Winter 2015 newsletter

Department of English

Undergraduate Program Newsletter

Winter 2015 Volume 16 Issue 1

Inside this Issue 3 Welcome to English Class of 2018 13 Internships and Travel 16 Thesis Research 18 Writers in the Parlor with Michael Pollan 20 Faculty Profile 22 Art Novels 30 Fall Term Scrapbook

enbulben

Dear New English Concentrators, Dear New English Concentrators, Great Choice! Everyone in the English Department – the faculty, the graduates who will be teaching your and the administrative – welcome to thethe department.

We’rewill all be certain thatyour the Greatsections, Choice! Everyone in the English staff Department – theyou faculty, graduates who teaching choice you’ve made will repay manifold interest not only for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the sections, and the administrative staff – welcome you to the department. We’re all certain that the choice you’ve rest your life. manifold interest not only for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the rest of your life. madeofwill repay Why areweweso so sure?

Three reasons: weyou know loveand reading talking books; you Why are sure?

Three reasons: (1) we (1) know loveyou reading talkingand about books;about you have immense have immense pleasures ahead of you!; (2) statistical likelihood tells you that you’ll derive enormous pleasures ahead of you!; (2) statistical likelihood tells you that you’ll derive enormous satisfaction from this satisfaction this isconcentration at or near of concentrations 50 or concentrationfrom (English routinely at or(English near the is toproutinely of concentrations of the 50 ortop more concentrators forofstudent more concentrators for own student satisfaction); andtransmit (3) ouraown vocation in partculture to transmit deeply satisfaction); and (3) our vocation is in part to deeply informedisliterary to you:a we very informed literary culture to you: we very much look forward to having you in our classes! much look forward to having you in our classes!

On behalf of the theentire entiredepartment, department,I extend I extend warmest of welcomes to our concentration, behalf of thethe warmest of welcomes to our concentration, James Simpson James Simpson Chair Chair

Natalie Antunez Charlotte Anrig Jocelyn Arndt Emmie Atwood Geoffrey Binney Bonnie Aislinn Bennett Brophy Conor GiannaBent Cacciatore Aisha Bhoori Allegra Caldera Lindsay Bu Taylor Carol Deirdre Carney Caden Chase Larry Cherkasov Monica de los Reyes Grazie StergiosChristie Dinopoulos Mitchell Edwards Lena Felton Allie Freiwald Jessi Glueck Catherine Gildea Silvia Golumbeanu Luke HollisGrimm Alexandra

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Harnek Gulati Shaun Gohel Kathryn Gundersen Jack Goldfisher Rachel Harner Cleo Harrington Averill Healey Laura ReubenHatt Howard Robert Hopkirk Miriam Huettner Dan Hughes Gabriel Hurwitz Consuelo Hylton Kathy Jung Charlie Hyman Emma Rose Kantor Camille Jacobson Robert Kim Michelle Ko Clarissa Klein Electra Lang Tyrik LaCruise Brittany Alex Lee Ledford Claire Lee Halie LeSavage

Joan Li Juliet Lewis Max Masuda-Farkas George Li Dan Milaschewski Bronte NicolasLim O’Connor Brie Martin Nancy O’Neil Laurel McCaull Hope Patterson Mario Shelly Menendez Preza Sarah Mokh Catherine Qin Elena Monge Imedio Brad Riew Grace Murphy Christopher Riley Maeva O’Brien Hannah Saal Emily Ott Nina Sapers Leon Pan Michael Savarese Michelle Raji Eli Schleicher

Obasi Shaw Miranda Ryshawy Maia Silber Nora Sagal Mark Steinbach Natasha Sarna Zara Sternberg Duncan Saum Madi Stine Christian Schatz Gwen Thomas Camille Schmidt Laila Virgo-Carter Jake Scott Mia Vitale Nathan Siegelaub Chloe Volkwein Rachel Silverstein Tom Waddick Olivia Startup Jarrod Wetzel-Brown Andrew Wilcox Natalia Wojcik Curtis Wu Sarah Yeoh-Wang Aziz Yakub Faye Zhang

Why I Chose English?

Why I Chose English?

“In my freshmen year, I was taking two math/science courses when I realized I liked reading literature much “Do/ you still hang your words in air, ten years/ more than solving computational problems. I even missed unfinished, glued to your notice board, with writing papers, which really surprised me (for I swear gaps/ or empties for the unimaginable phrase—/ I hated them in high school). So I decided to shift my unerring muse who makes the casual perfect?” focus to English, where I could learn about fiction from different viewpoints, discuss topics that are fascinating, Stephen Burt, moving his thin and nimble body and be with professors who are just as enthusiastic as in ways more fit for a yoga instructor than I am. In English I can enjoy college with subjects that a professor, climbed onto a round oak table I loved rather than enduring certain courses in order to and, clutching a stubby stick of chalk in hand, get a specific degree. I like all my classes (which I almost inscribed the above verses on our classroom’s thought not possible), and I am excited to take even more hollow wall in the Barker Center’s basement. His courses and to start my Junior tutorial. “ handwriting, mostly undecipherable, appeared ghostly, grandiose. He had underlined “muse” — Laila Virgo-Carter three times and the emphasis, I now realize, was apt—in more ways than one.

“I chose the Harvard English Department because This was a dream I had a few nights before they know how to make a student feel comfortable. the declaration deadline; it was a realistic I know that is a strange word to use in an academic one—mostly because Professor Burt had done such magical things when I took his course the spring before. And it was, in many ways, a vision that informed my concentration decision.

setting, but I believe that we are all trying to find ourselves here at college, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable when we do not find ourselves right away. The English Department understands that we are all learning, growing, and discovering exciting new things about this world and chosewithin English know thethere Department ourI lives it, because and theyI are right alongside us for houses professors who believe in a muse; the journey. Their guidance is invaluable in ourwho search, and believethat in the literature’s ability capture the that we I believe department is a to welcome friend consummate tragedy quotidian and the travel alongside while hereofatthe Harvard. beauty of the quotidian, too. Every English class taken has given me ahouses newfound appreciation TheI’ve English Department much more than mere for language’s abilitythe to English capture Department life’s intricacies. books.

I believe that teaches its I’ve becomefarmore observant— concentrators more than how reverent to simplyeven. enjoy and As I walk through the Yard, I notice the details respond to books. We all love reading, but the department moveuswriters createfostered and conceive alsothat teaches that thetowords within new the pages of of being.

