News from the Division of Languages and Literature

The owner of a previously unknown papyrus made a chance call to an Oxford classicist, who uncovered that the collector possessed texts from two previously unknown poems by Sappho, the ancient Greek poet.

Bennett Sims, Writer in Residence at Bard College, will read from his work on Monday, February 24. Sims received the 2014 Bard Fiction Prize for his debut novel, A Questionable Shape. In this penetrating story set in Baton Rouge, about a son looking for his undead father, Sims transcends traditional zombie narrative to deliver a wise and philosophical rumination on the nature of memory and loss. Sims is at Bard for the spring 2014 semester.

Joseph O'Neill, distinguished visiting professor of written arts, talked about his Booker Prize–nominated novel, Netherland, at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Frank discusses the work of J.D. Salinger in this outtake from the new documentary about the reclusive novelist.

Ghosts, goblins, and poetry ... Environmental and Urban Studies executive administrator Tom O'Dowd writes about the inspirational Hudson River.

Writer in Residence Francine Prose talks about the perils of relying on Wikipedia, as well as the joys of accidental discoveries on YouTube.

Last week Teju Cole affirmed the literary possibilities of Twitter when he collaborated with other users to share his short story, "Hafiz," in bits and pieces. He then retweeted it in chronological order.

Third-generation filmmaker Gia Coppola is making a name for herself with her forthcoming film Palo Alto. She both directed the film and adapted the script from James Franco's short story collection.

Julia Klein's Chicago-based Soberscove Press (named for Bard's Obreshkove dormitory) "fills a much needed gap in art publishing, shaping how we think about recent art history."

Author and avid Twitter user Neil Gaiman will be taking a break from social media in 2014 to focus on writing and teaching at Bard. Here are a few of his recent Twitter gems.