News

Paidin Dermody Named Next Kernel Editor-In-Chief

3/30/2017

By Whitney Harder

Paidin Dermody, a University of Kentucky journalism and English sophomore with a minor in photography, has been named the Kentucky Kernel's editor for the 2017-2018 school year.

“I feel lucky — opportunity met preparation, and I now have the great responsibility of following a talented line of editors-in-chief to continue the storied history of the Kernel as one of the pre-eminent student publications in the country,” Dermody said in a Kernel story last week. “Good people and great journalism will deliver an evolved, enlightened and entertaining product to our readers.”

The Kernel Board selected Dermody, currently the managing editor, "for her detailed plan to expand the Kernel’s digital footprint,
Read more

Poet, Art Journalist, LGBT Icon Eileen Myles to Speak at UK

3/24/2017

By Dorothy Freeman and Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Art Museum in collaboration with UK's Department of English and MFA in Creative Writing program will present a free public lecture by poet, novelist, performer and art journalist Eileen Myles 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Gatton College of Business and Economics' Kincaid Auditorium.

Eileen Myles has become a feminist icon whose literary and artistic work has, in the words of the New York Review of Books, “set a bar for openness, frankness, and
Read more

Author Dinaw Mengestu Visits UK

3/20/2017

By Gail Hairston

As part of the University of Kentucky Visiting Writers Series, acclaimed author Dinaw Mengestu will read from his works at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, in the Creative Arts Studio (Room 153) in Holmes Hall, 111 Avenue of Champions in Lexington. Mengestu, an Ethiopian-American, has written three novels, including “All Our Names,” published in 2014.

“All Our Names” is an epic love story that follows Isaac, a refugee fleeing war-torn Uganda. Isaac finds himself in the American Midwest and begins a passionate affair with the social worker assigned to him. The book was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe, among other major publications.

Mengestu’s “The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears,” published in 2007, was a New York Times Notable Book, won The
Read more

Irish Eyes Will Smile at Irish Studies Conference

3/7/2017

By Gail Hairston

For the first time, the University of Kentucky is hosting the southern chapter of the American Conference for Irish Studies (ACIS), March 9-11.

With over 50 speakers from 17 states and several speakers from Ireland, the event has something for anyone even slightly interested in the history and culture of “The Emerald Isle.”

“I am delighted that we are able to host — for the first time — the southern regional meeting of the Conference for Irish Studies here at the University of Kentucky,” UK English Professor Jonathan Allison said.

All events are free and open to members of both the UK and Lexington communities. Allison said he especially wants to invite students.  

Friday’s schedule includes the keynote address, poetry and music. Ronald Schuchard, the Goodrich C. White
Read more

UK Celebrates its 2017 Great Teacher Award Winners

3/1/2017

By Gail Hairston, Amy Jones-Timoney, and Kody Kiser

 

Six University of Kentucky educators were named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2017 Great Teacher Award Tuesday night.

The recipients are:

Richard Andreatta, College of Health Sciences - Communication Sciences and Disorders Gitanjali Pinto-Sinai, College of Dentistry - Restorative Dentistry Jeff Reese, College of Education - Educational, School and Counseling Psychology Michelle Sizemore, College of Arts and Sciences - English Nathan Vanderford, College of Medicine - Toxicology and Cancer Biology Sherali Zeadally, College of Communication and Information - Information Science

Award recipients were honored at the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Recognition Dinner last night at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington. They were also recognized during the Vanderbilt vs.
Read more

Record Number of Students on UK Dean's List

2/14/2017

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes.  Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting www.uky.edu/PR/News/
Read more

'Black Nature' Poet Camille Dungy to Headline Kentucky Women Writers Conference

2/13/2017

By Whitney Hale

Poet Camille T. Dungy, known for her groundbreaking anthology of African-American nature poetry, will be the keynote speaker for the 2017 Kentucky Women Writers Conference, running Sept. 15-16. Dungy, who has two books scheduled to be released this year including her debut memoir, will present her keynote address 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public.