Whenasmy block mate the anymodes story are not nearly important as plays the fairytale that cello in inspired it. her Theorchestra, events andI remember experiencesthe of squeaking our lives are what fiddler from Madame Bovary whose beautiful make them valuable, and the department gets that. This is tune scattered, from far away, the little birds. what drew me to the department, and, as cliche as it sounds, Walking to the quad, I see the leaves I believe thehome English Department is how the first major part of crisp Iand in everyday the wind,that justI live.” as Lily the turn “fairytale” am stiff writing Briscoe promised they would. And, as the stress of papers begins to weigh me down, I remember — Jarrod Wetzel-Brown Professor Wood reading from Effie Briest: “What do I think about life? A little and a lot.”

—Aisha Bhoori, ‘18

2018

Welcome to English Class of

Why I Chose English?

I chose English because literature gives us valuable insight into the workings behind, and meaning of, our everyday life, from subjective crises to political and economic problems in our societies. Reading literature helps us become more aware and understand ourselves and others better, enabling us to become better participants in our societies. I chose English, therefore, because I understand that literature can help me become a better and more self-aware person.

Dear New English Concentrators, —Larry Cherkasov, ‘18 Great Choice! Everyone in the English Department – the faculty, the graduates who will be teaching your sections, and the administrative staff – welcome you to the department. We’re all certain that the choice you’ve made will repay manifold interest not only for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the rest of your life.

Why are we so sure? Three reasons: (1) we know you love reading and talking about books; you have immense pleasures ahead of you!; (2) statistical likelihood tells you that you’ll derive enormous satisfaction from this To me,concentration words are everything. areatstories; each (English is Words routinely or near the top of concentrations of 50 or more concentrators for student says something new.and Words are own histories; each satisfaction); (3) our vocation is contains in part to transmit a deeply informed literary culture to you: we very look forward to having you in ourand classes! a rich much background.

Words are arguments ideas; each imparts a point of view. Words are time capsules; On behalfand of the entire department, the warmest of welcomes to our concentration, each captures preserves a moment,I extend a thought, a feeling.

Words are painting and film; each evokes a James Simpson vibrantChair image, static or dynamic. Words are music; each flows with rhythm and melody. Words are magic; each unleashes another dimension of the imagination. Words are powerful; as the adage goes, the pen is mightier Natalie Antunez Harnek Gulati Joan Li Obasi Shaw than the sword.

Jocelyn Arndt Kathryn Gundersen Max Masuda-Farkas Maia Silber Geoffrey Binney Rachel Harner Dan Milaschewski Mark Steinbach The choice to study English, then, was the choice to Aislinn Brophy Averill Healey Nicolas O’Connor Zara Sternberg delve Gianna into these compact, compelling we call Cacciatore Reubenunits Howard Nancy O’Neil Madi Stine words.Allegra Whether learning them or learning about them, Caldera Miriam Huettner Hope Patterson Gwen Thomas reciting them Carol off the page or jotting them Hurwitz down, I hope Taylor Gabriel Shelly Preza Laila Virgo-Carter to carry the skills I gain as an English concentrator Caden Chase Kathy Jung Catherine Qin Mia Vitale wherever I end up in life and – meanwhile – nourish my Monica de los Reyes Emma Rose Kantor Brad Riew Chloe Volkwein love ofStergios reading and writing, word by word.Kim Dinopoulos Robert Christopher Riley Tom Waddick Lena Felton Clarissa Klein Hannah Saal Jarrod Wetzel-Brown —Nathan Siegelaub, ‘18 Jessi Glueck Tyrik LaCruise Nina Sapers Natalia Wojcik Silvia Golumbeanu Alex Lee Michael Savarese Sarah Yeoh-Wang Alexandra Grimm Halie LeSavage Eli Schleicher Faye Zhang

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Alumni Welcome I chose to study English at Harvard for a constellation of reasons. To my mind, English is the discipline in the American university that accommodates the most capacious range of interests: literature, history, philosophy, media studies, art, music, sociology, psychology, etc.

English enables (and requires) its students to draw on all of these disciplines. Moreover, learning to read, write, and speak well is the best means by which one learns how to think, bar none. Kenneth Burke had it right: Literature is equipment for living, and that’s true not only in the sense of one’s relation to oneself, but one’s understanding of society a whole.year, I was taking two math/science “In myasfreshmen Erik Fredner is a second-year PhD studentmuch in the courses when(‘12) I realized I liked reading literature English department at Stanford, whereI even he works more than solving computational problems. missed on the 19th and 20th century American novel and digital writing papers, which really surprised me (for I swear humanities methods.

Harvard (but before Stanford), I hated them in high After school).

So I decided to shift my Erik an education K-12 schools focuswas to English, where Iconsultant could learn for about fiction fromand universities. different viewpoints, discuss topics that are fascinating, and be with professors who are just as enthusiastic as —Eric Fredner, I am. In English I can enjoy college with subjects that ‘12 I loved rather than enduring certain courses in order to get a specific degree. I like all my classes (which I almost thought not possible), and I Iam to take even morethat When I arrived at Harvard, hadexcited this confused notion courses and to start my Junior tutorial. “ because I knew I loved reading and writing and wanted

Why I Chose English?

both to play a central role in my life, I should probably — Laila study something different. Something thatVirgo-Carter felt more like “real work” and less like indulging a passion.

“I chose Harvardbetter English Department because I am so gladthe I thought of that. they know how to make a student feel comfortable.

I knowEnglish, that is as a strange toofuse an academic I chose opposedword to one theinother humanities

concentrations, in large part because of the creative writing component. When I sold a novel at sixteen, I had no idea just how little I knew about writing. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to write and study

the craft of fiction under the expert tutelage of Jamaica Kincaid, Claire Messud, and Bret Johnston. Their guidance and mentorship – extending beyond the semesters I spent as their students – has proven invaluable to my development as a writer.

The critical faculties I developed in English courses have also proven professionally useful. I work in drama setting, but I believe that– we are all trying to findI’mourselves development at FOX meaning, effectively, on the here at college, andthe sometimes can be uncomfortable editorial team for network’sit dramas.

We read and when we doscript not find ourselves hear right pitches, away. The evaluate submissions, andEnglish give Department understands that we are all learning, growing, notes on projects through every step of the process and discovering thingstoabout this world from concept toexciting outlinenew to script TV show.

It’s notand all our lives within than it, and areI right alongside for that different thethey work did inthere English classesusand the journey.

Their guidance is invaluable search, and writing workshops – although the textsin in our question these I days believefeature that the department is a welcome friend that we a much greater preponderance of people travel while here at the Harvard. with alongside superpowers assisting cops, and I’ve learned my lesson about using phrases like “liminal space” in script The EnglishAnd, Department much moreonthan mere write-ups. in my freehouses time, I’m working finishing books.

