On November 11, 1807: Washington Irving’s periodical, “Salmagundi” was published. He was the first to associate the name “Gotham” with New York City. The periodical itself was based in satire, and its subtitle read: “The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others”. The authors all wrote under pseudonyms, and used their writing to…
On November 4th, 2001; The first Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” premiered! In the United States, it premiered as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, to set a more magical and supernatural tone to the series. This first book of a seven book series written by JK Rowling has sold over 5 million…
By Chris Lee Hello readers! This post should appear familiar—and if does not, then you definitely need to catch up on the work Cameron Beasley and Wes Cruse are doing. That said, my post will differ slightly. While Cameron and Wes are focusing on our wonderful English majors and minors, I will focus on the…
By Wes Cruse What will America look like in the year 2074? Will the future be bright or bleak? In Omar El Akkad’s debut novel, American War, 2074 is the year the Second American Civil War breaks out. Oil has been outlawed, rising sea levels have submerged the entire peninsula of Florida, and six year old Sarat…
Hi all! I’m Cameron Beasley and I want to welcome you to our first Humans of the English Department post, where Wes Cruse and I will be reporting monthly on of your fellow English majors and giving you insight into their literary worlds. This month, I had the opportunity to sit down with Brendan Foley,…
On October 28, 1954: Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was recognized for his “mastery of the art of narrative”. This award was given to him shortly after he published The Old Man and the Sea. His work influenced contemporary literature greatly, and he was well known for publishing a large number of…
By Tayler Bradley Happy Fall Bibliophiles! While I hope you’re spending your time admiring autumnal leaves and cozying up with a good book and warm beverage, registration season is upon us. Spring course registration begins November 5th and, if you’re new to registering for classes at UP, the rolling registration schedule can be found here….
On October 21, 1949: Alduous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, wrote a letter to congratulate George Orwell on his new novel 1984. He wrote how “profoundly important the book is” in their world of prevailing materialism. Both of their novels depict dystopian worlds full of truths that mirror the world they were living in….
On October 14th, 1988: Naguib Mahfouz became the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Cairo, he began writing at the age of only seventeen. Now his literature is well circulated throughout the Arabic-speaking world. In his Nobel Prize recognition, it states that he “has formed an Arabian narrative art that…
Tayler here, and welcome to the first installment Fantasy Leisure Reading, my (roughly) monthly look into the world fantasy novels! While I can in no way call myself an expert, my interest in this particular literary genre is personal. Not only am I a huge nerd, but I’m a huge nerd who wants to be…