Exploring adolescence and young adulthood, one episode at a time
Through shows like ‘XO, Kitty,’ screenwriter Jessica O’Toole ’94 relishes highlighting the ‘inherent stakes and drama’ of youth.
Poet Ishion Hutchinson tilts into expansive essay writing
Award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson is making his prose debut with his first essay collection, which brings together two decades’ worth of probing reflections on his childhood in Jamaica, the country’s cultural and colonial history and his maturation as a writer.
Your April 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include poetry, a Creative Writing Program prof’s neo noir novel, and a memoir about working for two celebrity chefs
Ask an Ambassador: Explore all of your interests
"My experiences with exploration pushed me to uncover new interests."
French university honors Jonathan Culler for literary contributions
On March 26, the University of Paris 8 on March 26 recognized Culler for his contributions to literary and theoretical studies and his close ties with French intellectual movements.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Remembering Molly Hite, professor emerita of English
Hite taught at Cornell from 1982 until her retirement in 2013.
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.
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.”
Bohannon, Manne event focuses on female body image, evolution
"Is Fat Female? Evolution, Feminism, and Getting the Story Right” takes place in person March 5; a virtual conversation between the two will be livestreamed March 6.
Alumna playwright honored with Dramatists Guild award
Playwright Gloria Oladipo '21 is also an award-winning cultural critic and journalist with The Guardian.
Media Objects podcast releases 'sonic essays' based at Cornell
The series features the voices and research of 13 Cornell faculty members, more than half from A&S.
Frederick Ahl, innovative classics scholar, dies at 83
A scholar of Greek and Roman epic and drama and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, Ahl was a member of the Cornell faculty for more than 52 years.
Your January 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles – most by A&S authors – include a work of nonfiction about honeybees, a kids’ picture book, and a novel set in rural Nova Scotia.
The ‘marvelous, turbulent times’ when a literary magazine was born
A fellow alum’s passing sparked vivid memories of launching the Cornell Review, a cutting-edge journal of ideas, in the late 1970s.
Barry Adams, former vice provost and literature scholar, dies at 89
Barry Banfield Adams, professor of literatures of English emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Dec. 31 at home in Brooktondale, New York. He was 89.
Exhibit highlights art/tech intersections in student work
The event invited undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines to display their projects at the historic A.D. White House.
In ‘Fun Home’ and other books, queer narratives rework time
In “Never On Time, But Always in Time,” Kate McCullough of the College of Arts and Sciences examines four books to explore how queer narratives focus on the body and its senses to find alternative ways of experiencing and presenting time.
Historic marker celebrates Pearl S. Buck’s stop in Ithaca
Years before writing “The Good Earth” and winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, the aspiring novelist received encouragement and a master’s degree at Cornell.
New student awards honor Medieval studies faculty
Medieval Studies has created new prizes for students. Submissions for both prizes are due Jan. 31 and will be judged by a faculty panel in the Medieval Studies Program.
Sophomore's organization fosters conversations on racial justice, mental health
"Poetry and artwork were my ways of processing the world around me."
Crowdfunding launch supports Ways of Knowing podcast at Cornell
A crowdfunding campaign launched Nov. 1 to support a Cornell-based season of "Ways of Knowing,” a new podcast created by The World According to Sound.
Poet pictures ‘a place where a woman may find some peace’
In “Purchase,” a new collection of poems from Associate Professor Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, the author seeks consolation for grief by turning to specific sources of beauty.
‘Icon of national femininity’: Beyoncé to appear at VP Harris Houston rally
As Election Day closes in, a Cornell expert in Black feminism sees 'deep meaning and significance' in superstar Beyoncé's support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sigrid Nunez reading Nov. 7 concludes fall 2024 Zalaznick series
“Sigrid Nunez’s novels meditate on life and the world with unfussy clarity and lightness. Today she is one of the most profound living American writers."
University celebrates top faculty for outstanding teaching, mentoring
Eleven teaching faculty from across the university have been awarded Cornell’s highest honors for graduate and undergraduate teaching, Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff announced Oct. 22.
Your October 2024 reads
This month’s titles, featured in Cornellians, include "Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Cesarean Section" by A&S alum Rachel Somerstein ’04.
Firesign Theatre made lowbrow, high-concept media critique
In his new book, Prof. Jeremy Braddock explores the history of the Firesign Theatre, which used multitrack audio and avant-garde collage to put a countercultural spin on the comedy album in the 1960s and ’70s.
A&S announces membership in MLA Strategic Partnership Network
“We felt this is an important resource that should be available to our humanists at all levels, whether they have the resources to pay for membership or not,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences.
Poet and sportswriter Rowan Ricardo Phillips to read Oct. 17
“Rowan Ricardo Phillips is a renowned sportswriter, and has written extensively on baseball, soccer, and tennis. He is, however, first and foremost a poet of the highest order, full of formal sophistication, lyrical possibility, and musical syncopation."
Author alum wins MacArthur ‘genius grant’
Ling Ma, MFA ’16, has earned raves for her fiction; a Cornell Tech prof also received one of the coveted fellowships.
Novelist Ling Ma, MFA ’16, among 2024 MacArthur recipients
Novelist Ling Ma, MFA ’16, and Nicola Dell, associate professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, have been awarded 2024 “genius grants.”
FGSS Graduate Minor Spotlight: Oona Cullen
Oona Cullen, a doctoral candidate in English language and literature with minors in feminist, gender, and sexuality studies and media studies, studies questions of embodiment, narrative, and form as they relate to experiences of race and gender.
Student spotlight: Susannah Sharpless
Susannah Sharpless, a doctoral candidate in English language and literature, studies 19th century American literature with a focus on women writers and the sea.
Professor’s feature-length documentary film debuts at Cornell Cinema
“Possible Landscapes,” a new feature-length documentary film exploring the lived experience of landscapes and environments in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, will have its debut screening on Sept. 25 at Cornell Cinema.
Donor’s Annual Prize Shows Appreciation for Teaching Assistants
The Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants was created to put TAs in the spotlight, celebrating and recognizing them for their contributions to education at Cornell.
Black print history, community featured in exhibit
The exhibit reveals how newspapers served as a powerful vehicle for literature, culture and community-building.
Freund Prize winners to read Sept. 26
The work of the four winning writers – Andrew Boryga, Aisha Abdel Gawad, C. Michelle Lindley and Amanda Moore – spans a wide range of forms and topics.
New Faculty: Alexandra Kleeman
Alexandra Kleeman, Literatures in English
New Faculty: Adhy Kim
Adhy Kim, Literatures in English, Asian American Studies
New Faculty: Rebeca L. Hey-Colón
Rebeca L. Hey-Colón, Literatures in English and Latina/o Studies
New Faculty: Anna Shechtman
Anna Schechtman, Literatures in English
‘Accomplished’ poet and essayist to kick off 2024 Zalaznick Reading Series
Elisa Gabbert "has managed to create a life out of reading books and meeting her would be absolutely eye-opening for our students.”
From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields
"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’
Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
Winners of the 2024 Freund Prize for Creative Writing read on September 26
The Department of Literatures in English celebrates the winners of the 2024 Philip Freund Prize for Creative Writing in recognition of excellence in publication: Andrew Boryga, Aisha Abdel Gawad, C. Michelle Lindley, and Amanda Moore