JMU English

We are delighted to welcome our new Assistant Professor of English, Dr. Becca Klaver!

Dr. Klaver earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University, and her research focuses on poetry writing, feminist poetics, and post-1945 avant garde literary movements.

She writes that she, “can’t wait to teach in JMU’s popular Creative Writing minor, which brings together students from different majors. In my experience, a room full of writers with a variety of interests and backgrounds leads to rich, lively conversations where perspectives interweave and creativity blooms.”

Want to work with Dr. Klaver? Then enroll in her ENG 392: Intro to Creative Writing – Poetry course for the Fall ’26 semester!

Congrats to all the graduating today! 💜💛

Photo courtesy of James Madison University

Congratulations to Ivy Ridenhour who has been named the 2025-26 Outstanding Student for English!

She notes that during her time as a JMU English student that she has “developed a more layered way of thinking. The theories we study don’t just apply to literature; they apply to life.”

Read more by clicking the link in our bio 💜⭐️

Congratulations to Ivy Ridenhour, the 2026 Outstanding Student for English!

💜 What is your favorite JMU memory?
“My favorite memory at JMU was putting on a workshop of Meat Cube, a play I wrote, with the help of my classmates. It combined a lot of the things I care about, writing, theater, and storytelling with my friends.”

💛 What is the most important thing you learned during your time at JMU?
“The most important thing I learned at JMU was: if you don’t know what you want to do, start by finding the people you want to do things with.”

JMU English

Congrats to the Iris team on a successful launch for their Spring 2026 issue!

Want to pick up your own copy of Iris? Copies can be found in Keezell Hall, Harrison Hall, Wilson Hall, Cleveland Hall, the Union and SSC.

Congratulations to Angel Rona Estavillo, Second-Year Graduate Student, who has been offered and accepted a position in the Ph.D. program at the University of Connecticut!

Happy last day of classes, Dukes! Good luck as you head into finals week!

Here are some last day of classes pictures:
1. Heidi Pennington and her TAs for ENG 236 standing in front of their big crazy white board
2. Mollie Godfrey and her ENG 359: Studies in African American Lit class

Congratulations to Aiman Rahman, Second-Year Graduate Student, who has been offered and accepted a position in the Ph.D. program at Ohio University. Additionally, Aiman was granted the Earl C. and Margaret S. Shively Scholarship!

Congratulations to the outstanding English students that were recognized at the 2025-26 English Awards and Senior Celebration that took place on April 19th!

We are proud of your accomplishments! ⭐️💜

Heidi Pennington’s ENG 236 students were lucky to have two actors from Eunoia Theatre come to act out some scenes from Samuel Beckett’s play, “Waiting for Godot.”

Thank you to Rhys McClelland and Garret Milton for their lovely performance that further expanded our students understanding of the play!