“Camille Dungy’s seminal anthology of African-American environmental poetry, 'Black Nature,' redefined the American poetic canon. At the same time, her own volumes of poetry have enlarged our sense of the
Read more

14 Undergraduates Win Oswald Awards

2/2/2017

By Gail Hairston

Fourteen University of Kentucky undergraduate students -- one sophomore, two juniors and 11 seniors -- were recently awarded with Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards by the Office of Undergraduate Research.  

Students submitted research posters in six categories -- Biological Sciences; Design, including architecture, landscape architecture and interior design; Fine Arts, including film, music, photography, painting and sculpture; Humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; Physical and Engineering Sciences; and Social Sciences. Winners in each category received $350; second place finishers received $200.

The 2017 winners were
Read more

23rd Breathitt Lecture to Explore Diversity and Whether Individuality Impacts Unity

1/19/2017

By Whitney Hale

Paige A. Dauparas, a University of Kentucky accounting, English and Spanish literature and culture senior from Mokena, Illinois, has been selected to present the 23rd annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Dauparas' free public lecture focuses on diversity and how the search for individuality impacts unity.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who showed an exceptional interest in higher education and
Read more

Behind the Blue with Hannah Pittard

12/22/2016

By Kody Kiser

Storytelling is an art as old as human civilization. It can cross or establish boundaries, unite or divide cultures, and give context and meaning to our shared existence. Throughout its history, the University of Kentucky has fostered a rich culture of storytelling. Long considered a cradle of Kentucky authors, the university is making headway in supporting the work of authors more representative of the national scene.

 

On this episode of "Behind the Blue," we welcome one of those authors, UK Assistant Professor of English Hannah Pittard. Pittard has published three novels: 2011’s "The Fates Will Find Their Way," which received a favorable review by The New York Times Book Review. Her second novel, "Reunion" (in 2014), was an editor’s choice by the Chicago Tribune. In 2016, she released "Listen To Me," and is now completing work on her next
Read more

A&S Senior Named Rhodes Scholarship Finalist

11/16/2016

By Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky senior Rachel Dixon, of Lexington, was recently named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Dixon, an English and writing, rhetoric and digital studies major, will interview for the prestigious scholarship that funds graduate study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.

A UK Honors College member and former ambassador, Dixon is a 
Read more

Behind the Blue: Poet Frank X Walker Reflects on Work as Writer, Professor

10/13/2016

By Kody Kiser

 

“Affrilachia” is the word coined by poet Frank X Walker to signify the importance of the African-American presence in Appalachia, and he's a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets. Walker says he has "accepted the responsibility of challenging the notion of a homogeneous all-white literary landscape in this region.”

A native of Danville, Kentucky, Walker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, currently serves as associate professor in the UK Department of English, and was the 2013-14 poet laureate for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was founder and executive Director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, former program director of the UK's Martin Luther King Center and a Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship recipient. He has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at more than 300 national conferences and
Read more

2 A&S Students, Confucius Institute Recognized at National Level

10/12/2016

By Samantha Almedia

Two University of Kentucky students received nationwide recognition at Confucius Institute U.S. Center’s inaugural National Honor Gala held Sept. 24.

David Cole and Rachel Lietzow, both members of the UK Honors Program, were acknowledged among eight individuals from across the nation with a People to People Exchange Award for creating cross-cultural connections and initiatives between China and the United States.

