English, Department of

Five inspiring writers achieved finalist status for their poetry and/or short story earning the Margaret Harvin Wilson Writing Award from Georgia College & State University. Their creative works were selected out of 70 submissions. The 14th Annual Awards ceremony took place March 30.  Winning first place two years in a row in the First Year and Sophomore Category is Charlotte Aexel of Wind Lake, Wisconsin. Her poem, “Miss Flannery,” took first place while her short story, “Indiana’s...

Story and photos developed by University Communications. She was trying to teach a group of seventh graders about haikus. Although she was excited about her lesson plan—they were not. “Adaptability is one of the biggest things I’ve learned from this class,” said Aner Gendellman, a junior creative writing major from Alpharetta. Gendellman is one of a dozen graduate and undergraduate students taking the creative writing course, “Teaching Writing in the Schools.” Throughout the academic...

In 2018, Jeff Boedeker, ’04, was underwater, filming a sunken aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Mexico when he spotted several lionfish inside the shipwreck. “They’re beautiful and I had no idea what lionfish were,” he said. “After filming, I spoke to other divers on the shoot who told me how they are invasive and weren't there 20 or 30 years ago. And, it got me, thinking.”  Boedeker didn't do anything about it right then, because he was producing a film. But a few years later, he recalled...

The 13th annual Margaret Harvin Wilson Writing Awards ceremony took place March 30. Out of 51 submissions, three finalists were selected from different writing categories including poetry and short story.  The first-year finalist is English and history major Charlotte Aexel of Wind Lake, Wisconsin, who won first place for her poem “Man in the Fog” and second place for her short story “Delanna’s Day.” Sophomore biology major Aner Gendellman from Alpharetta, Georgia, placed third with...

Ellen Yeudall embodies what it means to be a stellar student. Her dedication, highest scholastic achievement and devotion to service was noticed by the University System of Georgia (USG) which identified Yeudall as Georgia College’s 2022 Academic Recognition Day representative. The senior English major has a concentration in literature and minor in theatre. Graduating in May with a 4.0 GPA, she’s a member of the Honors College; non-fiction editor of Georgia College’s literary magazine,...

Cheng Lam Ku of Macao is the beneficiary of a collaboration between Georgia College and the ALLEX Foundation–who provided graduate-level training with some of America’s finest experts in Asian language pedagogy (plus instruction in American standards of classroom management and instructional software, as well as student teaching), at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She will receive her Master of Arts in English in December.  During Ku’s time at Georgia College, she gained...

The 12th annual Margaret Harvin Wilson Writing Awards virtual ceremony was held March 25. Out of 50 submissions, six finalists were selected from two different writing categories—poetry and short story. First-year and sophomore finalists include: Madeline Teigen of Evans, Georgia (first place), Olivia McClure of Decatur, Georgia (second place) and Jaylan Brooks of Augusta, Georgia (third place). Junior and senior finalists include: William “Tanner” Howard of Toccoa, Georgia (first...

Patrick Sheets From: Lawrenceville, Georgia Why Georgia College: I chose Georgia College, because I love the idea of going to a liberal arts college. It let me explore so many subjects, like art and biology. Major: English with a concentration in Literature. It gave me the answers to life’s questions. Research: I worked with Dr. Julian Knox on a paper about the Romantic-era poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge that got accepted to the Friends of Coleridge conference in the U.K. Study Abroad...

Carolyn Forché celebrated the release of her latest collection of poems, “In the Lateness of the World,” on March 10 of last year. The country went into lockdown three days later, throwing her planned readings and book signings out the window along with events planned around the paperback release of her debut memoir, “What You Have Heard is True.” What should have been a year of touring after the launch was instead a year of isolation and virtual readings met with political and social...