Welcome back from break, English majors! We hope you had fun adventuring, resting, and maybe even reading (Moby Dick, anyone?). Now we're back in the throes of Spring semester and need to think about next Fall! That's right, it's time for registration. Get ready for new classes and the return of our beloved Dr. Hersh and Dr. Weiger! This preview of Fall's Upper Division English courses isn't any old course catalog; it has bonus insider info from professors about topics, perspectives, reading … [Read More...]
FEATURED POSTS
The Wounds of Care and the Pleasures of Ordinary Devotion: One Editor’s Encounter(s) with Maggie Nelson
This summer, my car was broken into the one night I left my backpack in the passenger seat. I wasn’t upset about my laptop, the intimate mementos of a senior recital, a poem remembered, a notebook of observations--at least not immediately. Instead, I was in despair over the loss of a signed copy of a book wherein I had marked my growth for two years: The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson. A copy of a book that, coincidentally, came out a week after I came out to my parents. A copy of a book I carried with me nearly everywhere I went to f … [Read More...]
Life After The English Major
Listen. Listen closely. Can you hear it? It’s that ever-looming question of “English major? English... What are you planning on doing with that?” However, you don’t have to feel your stomach drop every time this question is asked, because the English Department is here to help. This coming Monday, February 6th, the UP English department is hosting its annual “Life after the English Major” event. With a panel featuring four different alumni with a combined experience of 22 years i … [Read More...]
Why You Should Submit to NUCL 2017
As you finish up those last few final papers or theses, you’ve probably heard about submitting those papers to NUCL, and that the submission deadline is quickly approaching. And that’s all well and good if you know what NUCL actually is. But if you don’t, here is everything you need to know about NUCL and why you should really consider submitting – take it from someone who presented last year! NUCL stands for Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature. NUCL is held at UP each spring and invites s … [Read More...]
Wordstock 2016 Three Ways
Ah, Wordstock—the Portland-based, literature-themed Comic-Con. Held in our city's architectural gems and with over one hundred writers to see and hear, Wordstock provides the perfect weekend plan for the genre-curious English student, professors of all disciplines, and the bookworm looking for their next read. Needless to say, the prospect of going to Wordstock for the first time can be overwhelming. What kinds of ideas should you mentally prepare yourself for? What if two events you want to attend overlap? Fear not! Three Contributing E … [Read More...]
An Interview with Peter Rock
Award-winning novelist Peter Rock is a University of Portland Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writer and our final guest in the Fall Readings and Lectures series. Rock received his BA in English from Yale and has won numerous awards and fellowships for his writing, including Stanford’s Wallace Stegner Fellowship. He lives and writes in Portland, and teaches writing at Reed College. His most recently published book, Klickitat, is set in Portland and is about two sisters, one of whom mysteriously disappears. His next b … [Read More...]
An Interview with Willy Vlautin
Novelist Willy Vlautin is the next guest in our Autumn Readings & Lectures series hosted by the University of Portland’s English Department. He has published four novels: The Motel Life (2007), Northline (2008), Lean on Pete (2010), and The Free (2014). For all the violence and tragedy that fuels the characters and storylines of his works, Willy Vlautin is one hell of a friendly guy. His band, alt-country quartet Richmond Fontaine, just recently back from t … [Read More...]
Professor Spotlight: Elyse Fenton
Last November, Elyse Fenton came to University of Portland to read from her wildly acclaimed poetry book Clamor. Her collection caught literary fire after she was not only the first American author to win the University of Wales' Dylan Thomas Prize, but also the first poet. She’s been interviewed on NPR and BBC. After her reading at the University of Portland Bookstore, she was offered an adjunct position for Fall 2016 teaching the poetry workshop class offered every other year. Sitting down next to me at the Pilot House, P … [Read More...]
Freshman Feature: Cameron Beasley
In preparation for my profile on a first year English major (Class of 2020—remarkable), I scoured past blog posts for inspiration and was nothing short of jarred when I came upon the December 9, 2013 "Featuring First Years," which, to the surprise of my ever-roaming memory, popped up with a picture of myself clad in freshman enthusiasm. And I began to think about what it means to have an artifact of any form that marks the beginning of our academic relationship with literature. Perhaps, for both my peers who have already graduated and who are g … [Read More...]
An English Major’s Guide to Non-English Classes
Literature and writing are my passions—that’s why I chose to major in English. When it was time to take required basics or choose electives in the College of Arts and Sciences, I was at a little bit of a loss. I just wanted to TAKE ALL THE ENGLISH! I was happy to find that many subjects intersect with my major, and some classes were more helpful than others. This is my last semester at UP, so I'll share what I learned from taking non-English classes. Theology As a student in CAS, you already have to take three theology class … [Read More...]