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Lannan Recipient Kaminsky

Ilya Kaminsky, Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and a key member of our Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing faculty is the recipient of a $100,000 Lannan Foundation 2008 Literary Foundation Fellowship in Poetry.

The awards recognize writers who have made significant contributions to English-language literature. The fellowships recognize writers of distinctive literary merit who demonstrate potential for continued outstanding work.

Congratulations Ilya!

NEA Awards Maggie Jaffe $25,000

English department lecturer Maggie Jaffe, who is known for her courses in Latin American literature, poetry, and creative writing is now also one of our nation's 2009 NEA poetry fellowship recipients. She has been selected to received a $25,000 award from The National Endowment for the Arts.

Professor Herman Writes on the Significance of the Physical Book

You may have already read Professor Peter Herman's defense of tangible, energy independent, and timeless books in The New York Times. If not, here's another opportunity to reconsider the paper and ink bound book, irreplaceable by the digital and downloaded.

Read Kendricks Column, PHOTO OPS in the Union-Tribune!

Filmmaker, artist, photographer, writer, Film Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and SDSU lecturer Neil Kendricks has been commissioned to write a new column, PHOTO OPS for the San Diego Union-Tribune. The column will be published every two to three months in the paper's books section. Kendricks describes it as "what I hope will be a comprehensive and engaging column for photographers and artists, photography enthusiasts and general readers alike, who share a passion for delving into the best and most innovative new volumes focused on photography-oriented issues coming from such respected publishers as Aperture, among others." In the first installment, Kendrick reviews the book "Magnum Magnum" which he explains is a a "compendium of legendary photojournalists at the top of their game."

Professor Griswold Reviews Novel for NY Times

Professor Jerry Griswold reviewed M.T. Anderson's “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing” for New York Times' Sunday Book Review on November 7th, 2008. His review entitled "The War for Independence" compellingly synopsizes the narrative by describing both the novel's aesthetic and intellectual merits. The adolescent novel that Anderson wrote deals with racial relations in revolution era America, among other intriguing subjects. Griswold also describes the impetus inspiring Anderson's project. That is, "the 900 pages [of the volume] have essentially been a meditation on the word “liberty.” It was a term bandied about so much during the Revolution that it became meaningless."

Our First Online Poll: Spring 2009 Classes!

All,

The department messed up (the Chair!) and left a section of English 580, Writing of Poetry off the Spring 2009 list of courses! Can you assist us by taking this poll! Send the chair an email if you want to sign up for a crash list to ADD a section of 580 to the Spring 2009 list of classes!

Cast Your Vote