I believe that the English Department teaches its the novel that originated as my senior thesis. concentrators far more than how to simply enjoy and respond to books. We loveadvice reading, butreceived the department As an undergrad, theallbest I ever was to also teaches us that the words fostered not within the pages of choose courses based on professors, subject matter. any story are not nearly as important as the fairytale that It’s a wonderful way to broaden your horizons. James inspired The eventsme and to experiences our lives are what Wood it. introduced TheodorofFontane, through make themClaybaugh valuable, and the department getsGeorge that. This is Amanda I discovered a love for Eliot, what to there-ignited department, as cliche as it sounds, and drew PetermeSacks anand, interest in poetry that I middle believe school the English Department is the first major part of English classes had almost beaten out of the “fairytale” I am everyday that Ibefore live.” nostalgia me.

I could go on writing and on but I’ll refrain, really gets the better of me. If I could do it all over again, — Jarrod I would. To new concentrators – enjoy.

Don’t Wetzel-Brown worry about what you’re going to do after graduation. You have the rest of your life to worry about that. And don’t worry if you can’t finish Ulysses within the allotted two weeks.

—Isabel Kaplan, ‘12

“Literature offers the thrill of minds of great clarity wrestling with the endless problems and delights of being human. To engage with them is to engage with oneself, and the lasting rewards are not confined to specific career paths.”

Jonathan Stroud I chose English as my concentration because I was an avid reader as a child. At Harvard, I found myself immersed in a very diverse concentration of both classic and modern literature and everything in between. I was challenged daily to pull new ideas from the books that I was reading and analyze those themes.

Dear New English Concentrators, I am currently a third year law student at Texas Tech University Law pursuing career in public GreatSchool Choice!ofEveryone in theaEnglish Department – the faculty, the graduates who will be teaching your interest law. Myand English concentrationstaff gave a solidyou to the department. We’re all certain that the choice you’ve sections, the administrative – me welcome made for willmy repay manifold interest onlyvolume for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the rest of your life. foundation law school career duenot to the and depth of the reading and writing that is asked are we so sure?

Three reasons: we strong know you love reading and talking about books; you have immense of us. Why An attorney’s greatest skill is not(1)only pleasures ahead of you!; (2) statistical likelihood tells you that you’ll derive enormous satisfaction from this oratory but also cogent writing.

Being at well in atop of concentrations of 50 or more concentrators for student concentration (English is routinely or read near the broadsatisfaction); range of literature your is analytical and (3)will ourimprove own vocation in part to transmit a deeply informed literary culture to you: we very skills much and allow you to take an innovative approach look forward to having you in our classes! when seeking the solution to a problem.

On behalf of the entire department, I extend the warmest of welcomes to our concentration, —Anna Kincaid, ‘10 James Simpson Chair After I graduated in 2011, I attended the Columbia Publishing Course thanks to various forms of support fromNatalie the English department at Harvard. six-week Antunez HarnekThis Gulati Joan Li Obasi Shaw summer program, ColumbiaGundersen University Jocelyn Arndtheld at the Kathryn Max Masuda-Farkas Maia Silber School of Journalism, as “publishing Geoffrey Binney is knownRachel Harner boot Dan Milaschewski Mark Steinbach camp,” appropriate because of the in-depth and Aislinn Brophy Averill Healey Nicolas O’Connor Zara Sternberg intensive training students received in allHoward aspects of Gianna Cacciatore Reuben Nancy O’Neil Madi Stine Allegra Caldera Miriam Huettner Hope Patterson Gwen Thomas publishing--from books to magazines to digital media, Taylor Carol Gabriel Hurwitz Shelly Preza Laila Virgo-Carter from business to publicity to editorial--through Caden Kathyand Jung Catherine Qin Mia Vitale lectures withChase publishing professionals workshops.

Monica de los Rose Kantor Brad Riew Chloe Volkwein I was fortunate to Reyes be given Emma the opportunity to Stergios Dinopoulos Robert Kim Christopher Riley Tom Waddick interview for an editorial assistant position at Alfred Lenaan Felton Clarissa KleinHouse, Hannah Saal Jarrod Wetzel-Brown A. Knopf, imprint of now-Penguin Random Jessi Glueck Tyrik LaCruise Nina Sapers Natalia Wojcik about halfway through the course. Not only were the Golumbeanu Alex hired, Lee but being Michael Savarese Sarah Yeoh-Wang skillsSilvia from CPC helpful to my being Grimm Halie ILeSavage Eli Schleicher Faye Zhang able Alexandra to discuss the fiction and poetry studied as an undergraduate (when I mentioned Wallace Stevens, my current-boss’s eyes lit up) with the rhetorical Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

and analytic skills I honed in my English courses as well were most beneficial to my application. Knopf in particular is the home to many of American literature’s giants--from Vladimir Nabokov to Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy--and the offices exude with their essence in quite a powerful, tangible way.

Over the past four years, I’ve worked with three different editors at Knopf and Doubleday (the two branches of our imprint) whose list of authors and titles are as diverse as they are long: these include works by Jhumpa Lahiri (now writing in Italian), Daniel Mendelsohn (New Yorker contributor), the late James Salter, Arthur Golden, Claire Messud, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (a former Radcliffe Fellow), Anne Carson, Jonathan Galassi, Nell Freudenberger (who graduated from Harvard), Jane Smiley, J. Courtney Sullivan, Jennifer Close, Dave Eggers, Rebecca Harrington (another Harvard “In my freshmen I was Bill taking two math/science alumna), Toniyear, Morrison, Clinton, and many more courses when I realized I liked reading literature talented writers with brilliant careers aheadmuch of them. moreMy than solving computational problems.

I even missed responsibilities are equally varied. I liaise with all writing papers, really surprised me (for I swear of the otherwhich divisions of the publishing house, such as I hated them in high school).

So I decided to shift production, publicity and marketing, contracts,my etc. to focusensure to English, where I could fiction that our books arelearn madeabout and sold to from the best different viewpoints, discuss topics that are fascinating, of our abilities from start to finish.

Currently, I assist and the be with professors who are just as enthusiastic as Editorial Director of Knopf, and in this capacity I am.I have In English I can enjoy college with subjects that greater insight into the large-scale publishing I loved rather than enduring certain courses in order toago, decisions of our group’s entire list. And two years get aI specific degree. Ito likethe allrole my classes (whicheditor, I almost was promoted of assistant which thought not possible), and I am excited to take even more has allowed me to begin building my own list through courses to start myand Junior tutorial. “ newand acquisitions through working on compiling anthologies for our Everyman’s Library; my first two — of Laila Virgo-Carter projects there are collections Mark Twain’s and John Muir’s nonfiction, which has brought me back to beloved undergraduate material and put me back “I chose the with Harvard Department because in touch someEnglish of my former professors in a new theyand know how to make a student feel comfortable. exciting way.

