News from the Division of Languages and Literature

Professor Sante observes the indignation around Dylan's Nobel win, arguing that the writer deserves the award for using the power of words to change the time he inhabited.

Brian Conn's story "The Guest" appears in the third volume of Undertow's Weird Fiction series, their "biggest and most ambitious volume to date."

On Monday, October 17, celebrated avant-garde fiction writer and literary critic Can Xue will read from her recent work at Bard College. English translations of her fiction include Blue Light in the Sky and Other Stories, Five Spice Street, Vertical Motion, The Last Lover (winner of the Best Translated Book Award), and the forthcoming Frontier. She will be introduced by novelist and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow. The reading, presented as part of Morrow’s Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series and cosponsored by the Bard Program in Written Arts, takes place at 4 p.m. in Weis Cinema at the Bertelsmann Campus Center and will be followed by a Q&A. It is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Legendary performer Alan Cumming will talk with WAMC’s Joe Donahue about his new collection of photographs accompanied by autobiographical essays, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: My Life in Stories and Pictures, in which the actor, singer, writer, and man-about-town shares wildly entertaining real-life stories of louche late-night parties, backstage anecdotes, life in LA and New York, cross-country road trips with his beloved dog, Honey, and poignant memories of his life, loves, family, fellow actors, and friends. The event takes place on Sunday, October 16 at 3 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater. 

Dinaw Mengestu, professor of written arts and director of the Written Arts Program, has been named to the board of trustees of PEN America. The organization, which works at the intersection of literature and human rights, sought to broaden its leadership and address new challenges to expression with five new appointments to its board. Professor Mengestu is an award-winning Ethiopian-American author of three novels, most recently All Our Names. He joined the Bard faculty this fall.

Beloved satirical writer David Sedaris is best experienced in person: "his tone and delivery at once dry, understated, gently caustic and bemused by the world’s absurdities."

Bard writer in residence Francine Prose reviews The Loser, David Lang’s "beautiful and startlingly original opera."

On Monday, September 26, Andrew Ervin reads from his celebrated first novel, Burning Down George Orwell’s House. Ervin will be introduced by novelist and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow. The reading, presented as part of Morrow’s Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series, takes place at 2:30 p.m. in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, and will be followed by a Q&A. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Book objects from the collection of Mindell Dubansky are on view at the Stevenson Library through Sunday, October 30, with an opening reception on Monday, September 12. All over the world, for hundreds of years, people have been making, collecting and presenting book-objects that reflect their devotion and respect for books and each other. There are countless examples; they include cameras, radios, banks, toys, memorials, desk accessories, musical instruments, magic tricks, furniture and jewelry.

Norman Manea has been named the winner of the 2016 Literary Award in Romance Languages from the Guadalajara International Book Fair. He is the first Romanian author to receive the honor.

Bard writer in residence Teju Cole examines the visual narrative of the iconic images of protestors in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Bard writer in residence Francine Prose discusses why she teaches the short fiction of Mavis Gallant at every opportunity.

MFA writing professor Hoa Nguyen's poems "Ode to Second Chances (Late February)" and "O Prosperity" are featured in Hyperallergic's monthly poetry series.

With entrancing prose, Teju Cole's "bold, honest" collection of essays invites readers into pressing contemporary issues of race identity, social media, and the literary community.

Professor Mason traces the development of the audiobook from 1926 when Rilke envisioned author-poets reading their own poetry on the newfangled phonograph.

Writer and artist Rikki Ducornet, recipient of the Bard College Arts and Letters award, constructs a series of paper scrolls in response to Margie McDonald's whimsical sculptures.

In honor of Marcel Proust’s 145th birthday, six contemporary writers urge readers in this frenetic cultural moment to take the time to enter into Proust’s world.

Professor Luc Sante meditates on the disappearance of junk shops, their cultural identity, and the possibility of transcendence amid the junk.