"Never have I found myself surrounded by people who I couldn't verbally understand, but I wholeheartedly felt a connection toward," said Cole, honoree and UK senior majoring in English. A native of Monticello, Kentucky, Cole participated
Read more

Authors Debate: Is Utopia Flawed or Flawless

10/5/2016

By Gail Hairston

In Akash Kapur’s treatise “The Return of the Utopians,” published in the Oct. 3 issue of The New Yorker magazine, he made liberal reference to University of Kentucky Associate Professor of English Erik Reece’s new book “Utopia Drive.”   In “Utopia Drive,” Reece examined the history of a handful of America’s 19th-century utopian settlements and towns in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, New York and Massachusetts, analyzing their histories to find lessons for the present.   “One thing we can say about the seductive visionaries who led the utopian movement in America,” Reece wrote, “is that they did not lead the most self-examined lives.”   Kapur’s article is an examination of the more frightening aspects of
Read more

A Conversation with A&S Professor and Author Hannah Pittard

9/22/2016
By Amy Jones-Timoney     While the critics know Hannah Pittard as a talented author, students at the University of Kentucky know her as their teacher.    Pittard, the author of three published novels and one forthcoming, “Atlanta, 1962” (2017), most recently attracted a substantial amount of media attention for "Listen to Me."  The UK College of Arts and Sciences assistant professor of English was mentioned in BuzzFeed,  
Read more

Pittard's "Listen to Me" Still Impressing Critics

8/10/2016

By Gail Hairston

Hannah Pittard, University of Kentucky assistant professor of English and creative writing, continues to impress the literary world with her third novel, “Listen to Me.”   Designated as “an emerging voice,” Pittard’s “Listen to Me” was on Buzz Book’s list of must-read books in 2016. On July 5, Washington Post’s mysteries and thrillers reviewer Patrick Anderson called “Listen to Me” a “captivating” novel. In Saturday’s New York Times, critic Erica Wagner said Pittard “creates…the feeling of emotional truth.”   Pittard’s thriller/mystery is about a young couple who fear their marriage is driving them both crazy. The young wife hasn’t
Read more

A&S Students Named Fulbright Recipients

6/20/2016
By Whitney Hale   University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that six UK students and alumni have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among more than 1,800 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2016-17 academic year through the prestigious program.   The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to study, conduct research, and/or teach English abroad.   Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more
Read more

Popular Poets Lisa Russ Spaar, Bianca Spriggs to Present at Women Writers Event

6/7/2016

By Whitney Hale

A duo of popular poets, Lisa Russ Spaar and Bianca Lynne Spriggs, will present workshops on the form as well as a joint reading of their poetry at the 2016 Kentucky Women Writers Conference running Sept. 16-17, in Lexington. The pair's work will also be among the topics of a free poetry workshop presented by the conference June 11, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Lisa Russ Spaar, one of three finalists for the 2015 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, is the author of many collections of poetry, including "Glass Town," "Blue Venus
Read more

25th Volume of disClosure Focuses on “Transnational Lives”

6/7/2016

By Jennifer T. Allen

The 25th volume of Social Theory journal disClosure was recently released focusing on the topic of “Transnational Lives.” The issue’s theme brings together a variety of genres, including creative pieces, analytical articles, interviews and art, as it explores concepts related to the topic.

“Simple words such as ‘home’ or ‘religion’ take on an entirely new meaning when they are considered across transnational spaces,” said Catherine Gooch, co-editor of the issue and graduate student in the Department of English. “In addition, there are larger implications both on a personal and public level. If we think about our economic system and how globalization has caused capitalism to expand transnationally, around the world, we see how this economic expansion impacts everything from our personal lives to the higher education system.”

Dr. Mahmood
Read more

Mojave Poet, Activist Natalie Diaz to Open Women Writers Conference

6/2/2016

(June 2, 2016) — Award-winning Native American poet Natalie Diazwill open the 2016 Kentucky Women Writers Conference, running Sept. 16-17, in Lexington. Diaz's work will also be among the topics of a free poetry workshop presented June 11, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

 

 

Poet Natalie Diaz reads from her first poetry collection "When My Brother Was an Aztec."

Natalie Diaz was born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California, on the banks of the Colorado River. She is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. Her first poetry collection, 
Read more

Pages

X
Enter your linkblue username.
Enter your linkblue password.
Secure Login

This login is SSL protected

Loading