I know that is a strange word to use in an academic

Why I Chose English?

What I still find most rewarding, though, is what happens on the page. I am fortunate to have worked editors who value my editorial comments and suggestions. Often during my undergraduate career, I often paused over why a novel or poem progressed the way it did; why a character would have a certain motive or personality trait; why a setting was chosen; why a chapter or line of poetry broke where it did. As

a reader and student, I would try to assign meaning to these things as if they were indelible components of that piece of art’s essence. Now, it’s clear that literature is a much more fluid medium. Books are the way they are in many ways because of (or sometimes in spite of) the editorial handiwork behind them. My ability to offer meaningful comments to their evolution is no doubt thanks to the thoughtful and dynamic literary training I received as an English concentrator.

In this respect, may be glaringly obvious why an English degree is helpful to a career in editing literary fiction. Nonetheless, there are myriad ways in which fundamentals components of the concentration-namely developing good communication skills--are useful in all areas of my job, in fact any job. Whether setting, but I believe that we are all trying to find ourselves I am writing an e-mail to a colleague or a seven-page here at college, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable editorial letter, explaining to another department why when we do not find ourselves right away. The English a manuscript is late, drawing on literary tropes or Department understands that we are all learning, growing, traditions to evaluate the merit of a new submission, and discovering exciting new things about this world and or arguing why we should make an offer on a book our lives within it, and they are right there alongside us for for several hundred thousand dollars, effective writing the journey. Their guidance is invaluable in our search, and and speaking skills are crucial to my daily life. When I I believe that the department is a welcome friend that we work on the brief descriptions of books you see on the travel alongside while here at Harvard. jackets (aka flap copy), I recall my professors’ advice on how to write succinct yet poignant sentences The English Department houses much more than mere with attention to their content and form; when I books. I believe that the English Department teaches its select review quotes to put on the back of a jacket concentrators far more than how to simply enjoy and to promote a book, I remember how strategically respond to books. We all love reading, but the department selecting passages from novels and secondary sources also teaches us that the words fostered within the pages of was key to any good paper’s argument. My English any story are not nearly as important as the fairytale that concentration thus provided me with the micro- and inspired it. The events and experiences of our lives are what macro-level knowledge needed to work with books in make them valuable, and the department gets that. This is much the same way I did as a student--only this time what drew me to the department, and, as cliche as it sounds, on the other side of the publication date.

I believe the English Department is the first major part of the “fairytale” I am writing everyday that I live.”

— Jennifer Kurdyla, ‘11 — Jarrod Wetzel-Brown I graduated Harvard’s English department in 2009.

As a lifelong lover of words and the English language (and the founder of Harvard’s crossword club!), concentrating in English was a natural fit for me. I was particularly interested in Shakespeare and wrote my thesis with Marjorie Garber on the Queen Mab speech from Romeo and Juliet. Towards the end of my time in the English department, I got increasingly

interested in the language side of English and took courses with Daniel Donoghue in Old English, Middle English, and the history of English. That foray into historical English led me to historical linguistics and linguistics more generally, which I decided to explore further in a graduate program at Oxford. There, I discovered the quantitative and experimental side of language research and am now finishing a Ph.D. in MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences department-where my main focus is still very much on language.

My research focuses on human language processing and on trying to understand how languages are structured so that they are communicatively efficient but also learnable. While much of my work theseDear daysNew is experimental and computational, I still English Concentrators, get to think deeply about the oddities and joys of Great Choice!

Everyone inthey the English Department – the faculty, the graduates who will be teaching your the English language and what can tell us about sections, and the administrative staff – welcome you to the department. We’re all certain that the choice you’ve communication, the evolution of language, and the made will repay manifold interest not only for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the rest of your life. human brain.

Why are we so sure? Three reasons: (1) we know you love reading and talking about books; you have immense —Kyle Mahowald, ‘09 tells you that you’ll derive enormous satisfaction from this pleasures ahead of you!; (2) statistical likelihood concentration (English is routinely at or near the top of concentrations of 50 or more concentrators for student satisfaction); and (3) our own vocation is in part to transmit a deeply informed literary culture to you: we very much forward to having our classes!

Almost 40look years into this journeyyou myinclose friends are still with me. They have not only endured, they On behalf of the entire department, I extend the warmest of welcomes to our concentration, have prevailed.

James Simpson In a Chair world so focused on pre-professional training why would anyone contemplate concentrating in a major such as English and American Literature, apparently from the exacting demands Nataliefar Antunez Harnek Gulatiof the businesses of economics, technology, entertainment Jocelyn Arndt Kathryn Gundersen and Geoffrey the otherBinney forces so immediately Rachel affecting Harner our dailyAislinn lives? InBrophy my younger and more vulnerable Averill Healey days I tooGianna thought of a pre-professional concentration, Cacciatore Reuben Howard pre-med or pre-law.

After visiting a Chemistry class Allegra Caldera Miriam Huettner it became was not the route, Taylorobvious Carol that pre-med Gabriel Hurwitz too many colored pens used to Jung take notes in CadenmultiChase Kathy Monicasomewhat de los Reyes Emma Rose a language indecipherable.

SinceKantor there Dinopoulos Robert Kim wereStergios no prescribed pre-law courses I convinced Lena Klein myself thatFelton the only major thatClarissa would conceivably Jessi Glueck Tyrik LaCruise prepare me for the Law was English. I was right.

SilviaLaw Golumbeanu Alex Lee my English Through School and Business School Alexandragave Grimm LeSavage concentration me the mostHalie important, valuable asset of all, the ability to communicate.

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Joan Li Max Masuda-Farkas Dan Milaschewski Nicolas O’Connor Nancy O’Neil Hope Patterson Shelly Preza Catherine Qin Brad Riew Christopher Riley Hannah Saal Nina Sapers Michael Savarese Eli Schleicher

Obasi Shaw Maia Silber Mark Steinbach Zara Sternberg Madi Stine Gwen Thomas Laila Virgo-Carter Mia Vitale Chloe Volkwein Tom Waddick Jarrod Wetzel-Brown Natalia Wojcik Sarah Yeoh-Wang Faye Zhang

Benbulben—

From the 66 Books and the Dream of the Rood to Marvel and Keats and Shakespeare and Johnson and Fielding and Wordsworth and Faulkner and Fitzgerald and Hughes and Angelou every step of the journey these close friends have been with me.