A young Neil Gaiman spent his shillings on Batman comics, and they made him want to write stories of his own. Excerpt from Gaiman's new collection, The View from the Cheap Seats.

"Over the course of the fifth century BCE, tragedy evolved into an ideal literary vehicle for exploring, and often questioning, the political, social, and civic values of Athens itself."

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most commonly taught texts in schools. Prose explores the novel's strange origins, complex structure, and timeless themes.

Artist Kate Stone '09 and writer Hannah Schneider '09 met at Bard; now they've created a "poignant and witty" collection of illustrated short stories.

"[A]n adult reading experience may be a 'dip' compared with the child’s 'soak,' writes Francine Prose, Bard writer in residence.

Writer in Residence Wyatt Mason profiles choreographer, dancer, and Bard partner Bill T. Jones, who is making some of the most personal work of his career at age 64.

Bard Writer in Residence Francine Prose travels with three generations of family to one of her favorite places on earth and wonders: Can you ever go back again?

Chris Claremont has written more X-Men comics than anyone else, and his work has had a major impact on the franchise and the superhero genre generally.

Professor Manea was welcomed warmly to his native Romania this week for an event celebrating the author as a national literary treasure ahead of his 80th birthday.

"I found myself going back to my childhood at Bard," writes Ducornet. "That campus had provided me so many amazing experiences."

Professor Manea talks about the joy of reconnecting with friends in Bucharest, Romanian political life, the Islamic State, and his work in progress.

Unlike blood kinship, friendships are forged with people we choose, and continue to choose. People who become, in essence, a free-will kind of family which, like our blood family, can be a strong source of happiness and, sometimes, of grand miseries. Friendships are as mercurial as they are essential. Conjunctions:66, Affinity—the latest issue of the innovative literary magazine published by Bard College—investigates the phenomenon of friendship in its many forms, collecting innovative, provocative fiction, poetry, and essays by writers of every ilk. Edited by Conjunctions editor, novelist, and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow, Affinity includes a never-before-published poem by Robert Duncan in his original handwriting, as well as new work from Rick Moody and Darcey Steinke, Robert Coover, Paul Lisicky, John Ashbery, and Joyce Carol Oates, among other leading contemporary writers. The issue is dedicated to poet and longtime Conjunctions contributor C. D. Wright.

Professor Rosenberg is the last surviving member of the Varian Fry group, which helped rescue hundreds of artists and intellectuals from the Nazis in World War II.

Distinguished Writer in Residence Teju Cole reflects on the ethical implications of displaying found photographs of African Americans in the age of digital photo tagging.

On Thursday, April 21, Bard College will host a celebratory reading in honor of the work of Ann Lauterbach, David and Ruth Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature, member of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts faculty, and the renowned author of Under the Sign; Or to Begin Again (National Book Award nominee); Hum; If in Time: Selected Poems 1975–2000; The Night Sky: Writings on the Poetics of Experience; and other books. Poet John Ashbery, Charles P. Stevenson Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature, writes, “Ann Lauterbach’s poetry goes straight to the elastic, infinite core of time.” Celebrating Lauterbach’s work will be poets Jibade-Khalil Huffman ’03, Simone White, Michael Ives, Camille Guthrie, and Anselm Berrigan, who will briefly discuss their artistic relationship to Lauterbach’s influential oeuvre. The evening will culminate with Lauterbach reading her own work.

Acclaimed Somali writer and Bard professor Nuruddin Farah discusses his novel Maps as part of the World Service’s Identity Season​.

Poet, translator, and novelist Idra Novey discusses her new novel and the importance of literary dialogue outside of traditional academic settings.

Professor Joseph Luzzi breaks the code of The Divine Comedy and justifies its importance outside of the college and high school classroom.

Bard College and Simon's Rock faculty member, poet, and translator of German literature Peter Filkins has recently had two of his works reviewed. His translation of H.G. Adler's novel The Wall was reviewed in the London Review of Books, and his edition of a collection of Adler's essays, Orthodoxie des Herzens, was reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement.

