University of Minnesota English

"I think that he always heard poetry calling to him and singing in his head." Remembering Prof Emeritus Michael Dennis Browne, beloved poet, librettist, and teacher, who died this spring at age 85. Deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

Remembering Michael Dennis Browne The celebrated teacher, librettist, and poet excelled at bringing people together around literature and music.

Next Tuesday! Memoirist Krys Malcolm Belc celebrates the book he wrote in part while Edelstein-Keller Writer in Residence here (and he's still teaching for us!). With Prof Aamina Ahmad posing questions. At Next Chapter Booksellers:
https://nextchapterbooksellers.com/event/2026-06-09/book-launch-krys-malcolm-belc-what-i-made-dinner

Congrats to Prof V. V. Ganeshananthan: The German translation of her novel Brotherless Night has been shortlisted for the 2026 Internationaler Literaturpreis Prize for Contemporary Literatures in Translation! Award ceremony in July:

Shortlist for the 2026 Internationaler Literaturpreis | HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt Prize for Contemporary Literatures in Translation

Cheers for these 2026 MFA in Creative Writing graduates, writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction who this spring defended their creative theses.

Edwin Banks
Sandra Del Rio Madrigal
Okwudili Nebeolisa
Andrew Nicholson
Cassandra Rodenbaugh
Anna Simonton
Julia Oschwald Tilton
Olivia Wood
Isabel Zacharias

Best wishes from Pillsbury Hall!

Warm congrats to the English PhDs who successfully defended dissertations this academic year! Best wishes to all.

_Bridget Bergin, “’A Merely Realistic Dream-Country’: Reading Spaces in Nineteenth-Century Novels”
_Adam Burchard, “The Critique of Expression from Herder to Deloria: A Topic in German-Dakota Intellectual History”
_Nyla Numan, “Beyond Recovery: Reimagining Historical Representation in Twenty-First Century Asian American Fiction”
_Shavera Seneviratne, “Performing Imperialism: The Evolution of British Imperial Strategies in Romantic-era Drama, 1770-1830”

A moving Commencement speech yesterday by BA English alum and filmmaker Scott Z. Burns. The full speech is here, with Burns's remarks at 38:58
https://www.youtube.com/live/nESZnihOJOM

Thank you to English alum Scott Z. Burns for sharing your words of wisdom with our graduates and families. 📚

Read more about this year’s Commencement keynote: z.umn.edu/scott-Mary Burns

Scott Z. Burns

The Commencement countdown is on, and we're so excited to welcome back alum Scott Z. Burns (BA '85, University of Minnesota English) as our keynote speaker. Burns is the screenwriter, director, and producer behind Contagion, Extrapolations, and An Inconvenient Truth.

🔗: https://ow.ly/wHNi50YZGRB

Prof and novelist V. V. Ganeshananthan attended a celebration of literature at the New York Public Library in honor of Her Majesty Queen Camilla and her charity The Queen’s Reading Room last month, during the British royals’ State Visit. Also invited was Minneapolis novelist Curtis Sittenfeld, with Ganeshananthan outside the library.

Prof Ganeshananthan and continued to team up that week with a joint reading at St. Olaf for the Claire Gilbert Visiting Writer Series, in conversation with St. Olaf faculty member Sequoia Nagamatsu!

How has Operation Metro Surge affected the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus? Hear from CLA profs, alums, and community members next Monday, in Pillsbury Hall and online. Part of the Liberal Arts in Action series:
College of Liberal Arts | University of Minnesota

Operation Metro Surge, State Violence, and Resistance at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus This panel examines Operation Metro Surge’s impact on UMN, highlighting faculty and student resistance to state violence, racial profiling, and the defense of vulnerable groups.

Come see us in Pillsbury Hall this Sunday 10 am to 5 pm for tours of our recently renovated 1889 building! (The oldest building in use on campus.) Plus a scavenger hunt, a drawing for recent faculty books (such as Julie Schumacher's new one), and more fun.

Pillsbury Hall, this gorgeous 1889 Minnesota sandstone building, will be open on Sunday, May 10. They will have activities and tours—can you spot the gargoyles? Plus, hear about today’s occupants, the University of Minnesota English Department! Don't miss this treasure!