They have given me a deep reservoir from which I have drawn to engage closely with audiences of one and audiences of thousands. Having been blessed to be in numerous leadership roles along this journey I have summoned them to help me to connect, to communicate in such a way as to move and perhaps even inspire.

Today, in my role of leading a global financial, client facing business because I visited so many cultures in my English major I can engage with the requisite empathy, awareness and cultural sensitivities necessary to year, lead effectively.

“In my freshmen I was taking two math/science courses when I realized I liked reading literature much knowncomputational then what I problems. know now, I would moreHad thanI solving I even missedhave read and wrote even more, and yes I would without writing papers, which really surprised me (for I swear equivocation concentrate I hated them in high school). SoinIEnglish decided to shift my focus to English, where I could learn about fiction from —Raymond McGuire, ‘79 different viewpoints, discuss topics that are fascinating, and be with professors who are just as enthusiastic as English my concentration after taking I am.I chose In English I canasenjoy college with subjects that a Jorie Graham poetry class.

How--after I loved rather than enduring certain courses in hearing order to her thisIworld, minute details, its cruel get apassion specific for degree. like allfor myitsclasses (which I almost wonders and unforgivable blessings--could I study thought not possible), and I am excited to take even more anything Through courses and toelse? start my Junior English, tutorial. “I hoped to immerse myself more fully in the strangeness that is human experience.

— Laila Virgo-Carter There are those who choose their concentration based on what job they anticipate after graduation.

This is, the surface of things, pragmatic, but in “I chose theonHarvard English Department because quite reckless in that it privileges the future over theyfact know how to make a student feel comfortable. the present.

Today is all you have.

With said, I’ve I know that is a strange word to use in an that academic been fortunate to enjoy many diverse professional experiences due in large part to my study of English.

A brief snapshot: After graduating, I worked for three years at an agency called Interbrand where I wrote taglines for companies like AT&T and Microsoft. I then received my MFA in poetry from NYU and am currently a lecturer at Rutgers, finishing a poetry

Why I Chose English?

collection and starting a novel. I’m also the founder of the startup CityShelf, a convenient way for book lovers to browse indie bookstores.

—Ben Purkert, ‘09 The classes I took as an English concentrator-classes lead by Professors Burt, Fisher, Graham, Sacks, Scarry, Vendler and others--not only taught me how to read and think about literature, they taught me how to read the world around me and how to think about it, with it, into it. It was through these classes that I began to feel the intricate living ties between the past was in them setting, but I believe thatand we the are present. all tryingIt to find ourselves that I learned to write.

I am profoundly indebted to here at college, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable my English teachers. when we do not find ourselves right away. The English Department understands that we are all learning, growing, Graham’s tutorial in this particular andProfessor discovering exciting thesis new things about world and shaped the course of my life after college.

Upon our lives within it, and they are right there alongside us for graduating, I attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop the journey. Their guidance is invaluable in our search, and where that I wrote book of poems, Timeshare, which I believe theadepartment is a A welcome friend that we wasalongside publishedwhile this fall.

Iowa, I’ve taught poetry travel hereSince at Harvard. writing at the International Writing Program and and have been fortunate to receive poetrymere TheYale English Department houses much more than fellowships Fulbright Program and its books.

I believethrough that thethe English Department teaches Stanford, where am currently a Stegner Fellow. concentrators far Imore than how to simply enjoy and respond to books. We all love reading, but the department —Margaret 09 of also teaches us that the words fostered within Ross, the pages any story are not nearly as important as the fairytale that inspired it. The events and experiences of our lives are what I chose study English Harvard because I felt, make them to valuable, and theatdepartment gets that.

This is and continue and feel, that English had chosen me what drew me to the department, and, as cliche as it sounds, long before.

Writing was my greatest passion I believe the English Department is the first major and part of greatestI talent, and analysis literature themy “fairytale” am writing everydayofthat I live.”was an organic extension. I saw my acceptance into Harvard as, more than anything, an acknowledgement that I — Jarrod Wetzel-Brown could fully appreciate the opportunities it would present to enrich that passion and ability. I had heard the misguided remark -- “Just what the world needs -- another English major!” -- as often as you probably have, and my response has always been that the traumas of our modern existence require more art, more sensitivity and more appreciation for the humanities, not less.

Of course, that’s all well and good, but we also need jobs after our studies are done. You will find, as I have, that having a background in English affords great versatility in terms of choosing a career. Fewer and fewer people today know how to write well, it seems, and if you can do that, it will serve you enormously throughout your life, professionally and Dear New English Concentrators, otherwise. While I still dream of writing a novel, I’m Great Choice!artist Everyone in thesoEnglish – the faculty, the graduates who will be teaching your not the starving type. And I got a Department master’s sections, and the administrative staff – welcome you to the department. We’re all certain that the choice you’ve in journalism and worked for Radio Free Europe/ made will repay manifold interest not only for the rest of your Harvard career, but for the rest of your life.

Radio Liberty out of Washington and Prague for several years.

That led toThree my current job(1)aswedirector Why are we so sure? reasons: know you love reading and talking about books; you have immense of communications the(2)OSCE Parliamentary pleasures ahead offoryou!; statistical likelihood tells you that you’ll derive enormous satisfaction from this concentration (English is routinely at or near Assembly, which brings together lawmakers fromthe 57top of concentrations of 50 or more concentrators for student satisfaction); and (3) our own vocation is in part countries to work on security issues, human rights,to transmit a deeply informed literary culture to you: we very much look forward to having you in ourI still classes! environmental challenges and more.

But tell people I’m an English major. I suppose it’s a way of On behalf of the entire department, I extend the warmest of welcomes to our concentration, looking at the world more than anything else. Yes, it has many Jamespractical Simpson applications, but I think it better thanChair that.

—Richard Solash, ‘09 Natalie Antunez Jocelyn Arndt Geoffrey Binney Aislinn Brophy Gianna Cacciatore Allegra Caldera Taylor Carol Caden Chase Monica de los Reyes Stergios Dinopoulos Lena Felton Jessi Glueck Silvia Golumbeanu Alexandra Grimm

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Harnek Gulati Kathryn Gundersen Rachel Harner Averill Healey Reuben Howard Miriam Huettner Gabriel Hurwitz Kathy Jung Emma Rose Kantor Robert Kim Clarissa Klein Tyrik LaCruise Alex Lee Halie LeSavage

Joan Li Max Masuda-Farkas Dan Milaschewski Nicolas O’Connor Nancy O’Neil Hope Patterson Shelly Preza Catherine Qin Brad Riew Christopher Riley Hannah Saal Nina Sapers Michael Savarese Eli Schleicher

Obasi Shaw Maia Silber Mark Steinbach Zara Sternberg Madi Stine Gwen Thomas Laila Virgo-Carter Mia Vitale Chloe Volkwein Tom Waddick Jarrod Wetzel-Brown Natalia Wojcik Sarah Yeoh-Wang Faye Zhang

Why I Chose English?