"Death camps in civilization" in the Times Literary Supplement | PDF

"The crematorium is a zoo" in the London Review of Books | PDF

On Thursday, April 14, celebrated poet and art critic Roberto Tejada will read from his work at Bard College. The reading is presented by the John Ashbery Poetry Series. Poet Alan Gilbert says, “Tejada’s work is with dismantling borders and upsetting classifications. The result is a layered poetry that finds its form in dense stanzas composed of lines that frequently veer toward a kind of fractured prose.” Introduced by Ann Lauterbach, David and Ruth Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard, this event takes place at 6:00 p.m. in the Bard Chapel of the Holy Innocents. It is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required.

On Monday, April 18, award-winning author Eli Gottlieb will read from Best Boy, his new novel about autism, memory, and redemption. The New Yorker finds Best Boy “arresting ... The book’s empathy is bracing.” Celebrated writer Cynthia Ozick says, “I’ve fallen in love with Best Boy, touched by its delicacy and fearless truths.” A short documentary film featuring Gottlieb’s brother, the model for the protagonist of Best Boy, will be screened at the start of the reading. Gottlieb will be introduced by novelist and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow. The reading, presented as part of Morrow’s Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series, takes place at 2:30 p.m. in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, and will be followed by a Q&A. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Wyatt Mason discusses literary authenticity in Maylis de Kerangal’s new novel, The Heart.

The "Shakespeare-steeped" poetry of distinguished poet, Bard College alumnus, and former Bard faculty member Anthony Hecht '44 is praised in the New Criterion.

Long Soldier is noted by the award committee for her "trenchant, beautiful ... writing about the relationship between official political speech and literature’s capacity to write back."

Cole Heinowitz talks about translating the poetry of Mario Santiago Papasquiaro in the new collection of his work, Beauty Is Our Spiritual Guernica.

"How do we know when a photographer caters to life and not to some previous prejudice?" Cole challenges the viewer to take a critical look at the iconic photography of Steve McCurry.

Bard College announces the appointment of esteemed writer Dinaw Mengestu as professor of written arts and director of the Written Arts Program. Mengestu, who joins the faculty in fall 2016, will teach fiction workshops, among other courses, through the Division of Languages and Literature. In his role as director, Mengestu will provide leadership in the Written Arts Program, whose core faculty comprises distinguished writers of poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction—including Mary Caponegro, Teju Cole, Robert Kelly, Porochista Khakpour, Ann Lauterbach, Joseph O’Neill, Luc Sante, and Mona Simpson, among many others.

On Monday, April 4, Rick Moody—the celebrated author of Garden State, The Ice Storm, The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven, Purple America, The Black Veil: A Memoir with Digressions, and other books—reads from his new novel, Hotels of North America. The Wall Street Journal writes, “Rick Moody is one of the most prodigiously talented writers in America.” Moody will be introduced by novelist and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow. The reading, presented as part of Morrow’s Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series, takes place at 2:30 p.m. in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, and will be followed by a Q&A. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

On Thursday, March 31, celebrated poet Michael Ives, visiting assistant professor of the humanities at Bard, will read from his work. The reading is presented by the John Ashbery Poetry Series. A jazz musician, an innovator in the field of text in performance, and recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and Lillian Fairchild Award, Ives is also the founding member and composer of the sound/text performance trio F’loom and the author of Wavetable (Dr. Cicero Books) and The External Combustion Engine (Futurepoem). 

Pulitzer Prize–winning Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri moves her family to Rome to pursue a love affair with the Italian language.

On March 3, The Other Stories visited Bard to record and podcast a live reading by Bard student writers. Listen to works by Johanna Costigan '17, Cleo Egnal '17, and Anna Sones '18.

Derek Furr, Master of Arts in Teaching Program director and associate professor of literature, discusses Semitones, a collection of poetry and short fiction.