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Department of English at Arizona State University

@asuenglish.bsky.social

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Official Bluesky account of the ASU Department of English. Our vision is to prepare student-citizens to think, read, and write critically and communicate effectively. We're turning 125 this year! https://english.asu.edu/english-125

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · Feb 3

Hello Bluesky community! Here we are. ☀️ Please enjoy this photo of Ross-Blakley Hall—our home on the ASU Tempe campus—and its symbolic "open book" architecture. #ASUHumanities

An image of Ross-Blakley Hall on the Tempe campus reaching toward a brilliant blue sky. Photo by Bruce Matsunaga/ASU.

Reposted by Department of English at Arizona State University

Matt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 19h

Congratulations to @asuenglish.bsky.social MFA alum @haydenmcasey13.bsky.social, whose debut novel A HARVEST OF FURIES is out today! (True story: in his last MFA semester, Hayden told me he was going to draft this novel in three chunks, delivering me 22,000 words per thesis meeting... and then did!)

hayden casey @haydenmcasey13.bsky.social · 19h

MY FIRST NOVEL IS OUT TODAY!!!!! & they have it at barnes & noble?!? (& lots of lovely independent bookshops as well!!)

I have been trying to do this for 10 years & dreaming about it for 10 more—surreal moment!

me holding my book in front of the “fiction” section sign at Barnes & Noble

me holding my book up in front of the shelf at Barnes & Noble

my book for sale on a table in an independent bookstore

me holding a copy of my book at a table during a signing, with a stack of books in front of me & a box of signed copies to the left

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 19h

Ta-da! Our history exhibit is now open in ASU's Hayden Library. Join us at the Opening Reception this Thurs 10/16 at 4pm. Remarks by @nushpowell.bsky.social & Peter Goggin + refreshments served! All welcome.

Info.: ow.ly/S7pu50XaMmR #ASUHumanities

A view of the "What is a Quasquicentennial" exhibit at ASU's Hayden Library. Photo by Kristen LaRue-Sandler/ASU

A view from the "What is a Quasquicentennial?" exhibit at ASU's Hayden Library that features the late Professor Emeritus Nicholas Salerno and his contributions to the university. Photo by Kristen LaRue-Sandler/ASU

A flyer advertising the opening reception for ASU Department of English's "What is a Quasquicentennial?" exhibit at ASU Library, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 1d

ASU English's Alberto Ríos and other faculty from across The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU are committed to improving educational opportunities for all students and advancing research on Hispanic communities.

More: ow.ly/pITt50X8E5m #ASUHumanities #HispanicHeritageMonth

ASU faculty provide a support system of Hispanic history, culture and language | ASU News

From poetry to childhood development, faculty from all areas in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University are committed to improving educational opportunities for all studen...

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Reposted by Department of English at Arizona State University

Brian K Goodman @briankgoodman.bsky.social · 9d

When I was researching my book in Prague, Ivan Klíma and his wife Helena invited me into their home and talked to me for hours over zázvorová limonáda. Their hospitality was just one reason their apartment was a first stop for visiting US writers like Philip Roth.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/w...

Ivan Klima, Czech Novelist Who Chafed Under Totalitarian Regimes, Dies at 94

www.nytimes.com

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 4d

For #BannedBooksWeek, ASU English professor James Blasingame spoke with Whitney Clark on @azfamily.com's Beyond the Next Chapter podcast about the history of book banning in the U.S.

Watch/listen: ow.ly/8kx150X8TE7 #ASUHumanities

Beyond the Next Chapter Podcast: The history of banned books

It’s Banned Books Week! Banning books is nothing new. In fact, the first book ban in the U.S. took place in 1637, according to Harvard researchers. The American Library Association is just one of the ...

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 5d

Oct. 16 at 4pm: Learn more about the people behind your 1st-year comp courses, favorite novels and even some classic films at an opening reception for 'What Is a Quasquicentennial?' exhibit at ASU's Hayden Library.

RSVP: ow.ly/Brrv50X79x4 #ASUHumanities

Collage of images, black and white and color, representing the history of the ASU Department of English.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 6d

🔱 ASU students: There's still time to submit to the Film and Media Studies Showcase! Students in any major can present a project in film, TV, gaming or other media; deadline Oct. 10. Showcase is Oct. 31. 🎃

Info & submit: ow.ly/iIKZ50X7b3W #ASUHumanities

Flyer advertising submission deadline (Oct. 10) for the Film and Media Studies Fall Showcase.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 7d

"We need to think about ... expanding the notion of what counts for being a successful reader. It's not always just a test score."

—ASU English professor Jessica Early in conversation with Mark Brodie @kjzz.org.

Listen: ow.ly/fsAg50X78xK #ASUHumanities

High school seniors' reading scores are down. This Arizona professor wants to turn them around

Jessica Early is a professor of English education at Arizona State University and has some ideas on how to stem the tide of dropping reading scores in the U.S.

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 8d

The 5th annual #ASUHumanities Week, coming up Oct. 20-24, has something for everyone. ASU English is hosting events on language construction, Jane Austen, sci-fi, humanities careers and new fiction and poetry.

Learn more: ow.ly/Pxf850X77Rl

Students listening to humanities alumni discuss how their degree helps them in their full-time careers at the "So What Are You Going To Do With That?" humanities alumni panel. Photo by Meghan Finnerty/ASU

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 11d

"What does it mean that Jane Austen was hanging out with groups of radicals, and radical politicians and the women in their lives?"

ASU English professor @devoney.bsky.social visited with @kjzz.org’s Lauren Gilger about the "real" Jane Austen.

