Finalist for Short Story Competition
January 31, 2012
Amanda Evinger (formerly Amanda Vaalburg, class of 2001) was a finalist for the Short Story Award competition from Glimmer Train. Congratulations, Amanda!

Lilly Fellows Program Summer Seminar
December 20, 2011
Congratulations to Ernest Cole, who has been selected to participate in the 2012 Lilly Fellows Program Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers on “Teaching Peace and Reconciliation: Theory and Practice in Northern Ireland.” The seminar is sponsored by Aquinas College and will be held July 7-28, 2012, at the Corrymeela Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland. Ernest was one of 15 chosen from 52 applicants.

Virginia Tech Poetry Prize
December 2, 2011
Former Hope College student Rob Kenagy is finishing his MFA under Bob Hicok at Virginia Tech and just received their highest award, The Virginia Tech Poetry Prize. His work will be sent to the Academy of American Poets as being among the best of the new young writers.

Doctorate Earned
November 11, 2011
Hope English grad Laura Donnelly successfuly defended her doctorate thesis to become Dr. Laura Donnelly. Congrautlations!

New Poetry Collection Announced
October 24, 2011
Hope graduate Rachael (Pridgeon) Peckham's new collection, Muck Fire from Spring Garden Press, was announced this morning on the Poetry Daily website!

Poetry Finalist
October 19,2011
Our Laura Donnelly was recently one of three finalists in the A Room of Her Own Foundation's poetry competition. The judge was Kimiko Hahn. Congratulations, Laura!

New Position
October 13, 2011
Our recent graduate Kristin Olson Brace has been hired to teach English at.....Hope College! Kristin will join us in the Spring to teach a section of English 113. She is the homestretch of her MFA program at Spalding University. Please join us in welcoming Kristin back to Hope!

Faculty Essay Published
September 20, 2011
Kathleen Verduin's essay "Grace of Action: Dante in the Life of Longfellow" is finally out in the 2010 volume of Dante Studies. The volume (DS is an annual) is devoted to Longfellow and Dante, and it indicates what I take to be a new era of interest in Longfellow and his circle.

Keynote Speaker at Athena Awards
September 19, 2011
Faculty member and author Heather Sellers has been announced as the keynote speaker for the Seventh Annual Lakeshore ATHENA Award luncheon to be held on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at the Trillium Banquet and Conference Center. Congrats!

Good News from Recent Grad
September 14, 2011
Recent English grad Emily Sicard has landed a new job at Holland for Consumers Credit Union. She also teaches ESL through LAUP in Holland, and has started editing for The Daily Muse.

Faculty Position Earned
September 7, 2011
Our grad Erinn (Raymond) Bentley was offered and accepted a faculty position at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.

MFA Program Acceptance
September 5, 2011
Rachel Brownson has been accepted to Warren Wilson for their MFA program in poetry. This is the sixth Hope student to be accepted there, and there is no more difficult place to get into.

Faculty Featured in Grand Rapids Newspaper
September 5, 2011
Faculty member David James was featured in the Grand Rapids Press for his new volume of poetry:
http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/09/16_good_books_with_michigan_ti.html

Western Michigan University Library
September 1, 2011
Hope grad Marianne Swieringa was recently celebrated by New Issues Press—she's been the Managing Editor of the Press since it's inception. She's moving on to become the Coordinator of Metadata and Digital Resources at Western's Library. Congratulations!

New Poetry Contributions
September 1, 2011
Hope English grad Laura Holloway has a contribution to the current issue of Innisfree Poetry Journal, as well as a poem published in a math journal. Congratulations, Laura!

MFA Program Acceptance
August 25, 2011
Our grad Rachel Brownson has just been accepted to the MFA program at Spalding University. This is the program where Priscilla Atkins and Anna West earned their MFA degrees. And Kristin (Olson) Brace is there now.

Author Reading
August 23, 2011
English grad Steve Hughes will be reading from his zine collection, Stupor: a Treasury of True Stories in New York City on Thursday, September 15. Congrats, Steve!

Grad Joins Faculty
August 13, 2011
Our grad Alison (Laurel) Lake has received an appointment to join the faculty of the English department at Ferris State University. Alison earned her MFA at Western Michigan. Congratulations!

