ASU Department of English

Congrats and best wishes to ASU English Professor Deborah Clarke, a former associate dean of the ASU John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering, who is retiring this June. Clarke received the 2026 Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in honor of her extraordinary career.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/ikPV50ZbYsO

A new installment in our "The Humanities and AI" video series features ASU's Jacob Greene, a professor of rhetoric who calls generative AI "a revolutionary paradigm shift" for writers.

Watch: https://ow.ly/BbR050ZbmUN

ASU English professor Ty Defoe hopes his new one-man puppet show, "Skeleton Canoe," which plays June 19 and 20 at Yale Repertory Theatre, promotes love and understanding. Learn more: https://ow.ly/LIXY50Zaarh

A puppeteer with a purpose | ASU News It’s not easy to define Ty Defoe’s work.

☄️"In the mirror, beauty at last visited me like a daytime comet."

From "Ars Poetica as Jacob Wrestling the Angel" by recent ASU creative writing grad Siobhan Jean-Charles.

Read the poem in Harpur Palate: https://ow.ly/Tef950Z8Uz5

A few weeks ago, we celebrated our 2025-2026 graduates and award-winners at an event that featured remarks by ASU English Professor Mitchell Jackson and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Medalist in English, Emerson Amaya. Then we announced the winner of a brand new scholarship.

Learn more! https://ow.ly/wPj350Z8TpN

ASU English professor Josh Coleman has won The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Zebulon Pearce Distinguished Teaching Award in the humanities, which recognizes faculty who have gone above and beyond to help their students succeed.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/RYRc50Z7R0U

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU recognizes outstanding faculty with 2026 teaching awards | ASU News The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University is home to over 1,300 faculty members and enrolls over 31,000 students every semester.Every year, The College recognizes faculty who have gone above and beyond to help their students succeed across its humanities, natural sciences....

"Most of the time, pirates were stealing people’s clothes, picking their pockets and ripping through the cargo." 🏴‍☠️

—ASU English Professor Nush Powell, a pirate expert and upcoming guest on a "Golden Age of Piracy" Reddit AMA on June 6.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/NPWO50Z6sHY

From prosthetic hooks to Jack Sparrow: A swashbuckling summer discussion | ASU News Did pirates actually have hooks for hands? Was Sir Walter Raleigh a pirate? What was the most common type of pirate ship?Those questions — and others about the Golden Age of Piracy (from 1650 to 1730) — will be answered by Professor Manushag “Nush” Powell, chair of the Department of English,...

Congrats to ASU Regents Professor of English Ayanna Thompson who was named to the American Council of Learned Societies Board of Directors. Thompson's term ends in 2030.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/hvh650Z4XuE

CC: ACMRS (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies)

✍️✨ Calling All Young Writers! ✨✍️

There’s still time to join Session B of YAWP (Young Adult Writing Program) at ASU! Whether your child loves poetry, stories, comics, memoirs, nature writing, or simply putting ideas on paper, YAWP offers a supportive, non-evaluative environment where creativity thrives and every voice matters.

🌟 Explore multiple forms of writing
🌟 Learn from experienced, certified writing teachers
🌟 Collaborate with fellow young writers
🌟 Develop original work through daily workshops
🌟 Publish a piece in the annual YAWP anthology

📚 Open to students in Grades 2–12
📍 ASU Tempe Campus
🗓️ Two-week session, June 15-26
⏰ Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

YAWP is part of the Central Arizona Writing Project, where young writers discover the power of their words, build confidence, and find inspiration in a vibrant community of creators.

🚨 Session B registration is open now!

Info/register: https://ow.ly/tnNi50Z6smn

We're overjoyed that ASU English professor Ty Defoe was awarded a prestigious 2026 United States Artists Fellowship. 🥳

Learn more: https://ow.ly/yamK50Z4Xxc

CC: ACMRS (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies)

Ty Defoe — United States Artists Interdisciplinary Artist