“In my freshmen year, I was taking two math/science courses when I realized I liked reading literature much more than solving computational problems. I even missed writing papers, which really surprised me (for I swear I hated them in high school). So I decided to shift my focus to English, where I could learn about fiction from different viewpoints, discuss topics that are fascinating, and be with professors who are just as enthusiastic as I am. In English I can enjoy college with subjects that I loved rather than enduring certain courses in order to get a specific degree. I like all my classes (which I almost thought not possible), and I am excited to take even more courses and to start my Junior tutorial. “ — Laila Virgo-Carter “I chose the Harvard English Department because they know how to make a student feel comfortable.

I know that is a strange word to use in an academic

setting, but I believe that we are all trying to find ourselves here at college, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable when we do not find ourselves right away. The English Department understands that we are all learning, growing, and discovering exciting new things about this world and our lives within it, and they are right there alongside us for the journey. Their guidance is invaluable in our search, and I believe that the department is a welcome friend that we travel alongside while here at Harvard.

The English Department houses much more than mere books. I believe that the English Department teaches its concentrators far more than how to simply enjoy and respond to books. We all love reading, but the department also teaches us that the words fostered within the pages of any story are not nearly as important as the fairytale that inspired it. The events and experiences of our lives are what make them valuable, and the department gets that. This is what drew me to the department, and, as cliche as it sounds, I believe the English Department is the first major part of the “fairytale” I am writing everyday that I live.”

— Jarrod Wetzel-Brown

Dear Concentrators, New and Old, A warm welcome to all new concentrators and a warm greeting to all old hands. As DUS, I see my job as helping you get the most out of the Department and your education in it as you can. When Spring Term is coming around the corner and then for its entire duration, if there are any questions or issues you’d like to discuss, then let’s do exactly that. Departmental courses and activities offer many options. I hope you’ll acquaint yourself with them and consider what choices are open to you, that you’ll investigate new areas as well as turn to familiar ones. In the end, the person who shapes your education more than anyone else is yourself. I’d love to talk with you about it and look forward to seeing you in 2016.

With best wishes, Jim Engell DUS

James Engell Director of Undergraduate Studies 12

This summer, I was a student in Harvard Summer School’s Comparative Cultures study abroad program in Greece. For five weeks we lived and learned in the incredible Greek cities of Nafplio, Olympia, and Thessaloniki, studying empires and Greek history with professors of all different disciplines, including social studies, classics, and literature. On the weekends, we would go out on excursions to other famous sites in Greece, like the ancient Mycenaean citadel, the gorgeous cliffside monasteries of Meteora, and, of course, the Acropolis in Athens.

Being in Greece this summer in particular was especially eye-opening, because I had the chance to learn about the nation’s escalating financial crisis firsthand. This was my first time spending more than just a week or two abroad, and I cannot possibly put into words how wonderful this experience was. I’m missing Ελλάδα already!

—Kathryn Gundersen

Internships and Travel

Benbulben

I spent the past summer studying in Venice through the Harvard Summer School. I was able to take to English classes: “Shakespeare’s Venice” with Professor Greenblatt and “American Literary Expatriates” with Professor Carpio. Both were incredible experiences, with the Shakespeare class devoted to close reading of The Merchant of Venice and Othello and the expatriates class offered a broad survey of American writers in Europe (authors included Henry James, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, and Ben Lerner, among others). I was pleasantly surprised at the opportunity to do two creative writing projects for the classes, a “sixth act” to The Merchant of Venice written in prose and a short story about repatriation written when I had yet to do so. I cannot speak highly enough of Professors Greenblatt and Carpio, who were two of the best professors I had had at Harvard and whose classes reminded me why I love to study English.

—Chris Riley

13

This past summer I spent seven weeks as a Harvard Summer School Proctor living with high school students and taking a class on Multiethnic American Short Stories. I also worked for six weeks at the Cambridge Harvard Summer Academy, hosted at Cambridge Ringe & Latin School. As a part of the Student Support Team, I worked with the principals and teachers to develop and provide conducive learning environments for the students taking classes there for the summer. Out of the 300 or so students taking classes through CHSA, a large number of them came from low income areas throughout Boston. As a member of the SST, I worked individually with students in order to build relationships that would support their successful completion of the program, which gives them credits toward graduation, and encourage them to take a more active role in their education.

Going into this past summer I knew that I wanted to work with high school students and I thought that being a teacher was the most obvious and best way to do so. I’ve learned that there are so many ways to work with students and that I care as much, if not more, about someone’s social-emotional well-being as I do their love for and engagement with literature.

Moving forward, I’m hoping to continue to work with students in different capacities and better learn how to support them on an individual basis while also attempting to combat larger social, economic, and political forces that inhibit their learning.

—Reuben Howard

14

Internships and Travel

This past summer I interned at PepsiCo, Inc. in White Plains, NY as a Summer Marketing Associate. I devised a virtual/augmented reality technology strategy for the North American Beverages unit. I also presented a “Culture Briefing” on mixed reality technology trends to marketing, consumer insights, and executive colleagues, as seen in the photograph attached.

I will be joining PepsiCo full-time following graduation - so I’m moving to the Big Apple!

—Kelly Guinn McArtor

Benbulben

Over the past summer, I was working with the admissions office through the Harvard College Connection, which attempts to recruit prospective applicants through email, social media, and blogs.

In addition to writing blogs and giving tours, I, along with my two other teammates, was writing the book and lyrics for the 168th annual Hasty Pudding show which goes up on February 5th and runs until March 18th. This year’s show is set in colonial Boston at the dawn of the Revolution and is titled “HPT 168: That 1770’s Show.” Now and over the winter break, I will be working on rewriting and revising the script as we enter the rehearsal process to make the show as funny and colorful as ever. As a member of the cast, I will have the strange and awkward pleasure of being in the my own show as the character of the British spoiled brat Anne Heritance. Along with my teammates, we will also be writing the roasts for the Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year and Man of the Year award ceremonies. I bet my grandma never thought that when I got into Harvard, my life would be dominated by a weird drag, comedy, burlesque musical, so grandma, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry I guess!

