University of Minnesota English

09/02/2026

Prof Daniel J. Philippon on the passing this week of environmental writer Wendell Berry:

Daniel J. Philippon, author of "The Farmer, the Gastronome, and the Chef: In Pursuit of the Ideal Meal," remembers Wendell Berry, the subject of his book's first chapter.

"Today the world lost a towering figure in both literature and sustainable food. Wendell Berry was the moral conscience of millions of readers and eaters seeking better relationships with the lands on which we live and work. The sincerity and depth of his thought, as well as the eloquence of his words, will remain touchstones for generations of people in pursuit of their own ideal meals."

https://upress.virginia.edu/title/10011/

09/01/2026

Prof Andrew Scheil won the CLA Motley Teaching Award: "My ideal goal is to cultivate a certain sort of temperament in my students: one that is deliberate, not hasty; sensitive, not obtuse; aware of depth, not superficial; to be able to apprehend and understand things of beauty and of ugliness" Cheers!

Dr. Scheil (English) earns recognition for inspiring, inclusive teaching and lasting impact on students across disciplines.

08/19/2026

Collaborating with The Loft Literary Center on a Sept 30 celebration of the short story! Three of our profs, all novelists, are publishing story collections this summer: Aamina Ahmad, Megan Giddings, and Julie Schumacher will read and discuss short story craft. Free w/ registration:

Professors Aamina Ahmad, Megan Giddings, and Julie Schumacher read from their new story collections.

08/13/2026

Tickets are going fast for our George Saunders reading 7:30pm Sept 22 at Northrop! The novelist / short story writer will be discussing his #1 NYT bestseller VIGIL with Regents Prof (and novelist) Julie Schumacher.

Get your FREE tickets today via the link in our bio or at
z.umn.edu/Saunders26

A MacArthur Foundation “genius” Fellow, Saunders won the Man Booker Prize for his #1 NYT bestselling first novel, LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. The new novel, VIGIL (2026), takes place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of his life. The Boston Globe notes, “VIGIL is pure Saunders: the death of empathy, he insists, is greatly exaggerated. He pushes back, a burst of surprises and sudden grace.”

Co-sponsored by The Loft Literary Center

08/11/2026

After Harry Belafonte scored the first million-selling LP, what did he do? "The short and simple answer to that is bankroll the Civil Rights movement, in a not incidental way" -- Joshua Jelly-Schapiro talks with Prof V. V. Ganeshananthan for the podcast she co-hosts:

Non-fiction writer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Christian Barter to talk about the life of performer and activist Harry Belafonte, who died in 2023. Jelly-Schapiro, …

08/04/2026

Congrats to MFA alum and current associate faculty member chaun webster, who won a 2026 McKnight Fellowship for Writers, Loft Awards in Poetry/Spoken Word! webster this summer published his third book, Without Terminus.

One $25,000 fellowship is awarded each year in children’s literature, including poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. This year’s award is offered to a writer for children younger than 8 years old. 

07/31/2026

“I’m essentially studying three very strange writers of late Victorian Britain and what they have to say about what ‘consciousness’ is." PhD candidate Kayla Carden won a CLA fellowship for her dissertation project on the theories of mind of Victorian poet-philosopher Constance Naden (pictured), philologist Alexander John Ellis, and physicist John Tyndall:
z.umn.edu/Carden

07/24/2026

What have been the signature moments of 25 years of our Freier visiting author series? Rita Dove dancing on stage with her husband? Denis Johnson joking that Train Dreams was so short, even his friends read it? Alison Bechdel sharing her screen from her Vermont studio during COVID?

Read the University of Minnesota Alumni Association story on how the late Medical Technology Professor Esther Freier's gift continues to inspire University students and Twin Cities audiences:
www.minnesotaalumni.org/stories/up-front-22

07/20/2026

A professor recommended this fun reel on Emily Dickinson from alum Elle Cordova. Enjoy!

07/16/2026

Congrats to Megan Giddings, who has been officially promoted to the rank of associate professor! She was also awarded a University McKnight Presidential Fellowship, an award “given to the most promising individuals who have been granted both tenure and promotion to associate professor in an academic year.”

Giddings is the author of three novels, most recently Meet Me at the Crossroads, which was a Washington Post best science fiction novel of 2025 and an NPR choice for Books We Love. Her first collection of short stories, Black Arts, will be published September 8.

Join us in congratulating Associate Professor Giddings on this milestone!

https://brief.umn.edu/awards-recognition/151-newly-tenured-faculty-and-two-regents-professors-named