There is word on the page and then there is word given breath. This past April, students and faculty from the University of Kentucky brought words to life thanks to a 12-hour open air poetry reading. The event, organized by English professor and published author Julia Johnson, was held outside of the Student Center welcoming anyone and everyone to come read their favorite poems aloud. The reading itself was held in celebration of National…

For nearly two decades, the Jewish Studies program has drawn students and faculty from all over UK to teach and learn about Jewish culture, language, history, and beyond. In this podcast, I spoke with up-and-coming Jewish Studies Director, Jan Fernheimer, about what’s in store for Fall 2013, including a visiting scholar from Israel, a film series, and opportunities to connect with communities within and beyond the Commonwealth. 

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Local book conservator and letterpress printer Alex Brooks graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2003 with a degree in English. He graduated from a Master’s program in Book Conservation in England at West Dean College…

UK English Professor and Affrilachian poet Frank X Walker has been named Kentucky's Poet Laureate! In this segment from UK at the Half with Carl Nathe, Walker talks about the award and his childhood dreams of literary accomplishment. 

Creative expression and disease aren't two topics that are often juxtaposed, but UKC 310: Art and Epidemics, will explore five diseases from a creative and technical angle: tuberculosis, AIDS, cancer, alcoholism, and the plague - through a variety of creative lenses, including film, short fiction, poetry, and art. Rita Basuray and Katherine Rogers-Carpenter will co-teach the fall 2013 course, looking at the parallels between scientific and creative writing, and where these forms…

In May 2013, ten students will go to Costa Rica to do ethnographic writing for English 205: Advanced Composition. Steve Alvarez of WRD is taking the group to the town of Heredia for four weeks. The course meets the…

Every year, Teach for America places thousands of college graduates and professionals in schools in inner cities and rural areas. Luke Glaser, a double major in …

Most of us heard that the world was going to possibly end on December 21st, 2012, and that it was predicted by the traditional Mayan calendar. In this podcast, Rusty Barrett, a linguist and scholar of Mayan culture and history, explains the superstitions and misunderstandings surrounding December 21st, and a little bit about how the Mayan calendar works.

SPOILER ALERT: The day after our interview, Barrett recieved an email from a Mayan organization (…

The words “hip” and “hipster” carry around a lot of baggage. Often, due to misconceptions, "hipster" is used as an insult meant to suggest some sort of failed or inauthentic attempt at being "hip." But what if that isn’t what “hip” is? What if “hip” isn’t some obsession with the fleeting but a more permanent state?