Former Student Accepts Position, Adds a Publication
July 20, 2011
English Grad Chris Dombrowski has accepted a position at Interlochen
Arts Academy. He also had another personal essay published in The Sun. Congratulations!

Faculty Interview on Graduate School
July 11, 2011
Professor William Pannapacker was recently interviewed by the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. You can find the interview here.

Program Acceptance
June 1, 2011
English grad Matt Dannenberg has been accepted into UNC's geography MA/PhD program. The program is a great fit for Matt, as it is very interdisciplinary in nature. Much of his coursework and research will focus on issues that he is very passionate about, particularly the threats posed to global biodiversity as a result of human activity such as deforestation, habitat fragmentation, introduction of invasive species, and climate change. Congratulations, Matt!

Poetry Book Published!
June 1, 2011
Congratulations to Professor David James on the publication of a new book of poems, Since Everything Is All I've Got, his first full-length poetry collections. It has been released by March Street Press and is available here in Holland at the Hope-Geneva Bookstore and Reader's World. Way to go, David!!

Community Leaders
May 12, 2011
Here's some neat news from one of our grads from way back, class of '76, Barbara Wrigley. She was part of the Town Meeting with President Obama. See below for details:

Several of us had the wonderful opportunity to be part of CBS News' Early Show Town Hall Meeting on the Economy today with President Obama, held at the Newseum. This will be televised tomorrow morning 8-9am on the CBS Early Show. Those attending included Carla Mackie of The Full Cup, Becky O'Neil of Becky's Pet Care, Sheina Waddell of Waddell Entertainment Consultants, Brenda Quiroz-Maday of BDM and myself. It was a real treat to be a few feet from the President for an hour.
The show will also be re-broadcast on Sunday during Face the Nation and will also be available on YouTube and links at www.cbs.com. View promo here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-500202_162-1105.html?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea.0;fdPromo

Toledo Museum of Art Poetry Prize
May 11, 2011
Congratulations to our grad Maggie (Schakel) Hirt who has won the Toledo Museum of Art Poetry Prize. Her work, "selfCarved retirement," will be on display in the museum for the next full year!

Faculty Reviews Published
April 18, 2011
Congratulations to Ernest Cole, who had two lengthy reviews published in the Winter 2010/Spring 2011 issue of Journal of the African Literature Association.

Faculty Member Awarded Field Seminar
April 13, 2011
Marla Lunderberg has been selected as a participant in the 2011 Asian Studies Development Program's (ASDP) China Field Seminar, Frontiers: Culture, Nature and Industry from China's Northeast to the World Expo.

She hopes this summer to gather knowledge that will allow her to develop a May term in China for future Hope students. Congratulations, Marla, and we wish you a safe, enjoyable, and valuable journey.

Former English Student to Study at University of New Hampshire
April 11, 2011
Meaghan Elliott will be attending the University of New Hampshire this fall for her MA in literature, with a fully funded teaching fellowship! Congratulations, Meaghan!

Donnelly Receives Dissertation Fellowship
April 7, 2011
Laura Donnelly, former English major, has been awarded a dissertation completion fellowship for next fall from Western Michigan University. This university-wide award (only six given per year) put Donnelly up against engineers and scientists and other students across campus. Congratulations, Laura!

Alum Awarded Fellowship
April 7, 2011
Former English student Matt Baker has been awarded a non-teaching fellowship from Vanderbilt, in addition to a scholarship. Congratulations, Matt!

Alumni Play Featured at "15th Floor"
March 8, 2011
Former Hope English student Judith Leora's work will be featured in New York's 15th Floor. Beginning Tuesday, March 22nd at Primary Stages Studios, the second of their inaugural monthly salon of new plays will be Judith Leora's THE COOKIE FIGHT, beginning at 8pm. Congratulations!

Former Student Featured on NPR
January 10, 2011
This week on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, our former student Mira Bartok, then Myra Herr, will be featured talking about her recently published book The Memory Palace, her work as artist and children's book author, her life with the consequences of brain trauma, etc.

Doctorate Received
January 6, 2011
English major Melissa Coll-Smith has just received her doctorate in English Literature from the University of Oxford. Congratulations, Dr. Coll-Smith!

Press Releases About English

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