—Dan Milaschewski

15

enbulben

Dianisbeth Acquie, ‘16

Through the generosity of the Harvard University Department of English and the Charles Edmund Horman Fund, I was able to spend the end of May exploring the juxtaposed modernity and antiquity of Panama City, Panama. Funding was spent entirely on transportation to Panama and within the city; I paid for the remainder of food and housing expenses during my stay. As I believe that my research could benefit from additional visits, I plan to apply for a number of Harvard grants in the fall.

While in Panama, I visited a number of sites, including the Panama Canal, the Presidential Palace, and Panamá Viejo, the ruins of old Panama City, destroyed by the infamous pirate Captain Morgan in the late seventeenth century.

Touring and researching the Panama Canal was very instrumental to my thesis research, as the construction of this modern engineering feat is not only in the background of my senior thesis, set in a fictional nation heavily based on Panama, but also a catalyst to many of the plot points.

The Panama Canal is a symbol of the expansion of power and of power’s bloody consequences; after all, many of the violent disputes between Americans and Panamanians (including the bloody Martyrs’ Day in 1964) occurred either directly or indirectly because of power struggles over the Canal. The archives of the Panama Canal at the Miraflores Museum were selective, choosing to focus deliberately on the logistics of the locks and the triumphant possibilities for the future while failing to acknowledge the thousands of deaths that accompanied laborious tasks. Considering the Panama Canal as both a symbol of both national pride and Latin American colonialism was crucial to my senior thesis research, as I

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Thesis Research 16 Photo of Casco Vieho, Panama by Demenkay; courtesy of Flickr

was forced to confront how post-colonial nations perceive legacies of imperialism, and sometimes even celebrate it.

The Panamanian national coins, for example, showcased sketches of Carlos V of Spain and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, two men who contributed to countless indigenous deaths in the process of colonizing Panama. This was a sharp reminder that a topic as complex as colonialism can never be black or white.

Through contacts, I was able to visit the stunning, alabaster white Presidential Palace, founded in the seventeenth century and renovated in the early twentieth century. The architecture of Presidential Palace and the surrounding area (the historical district of Casco Viejo) will color much of my thesis, as the capital city will be modeled after it. There was an abundance of European influence in the region and within the palace (a smaller Versailles), and this opened my mind to the possibilities for cultural exchange in my thesis that will go past the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized. The Presidential Palace was filled with murals depicting idyllic scenes of Panamanian history, which again drew my attention to the aesthetics of archiving and the aesthetics of imperialism. I saw one mural in particular, in the equivalent of the Oval Office, which depicted Vasco Nuñez de Balboa shooting a Panamanian native, blood gushing poetically from his side. It was a gorgeous painting of a graphic reality. Before my trip, I struggled about how I could possibly describe countless atrocities with delicate language; visiting the Presidential Palace revealed how the terror of such events comes across even more boldly when one uses elegant, beautiful language. The Presidential Palace will also serve

as the model for a variety of municipal buildings in my senior thesis. The area of Casco Viejo, which surrounds it, is crumbling from twenty-first century neglect and stifling humidity. The neighborhood, as aforementioned, will serve as the model for the capital city, complete with its stark economic inequality, bustling outdoor market named Salsipuedes (“escape if you can”), and statues of various military heroes. It was in Casco Viejo that I found the title for my senior thesis: at a museum, I discovered that Panamá is a native word that means “an abundance of butterflies.”

Butterflies have varied meanings: one ancient Latin American myth tells of an emperor who opened a box of butterflies and suddenly knew that his nation would soon fall; students of American literature associated butterflies with Vladimir Nabokov, who captured them; Madame Butterfly is a well-known, tragic opera. Butterflies are also most conspicuous for their wings, a motif in my senior thesis. They are undeniably strong, yet fragile to the hands of the humans and often captured for entertainment. I can think of no better animal that represents the interests of the nation that I will be describing.

Of the many sights and spectacles that I encountered throughout my trip, Panamá Viejo, sparse and rickety and quietly incredible, was a particularly memorable one. The buildings whispered histories to me of a country that has been colonized, destroyed, rebuilt, and re-colonized, only recently having found its wings of freedom after a lifetime of having them clipped. A country, much like the one I will create from the historical ashes of Panama in my thesis, which has once again learned to fly.

17

Writers in the Parlor With Michael Pollan

By Case Q. Kerns “A sense of structure gives the reader confidence,” Michael Pollan said about fifteen minutes into his talk with Darcy Frey in the Barker Center on October 15th. The event was part of the English Department’s Writers in the Parlor series and their conversation focused primarily on “Power Steer,” Pollan’s 2002 article for The New York Times about the U.S. Beef Industry. In discussing the essay, which he uses as a teaching tool with his own students as a model to elaborate on his writing process, he illustrated the importance of both collaboration and perspective when crafting research into a narrative.

Pollan doesn’t take full credit for conceptualizing the approach he took with the narrative. The idea was born out of an assignment from New York Times editor Gerald Marzorati, who wanted Pollan to write a story about meat.

At the time, Marzorati sensed a public anxiety over meat consumption stemming from extensive media coverage on Mad Cow Disease, E. coli, and growth hormones fed to cattle and thought readers would appreciate in-depth examinations of the meat industry in America. After completing his initial research, Pollan found himself overwhelmed by the massive amount of information to cover and struggled over how to begin the piece—he felt lost.

When he told Marzorati about his difficulty with narrowing the scope of the essay, the editor responded, “Why don’t you write the autobiography of one cow?”

Pollan liked the idea because it provided him the opportunity to cover every aspect of the beef industry within the constraints of a shorter narrative article.

Pollan discussed his general approach to writing essays, which is to start by building the greater narrative structure and then hanging different issues on it at various points, likening it to a “laundry line.” In developing “Power Steer,” he knew the whole chain of beef production (ranch, factory, slaughterhouse, sale, etc.) had to agree to grant access to him in order to make the story work. He decided to start with a rancher and not one of the factories because there were more of them, offering more potential entry points into the

18

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

industry. With only four major factory wholesalers in the U.S., if they all closed their doors to him early on, the assignment would be over. It would be easier to gain access to these factories if he was brought in by one of the smaller business owners involved in the line of production. One of the ranchers Pollan had become acquainted with suggested he buy one of the cows, stressing that if he really wanted to understand how the business works, he’d need to have a financial stake in it. So he bought one of the cows, which he eventually followed all the way from the ranch to the factory.

One lesson Pollan learned as a writer after becoming an active participant in the beef industry was that being part of the hands-on process and not just an observer helped him get closer to the subject. This change in perspective allowed him to give up some of the assumptions he’d made as a New Yorker far removed from the lives of those who work in the industry. Such experiences have informed his belief that it is important for a writer to choose, with each project, which firstperson to write from since every writer is made up of several first-persons: the urban writer, the meat-eating writer, the food writer, etc.

