How can we speak from the vantage of animals, vapors, cells, corporate or collective persons? What resources might writers of lyric poems and novels have to imagine alternative perspectives?On May 2, associate professors of English Joanie Mackowski and Elisha Cohn will explore how to write beyond the human at “In a Word.” The conversation, at 4:30 p.m. in G70 Klarman Hall, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the English Lounge, 258 Goldwin Smith Hall.