The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

Seasonal festivities, bountiful grub, and a spirit of nearly-done-with-term-paper-relaxation abounded at our annual Holiday Decorating Party! Thanks to all who attended!

Our annual proposal writing workshop, which is specifically geared to the Graduate Summer Research Fellowships , will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 pm, in SAC 310 [note: not SAC 300].  We’ll go over the various elements of putting together an application, from the “rationale/background for the proposed work” through the “description of the research plan and proposed methodology” to the “statement of the impact of the award on the student’s progress toward graduation.” See you there.

We know you're all ready for Thanksgiving, but put this on your radar: there's an upcoming information session for the 2018 Irish Theatre Summer Studio ! When: Wednesday, Nov. 29th at 4:30 p.m.  Where: SAC 300 The Summer Studio, a Villanova University summer course, invites graduate students and advanced undergraduates to Dublin to immerse themselves in Irish theatre. This unique three-credit study-abroad course examines the major works and history of the Abbey Theatre and trains students in the production of Irish Theatre. From the studio to the stage, students will develop work for a final showing at the Lir Theatre, the National Academy of Dramatic Arts Here's some more information about the program from Dr. Lennon: Irish Theatre Summer Studio From the studio to the stage, students will study the workings and history of Ireland's world-class national theatre while developing their own theatre skills, knowledge, and practice. Students from Villano...

Thank you to Drs. Evan Radcliffe, Brooke Hunter, and Yumi Lee for hosting our PhD forum last evening!

Shadow Man, Drew's second novel, follows Detective Ben Wade who has returned to his hometown of Rancho Santa Elena in search of a quieter life and to try to save his marriage. Suddenly the community, with its peaceful streets and excellent public schools, finds itself at the mercy of a serial killer who slips through windows and screen doors at night, shattering illusions of safety. As Ben and forensic specialist Natasha Betencourt struggle to stay one step ahead of the killer—and deal with painful episodes in the past—Ben’s own world is rocked again by violence. He must decide how far he is willing to go, and Natasha how much she is willing to risk, to protect their friendship and themselves to rescue the town from a psychotic murderer and a long-buried secret. With fine, chilling prose, acclaimed author Alan Drew weaves richly imagined characters into the first of several thrilling novels of suspense featuring the California world of Ben Wade and Natasha Betencourt. Shadow Ma...

Attention grad students! Our annual PhD forum will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 pm, in SAC 300 . Drs. Evan Radcliffe, Yumi Lee, and Brooke Hunter will talk about various aspects of whether to pursue a PhD, how (and where) to apply, what PhD study is like, and the state of the academic job market. We'll also hear some insights from Ted Howell, a 2010 graduate of our program who finished his PhD at Temple in May and is now a full time Lecturer at Rowan University. See you then!

Beware! Students from Professor Megan Quigley’s 1975 class and the English Expedition Club hit the Rosenbach Museum and Library on Saturday Oct. 22nd to take in the Frankenstein & Dracula exhibit and for a hands-on tour of Dracula materials with curator Ed Pettit. Did you know that Bram Stoker originally intended to call Dracula just Count Vampyre ?  And that plenty believed, at the time, that vampires roamed the earth? Let’s hope they were wrong…

Last Thursday, October 19th, poet Dean Rader visited us to read from his recently-published collection, Self-Portrait as a Wikipedia Entry (Copper Canyon, 2017). Dean Rader’s debut collection of poems, Works & Days , won the 2010 T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize, and Landscape Portrait Figure Form (2014) was named by The Barnes & Noble Review as a Best Poetry Book of the year. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the 2016 Common Good Books Prize, judged by Garrison Keillor, and the 2015 George Bogin Award from the Poetry Society of America, judged by Stephen Burt. His most recent scholarly book is Engaged Resistance: American Indian Art, Literature, and Film from Alcatraz to the NMAI (2011). Rader teaches English at the University of San Francisco, where he has also served as Department Chair. He writes and reviews regularly for The San Francisco Chronicle, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and The Huffington Post . Two new collections of poetry appeared ...