Throughout the conversation, Pollan broke away from the discussion of “Power Steer” to describe his approaches to writing and offer advice to other writers.

Of his own process, he said he doesn’t start with the beginning, chronologically, but in the middle to give tautness to the narrative. When mapping out a story, he favors simpler, structural outlines, adding that a basic framework allows the writer to exclude things, which is vital to the flow of the narrative. Concerning revision, Pollan doesn’t write several drafts. Instead at the end of every writing day, he prints out the day’s writing and edits those pages the next morning before starting on new material.

Some of his general advice to writers was delivered in the form of aphorism, paring his thoughts down to what is necessary and excluding the rest, following his own advice on writing and structure: “Metaphors are the most powerful tools at writer’s disposal in terms of helping people see.”

“Readers generally have a greater ability for hope than the writer” On his own work, Pollan says he’s not a confessional writer, but admits that “Power Steer” was more personal to him than most of his work. It even ends with his favorite sentence that he’s ever written: “We are what we eat, it is often said, but of course that’s only part of the story. We are what what we eat eats too.”

19

Faculty Profile Claire Messud Senior Lecturer, Author

Where are you from and how have the different places you‘ve called home impacted your writing?

I’m a mongrel. My father was French, pied-noir; my mother was Canadian; I’m the only person in my family born in the United States; and as my sister and her family live in Europe, I’m the only one here now. We grew up in Australia and Canada, and moved to the States when I was in high school. I went to the UK for grad school, and ended up living there for seven years—my husband (James Wood) is British, of course. We’ve lived in the States for 20 years now, and it’s definitely home—Cambridge, where we’ve lived for 12 years and where our kids have grown up, is home. But a sense of displacement is inescapably part of my identity. I feel fairly at home most places, and truly at home nowhere. That’s true of so many people now, in a way that it wasn’t thirty years ago when I was young.

What motivates you as a writer?

There are many answers to that question. On one level, I still feel wonder at the power of storytelling, at our human capacity to spin straw into gold in an empty room. I’d also say that I love language, and particularly the English language, this extraordinary, elastic and tantalizingly imperfect medium that we’ve been given with which to express ourselves—Shakespeare used a vocabulary three times the size of that used by the French playwright Racine: we Anglophones lucked out. And I’d say that I’m endlessly fascinated by the infinite complexity and subtlety of human experience, by what it means to be alive on this planet. So much of what matters most to each of us is unspoken, unarticulated, never breaks the surface; and fiction gives us the opportunity not only to live other lives, to learn and experience previously unimagined stories, but also to find, in those stories, fragments of our own experience that we might have thought no-one else could know.

20

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

How have you dealt with moments of doubt as a writer?

Doubt is a good friend—we hang out a lot. I’m suspicious of certainty; and I’m very suspicious of people who lay claim to it. The times when I’m most certain about something, I’m most likely to be wrong. To choose to be a writer is to question everything, all the time. And yes, the work can always be improved. Fail again, fail better. What else is there to do?

How does teaching impact your own writing and process?

Practically speaking, in the short term, the impact isn’t so good. During term-time, it’s difficult to make much progress with my own writing, as my mind is full of other people’s stories. But term-time is fleetingly brief; and more broadly, it’s a lasting privilege and a gift to work with such talented young writers, and to spend time discussing literature and its workings—what matters most to me—with others who also care passionately about these issues. Not a week goes by that I don’t learn something.

What do you wish your students walk away with?

In my life, literarily lived experiences have been as essential as literally lived ones. Hamlet, Isabel Archer, Clarissa Dalloway and Krapp are as much a part of my life and who I am as are my cousin, my best friend from middle school, and my most admired professor. Ideally, I’d wish for students to understand that literature is life’s greatest companion. Remember the Proclaimers song: “Lovers leave and friends will let you down, You’re the only sure thing that I’ve found…”— they’re singing about the blues, of course, but you could insert the title of any book you really love, or any character who speaks profoundly to you.

More than that, just think: you yourself have the power to create fictional characters, out of your imagination, that might live with other readers in the same way. So I guess I’d wish for my students to walk away with a renewed sense of wonder, along with some practical tips on how to write better sentences.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a novel. It’s not a long one, but inevitably it’s taking me a long time. I don’t say much about what I’m writing – I’m superstitious that way.

“...Fiction gives us the opportunity not only to live other lives, to learn and experience previously unimagined stories, but also to find, in those stories, fragments of our own experience that we might have thought no-one else could know. “ Spring Course English Cafr

Advanced Fiction Writing This course will concentrate on the structure, execution and revision of short fiction.

Throughout the term, we will read and discuss literary fiction from a craft perspective. The course is primarily focused on the discussion of student work, with the aim of improving both writerly skills and critical analysis. Revision is an important component of this class.

English Cfmr Fiction Writing

An introductory fiction workshop, in which students will explore elements of craft such as character, point of view, setting, detail, style, etc. The first weeks will be devoted to fiction readings (TBA) and creative exercises; most of the semester will be spent workshopping student fiction. The final project involves significant revision of a story.

21

Art Novels Reinterpreting book covers

In English 179B, Art Novels, we looked at the dynamic relationship between the modern American novel and the visual arts, beginning with Henry James’s seminal treatment of the form and culminating with the recent work of Ben Lerner.

Along the way, we read novels and other writings by Gertrude Stein, Vladimir Nabokov, James Baldwin, and Thomas Pynchon. As we made our way through Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, book designer Peter Mendelsund gave us a lecture on the many visual elements of the novel, and he taught us some fundamental techniques for designing a good book cover. Using these techniques , students created dazzling covers of their own.

The following images are the covers submitted.

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

G R A V I T Y ‘S

R A I N B O W Thomas Pynchon

`

22

Camille Schmidt

Duncan Saum

Matthew Bean

Hanna Glissendorf

Charlotte Anrig

Katherine Dean

23

Qianqian Yang

India Patel

Francesca Violich

Averill Healey

25

Robert Kim

Bridget Irvine

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

Theresa Byrne

Camille Crossot

Aemilia Phillips

Photo by Henry Vega Ortiz

28

Ava Violich

Kia Turner

Katherine Borrazzo

Jared Sleisenger

Irene Nicolae

Chris Riley

29

Fall Term Scrapbook

30

31

Case Q. Kerns Staff Writer and Copy Editor Henry Vega Ortiz Art Direction and Design

Connect to us

Harvard English Undergraduate Program

@HUEngUndergrad

harvardenglish

Cover hoto by Henry Vega Ortiz Back Cover detail of 10:04 design by Bridget Irvine