Rosenberg named Poet Laureate of Tompkins County
“I believe poetry offers us valuable opportunities to slow down, to reflect, and to extend our empathy, and I’m excited to share these gifts with our whole community,” Rosenberg said.
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Welcome! Literatures in English as a department teaches students how to read and write about literary cultures. Supported by excellent libraries and in connection with a number of interdisciplinary programs at Cornell, Literatures in English invites students and scholars to engage in conversations about global cultures as they develop skills for the future.
Upcoming Events
Mar
25
Tuesday
05:00 PM
Reading by Charlie Green
English Lounge, GS 258
Apr
10
Thursday
05:00 PM
Gellman Lecture on Modern Literature: "What Should a Novel Say?" by Daniel Wright
Goldwin Smith Hall
132, Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium
Apr
10
Thursday
05:00 PM
Apr
15
Tuesday
09:00 AM
The Right on, Write In Workshop
Rockefeller Hall
190
Apr
17
Thursday
05:00 PM
Reading by Jayne Anne Phillips
Rhodes-Rawling Auditorium, Klarman Hall KG70
Apr
29
Tuesday
04:30 PM
Coffee & Chat with Profs: Adhy Kim
English Lounge
258 Goldwin Smith Hall
May
01
Thursday
05:00 PM
Recent Highlights from the Department
Alumna’s book wrestles with society’s expectations of women
From Kate Chopin to Maya Angelou to Shakespeare, Nicole Lipson ’98 uses literature to grapple with gender roles.
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Your March 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include a debut novel and a nonfiction book about the comedy troupe Firesign Theater, both by A&S authors.
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War, love and loyalty: The ‘Iliad’ in Ithaca on March 12-13
A virtual event with translator Emily Wilson and a daylong community reading of portions of Homer’s epic poem highlight the spring Arts Unplugged event.
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Your February 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include books by A&S faculty and alumni: poetry, a kids’ book about Bali, and a short story collection.
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Remembering Molly Hite, professor emerita of English
Hite taught at Cornell from 1982 until her retirement in 2013.
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Prof’s new novel imagines a U.S. without Texas
Charlie Green’s new novel, “The Shah of Texas,” published Feb. 18 from Gold Wake Press.
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Freelance Theater Critic and Editor Brittani Samuel Wins George Jean Nathan Award
The award committee praised Samuel for her “impressive breadth of address to the playgoing public,” foregrounding “the critic’s own social position in an effort to promote more thoughtful and empathetic theatergoing.”
Read moreLiteratures in English Destinations
Recent Books by Department of Literatures in English Faculty
Department faculty continually publish important works of criticism, fiction, poetry, and essays. Visit Literatures in English Faculty: Recent Books to learn more.
Land Acknowledgment
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.
Statement from the Department of Literatures in English
We, the faculty and staff of the Cornell Literatures in English department, pledge to support and do our utmost to protect members of our community who are discriminated against, unjustly treated, or otherwise targeted because of race, religion, gender identification, sexuality, immigration status, ability, and other forms of difference.
Recognizing that words and symbols can be manipulated into violence, we renew our commitment to direct the force of language toward large and small acts of learning, alliance, imagination, and justice.