah Nilsen will be appearing in the PBS American Experience series on Walt Disney on next week. The documentary is "an unprecedented look at the life and legacy of one of America's most enduring and influential storytellers." In addition to interviews from experts and employees, the series features rare footage from the Disney archives and scenes from his greatest films. Nilsen is currently working with Senior Lecturer Sarah Turner on an edited collection, Mouse TV: The History, Economics and Politics of the Disney Channel.

September 7, 2015

Senior Lecturer Emeritus Daniel Lusk’s short essay "Bomb" has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and will appear in the 2016 anthology Pushcart Prize XL: Best of the Small Presses. The Pushcart Prize series "is the most honored literary project in America," and has featured the work of the thousands of writers since it first began publishing annually in 1976. "Bomb" was originally featured in the literary journal New Letters (University of Missouri-Kansas City).

May 11, 2015

UVM Students Cleo Rohn, Barryphillip Arruda, and Michael Messina are set to participate in the 1st Annual Intercollegiate Poetry Reading, held at the Fletcher Free Library in downtown Burlington. The event will also feature students from Champlain College, Johnson State College, Middlebury College, Norwich University, and Saint Michael's College, with 14 total participants. Readings will begin at 6pm.

April 8, 2015

Professors Greg Bottoms, Susanmarie Harrington, Emily Bernard, Tom Simone, Dan Fogel, Major Jackson, and Lisa Schnell; Lecturer Stephen Cramer; alumnus Mateus Teixiera; and student Alexandria Hall are featured in the new UVM publication Humanities (PDF).

January 2015

Beastie Boys Meet W.B. Yeats - Poet explores hip hop via sonnets: "It’s all about sound", says Stephen Cramer, discussing what drives his own poetry and initially drew him to the art form. Age 12, home watching television in Westtown, N.Y., Cramer saw a show about the poet Stanley Kunitz which included a reading of his poem “The Round.”

October 2014

Lecturer Sean Witters wins the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award.  This award honors individuals who exhibit excellence in instruction, a capacity to animate students and engage them in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, the ability to motivate and challenge students, and other noteworthy characteristics as an instructor.

May 2014

UVM Junior Receives Prestigious Beinecke Scholarship. This scholarship is a nationally competitive award that seeks to identify and support students who show great promise in the humanities, fine arts and social sciences.

April 2014

Professor Lokangaka LosambeLokangaka Losambe is named a University Scholar Award recipient. The University Scholars program recognizes distinguished UVM faculty members for sustained excellence in research, creative and scholarly activities.

March 2014