English Department

A poetry collection authored by John Murillo, assistant professor of English, is longlisted for both the 2021 PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the Believer Book Awards. Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry (Four Way Books, 2020) explores the legacy of institutional, accepted violence against Blacks and Latinos and the personal and societal wreckage wrought by long histories of subjugation. The collection includes a sonnet triggered by the shooting deaths of three Brooklyn men that becomes an extended reflection on the history of racial injustice. The PEN/Voelcker Award, which comes with a $5,000 prize, is awarded to a poet whose distinguished collection of…

Christina Crosby, professor of English, passed away Jan. 5 at the age of 67. She also was professor of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. Crosby arrived at Wesleyan in 1982 after receiving her AB from Swarthmore College and PhD from Brown University. She was a respected Victorianist, feminist, and theorist who was widely published, including two books, The Ends of History: Victorians and “The Woman Question” (Routledge, 1990) and A Body, Undone: Living on After Great Pain (NYU Press, 2016). She received Wesleyan’s Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1994. "Christina was a brilliant scholar-teacher," recalled Natasha Korda, professor…

Ren Ellis Neyra, associate professor of English, is the author of The Cry of the Senses: Listening to Latinx and Caribbean Poetics, published by Duke University Press, 2020. Weaving together the Black radical tradition with Caribbean and Latinx performance, cinema, music, and literature, Ellis Neyra highlights the ways in which Latinx and Caribbean sonic practices challenge anti-Black, colonial, post-Enlightenment, and humanist epistemologies.

In July, three faculty will begin new appointments at Wesleyan. Katja Kolcio will succeed Peter Rutland as director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life; Stephanie Weiner will succeed Sean McCann as director of the Shapiro Center for Writing; and Krishna Winston will succeed David Beveridge and Alex Dupuy as director of the Wasch Center for Retired Faculty. Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance, received certificates from Free Ukrainian University and from Kyiv Institute of Art and Culture; and her PhD from The Ohio State University. Her work specializes in the role of creative physical engagement in…

Wesleyan English major Katie Livingston '21 is one of 12 young writers around the world who will be honored at the 36th Annual L. Rob Hubbard Achievement Awards on April 3 in Hollywood, Calif. She's a finalist for the Writers of the Future Contest, which was initiated by Hubbard in 1983 to provide “a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” Based on its success, its sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, was created five years later to provide that same opportunity for aspiring artists. The grand prize…

William B. Coley, Professor of English, Emeritus, passed away on Jan. 7, at the age of 96. Coley served in the US Army from 1942 through 1946, and then received his BA, MA, and PhD from Yale University. Arriving at Wesleyan in 1952, he taught English here for almost 40 years until he retired in 1991. Coley was a lifelong scholar, awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies. He published numerous books and articles, including Hogarth on High Life (with A.S. Wensinger, Wesleyan University Press, 1970),…

Sherman Hawkins, professor of English, emeritus, died on Dec. 3 at the age of 90. Sherman received BA degrees from both Harvard University and the University of Oxford and his PhD from Princeton University. He served in the US military at the conclusion of the Korean War. Arriving at Wesleyan in 1971 after teaching at Princeton, Bryn Mawr, and University of Rochester, he taught English here for 20 years until he retired in 1991. For decades, his essay on college as a green world experience was given to every freshman entering Wesleyan. “Sherman was an unforgettable colleague and presence at…

On May 25, members of the Class of 2019 were inducted into Wesleyan’s Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest national scholastic honor society. The Wesleyan Gamma Chapter was organized in 1845 and is the ninth-oldest chapter in the country. To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. The student also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations and must have achieved a GPA of 93 and above. Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest surviving Greek letter society in America, founded in December…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News Inside Higher Ed: "The Need for a Recovery of the Humanities" In this essay, President Michael S. Roth responds to the "flood of negativity" in public discourse about higher education, in general, and the humanities, in particular. He suggests that "in order to recover the trust of students and their families, we must overcome our cultivated insularity." 2. NBC News: "Carbon Dioxide Hits a Level Not Seen for 3 Million Years. Here's What That Means for…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News The New Yorker: "The Shapeshifting Music of Tyshawn Sorey" "There is something awesomely confounding about the music of Tyshawn Sorey [MA '11], the thirty-eight-year-old Newark-born composer, percussionist, pianist, and trombonist," begins this profile of Sorey, assistant professor of music. Sorey was recently featured in the Composer Portraits series at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. 2. The Register-Mail: "Video Slots Take Heavy Toll on Some Players" In this article exploring the expansion of video slot gaming in a region…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Forbes: "Three Questions to Ask Yourself at the Beginning of Your Career" Sharon Belden Castonguay, director of the Gordon Career Center, offers career advice for young people just starting out. 2. The Times Literary Supplement: "Multiple Lives" Hirsh Sawhney, assistant professor of English, coordinator of South Asian studies, explores the "complicated existence" of Mahatma Gandhi. 3. The Washington Post: "The Delight of Being Inconspicuous in a World That's Always Watching Us" President Michael Roth reviews a new book, How to Disappear:…

Six Wesleyan students were recently honored by Creative Writing at Wesleyan and the English Department. Caridad Cruz '21 is the recipient of the Sophie and Anne Reed Prize. Established by Leon Reed; his sons, S. Chadwick ’41 and Dr. Victor Reed; and his grandson Ted Reed ’70, the prize is named in memory of Sophie Reed and Anne Reed, for the best poem or group of poems. (more…)

Murillo’s Poetry Longlisted for PEN/Voelcker, Believer Book Awards

Crosby Remembered for Being a Brilliant Scholar-Teacher

Ellis Neyra Pens New Book on Latinx, Caribbean Poetics

Kolcio, Weiner, Winston to Serve as New Directors

Livingston ’21 a Finalist in a Worldwide Writing Contest

Professor of English, Emeritus Coley Dies at the Age of 96

Hawkins Remembered for Teaching English at Wesleyan for 20 Years

Members of the Class of 2019 Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan in the News

6 Students Honored for Creative Writing, Poetry, Essays