On Tuesday, the Villanova English community was treated to a fantastic lecture on Joyce's correspondences from guest speaker Dr. Kevin Dettmar. Dettmar discussed the profuse use of correspondences throughout Joyce's fiction, the mode of the correspondences Joyce himself wrote during his lifetime, and, in particular, the illuminating importance of the letters exchanged between Joyce and Grant Richards, his publisher.  Dettmar also discussed his in-progress project: the gathering, transcription, and publication of a massive collection of Joyce's previously unpublished letters. Thank you to Drs. Megan Quigley and Kamran Javadizadeh for organizing! English Colloquium faculty and guest speaker Dr. Kevin Dettmar / Prof. Megan Quigley / Prof. Kevin Dettmar (Pomona) / Prof. Mary Mullen / Alex Brodin / Prof. Kamran Javadizadeh / Prof. Paul Saint-Amour (Penn) / Christie Leonard (behind camera)

Grads and undergrads alike recently spent some time talking to other students about English and reading some T.S. Eliot. Junior English major Alex Forgion reports: "The event had a great turn out and it was a lot of fun! After we read the poem aloud, professors Javadizadeh and Quigley shared some fascinating background information about the poem and T. S. Eliot. Then, we broke up into groups and discussed specifics about the poem. All of our conversations were very productive and insightful; hopefully we inspired some people to declare English as a major!" Thanks to all who participated!

Members of  Dr. Quigley 's Joyce classes (grads and undergrads) ventured into Philly this past Saturday for a special viewing of Joyce's  Ulysses  manuscripts, letters, and several notebooks. The presentation was packed with facts about Joyce's extensive revision process for the book--some pages went through as many as twelve rounds of revisions! First edition! Alex was a fan. 

This past Saturday, faculty and grad students from the department traveled to The Academy @ Palumbo in South Philly for the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. We spent the day doing various improvement projects across the school, including painting columns in the cafeteria and guidance counselor offices. BIG shoutout to our group coordinator, Nick Manai, who did a phenomenal job getting us organized, answering questions, tracking down more paintbrushes, successfully finding band aids, etc. Dr. Yumi "Paint Tape Pro" Lee in action Angeline and Lia! Our group was part of the 5,000 other Villanovans who volunteered their time to various service projects at more than 100 sites across Greater Philadelphia. Thanks to everyone who came!

Thanks, all, for coming to our recent panel discussion, " Winter is Coming: A Conversation About Game of Thrones ,” led by Drs. Joe Drury , Brooke Hunter , and Travis Foster . It was packed!

It was great to see you all at yesterday's coffee break! What a wonderful time to meet all kinds of English students at both the undergrad and graduate level. Were YOU one of the lucky ones who was able to snag a department t-shirt? See you next time!

One of our first-year students, Nick Manai, is facilitating the Day of Service at the Academy @ Palumbo in South Philadelphia on Saturday, September, 23rd. See Nick's message below! Palumbo is in the School District of Philadelphia and Villanova has partnered with them to promote college awareness and establish a relationship between our university and a high school in Philadelphia. On the 23rd we will be repainting different rooms in the building, decorating and cleaning a new fitness center for the students, adding a hanging garden to Palumbo's already impressive rooftop, and many other important projects. I know that we are talking about a Saturday here, but Palumbo is always grateful for adult volunteers  who can attend and work with the students on these projects. In addition to the good works, good karma and positive vibes you will receive, I live a few blocks south of the school, so if we get a group of volunteers that day I can invite everyone back to my house for a...

Join professor Megan Quigley for an afternoon at the renowned Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia to view a new exhibition, “ Gothic Monsters / Modern Science, ” on Frankenstein and Dracula. The exhibition explores the creation of two of history’s most memorable monsters. In honor of the bicentennial of the publication of Frankenstein, handwritten pages of Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel will be displayed alongside Bram Stoker’s personal notes for Dracula for the first time , accompanied by scientific and medical works from the 19th century to the present. The outing will take place on Saturday, October 21 from 12:00-2:00 pm . Meet at the Rosenbach  (2008-2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia). If you’re not driving, take the SEPTA train from Villanova to Suburban Station and walk to the museum. Admission is $5.00.