Listen: ow.ly/BhPc50X6jPP #ASUHumanities

Arizona’s own Jane Austen scholar argues the author wasn’t a reclusive spinster

In her new book, “Wild for Austen,” Devoney Looser argues Austen was much more than a quiet spinster who never married and instead wrote about the love stories she never lived out.

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 11d

Announcing the annual ASU Homecoming Writing Contest! 🔱 Submit poetry, fiction/creative nonfiction or scholarly essay by Oct. 26. $500 prizes. Students majoring or minoring in any English program—incl. ASU Online—are eligible.

Details: ow.ly/VJh850WZ6aG #ASUHumanities

A flyer advertising the ASU Homecoming Writing Contest. Full text and details at english.asu.edu/scholarships-homecoming

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 12d

Today, we're remembering Jane Goodall. We had the good fortune to host her virtually in our 2021 ASU TomorrowTalks series. We're grateful for her legacy of conservation, sustainability and hope. 💚🐒

Watch Dr. Goodall discuss "The Book of Hope": ow.ly/55z650X5lWF #ASUHumanities

TomorrowTalks with Jane Goodall: The Book of Hope

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 12d

Today's word of the day is: "Quasquicentennial." 🤔 Learn more about the word—and how it's related to the @ASU Department of English: ow.ly/s0wS50X55zg #ASUHumanities

How ASU's English department went from 'cavalry' to world-class program | ASU News

Today's word of the day is quasquicentennial. If you're thinking, quas-what? — you're probably not alone. According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, the word's first known use was in 1962, much more r...

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 13d

Level up in spring ’26 with ENG 294: Exploring Dungeons & Dragons. This gamified ASU class examines origins, literary influences and cultural controversies behind the “World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game.”

Register: ow.ly/rx6L50X54eg #ASUHumanities

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 19d

"We brush our teeth every night before bed, / me in my white dress—no husband."

From "Hijo, My Love Language Is Letting You Win at Chess" by ASU's Cecilia Savala.

Read the poem in The Acentos Review: ow.ly/iMoE50WTy1K #ASUHumanities

Colorful header image from the Acentos review that shows Cecilia Savala's name.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 20d

Our month of quasquicentennial events kicks off Thurs. 9/25 with an ASU Book Group meeting. Poet Alberto Rios visits to discuss his collection "Every Sound Is Not a Wolf." Noon at Hayden Library or online. Join us!

Register: ow.ly/SIpX50X1zGQ #ASUHumanities #HispanicHeritageMonth

The cover of Alberto Rios's poetry book, "Every Sound Is Not a Wolf," which depicts a desert scene with a night sky overhead.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 21d

Thurs. Sep. 25 at 6 pm: NYT bestselling author TJ Klune discusses his novel "The Bones Beneath My Skin" in a virtual ASU TomorrowTalks event. All welcome!

Register: ow.ly/5GxB50X0Bbr #ASUHumanities

An image of the book "The Bones Beneath My Skin" by TJ Klune, sitting outside with foliage and a log cabin behind it. Photo by Kristen LaRue-Sandler

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 22d

"Over the years, U.S. courts have established that obscenity can be a legitimate cause for removing a book from the public sphere, but only under limited circumstances."

—ASU English professor James Blasingame @us.theconversation.com: ow.ly/F7cC50WZUCs #ASUHumanities

Federal judge overturns part of Florida’s book ban law, drawing on nearly 100 years of precedent protecting First Amendment access to ideas

A federal judge found a Florida law censoring school library books violates students’ First Amendment rights.

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 25d

Spare us a moment of levity because it's Sep. 19, the annual observance of International Talk Like a Pirate Day! 🏴‍☠️🦜☠️ Here to dispel myths about how pirates spoke is ASU English professor @nushpowell.bsky.social, a pirate literature expert: www.youtube.com/shorts/ujsH6... #ASUHumanities

Did pirates say ‘Aaarrrg’? | Nush Powell

YouTube video by Department of English, Arizona State University

www.youtube.com

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 26d

ASU English alum Rigoberto González has been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation for "outstanding lifetime achievement." Poetry Magazine called González's poetry "sumptuous and rich in its curiosities and carnalities."

More: ow.ly/m2Q850WViGl #ASUHumanities

A collage of winner portraits of the 2025 Pegasus Awards given by the Poetry Foundation.

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 27d

"Rhetorical listening means avoiding the urge to one-up the opponent ... Instead, you’re entering into dialogue from a position of curiosity, with a willingness to learn and grow." —ASU English professor @beelzebebout.bsky.social.

Read more @us.theconversation.com: ow.ly/Ajjg50WYfpz #ASUHumanities

After Charlie Kirk’s murder, the US might seem hopelessly divided – is there any way forward?

Trying to change someone’s mind can seem futile. But there are approaches to political discourse that still matter, even if they don’t instantly win someone over.

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Reposted by Department of English at Arizona State University

Madeline Sayet @madelinesayet.bsky.social · 28d

Grateful to have been selected for this wonderful festival and so excited to our film was named an Honorable Mention at the award ceremony from a weekend of stunning films!

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · Sep 10

This weekend, a short film, "Up and Down the River"—the story of the first native solider to die in the Revolutionary War—will have its premiere at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival. It was co-written & directed by ASU professor @madelinesayet.bsky.social.

More: ow.ly/jQfM50WTA0x #ASUHumanities

Image from "Up and Down the River" directed by Madeline Sayet shows a person in a yellow fringed top standing in darkness and looking pensive.

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Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 28d

The Tempe Writing Contest is still open for submissions through Sep. 18! ASU partners with the Tempe Public Library on this annual contest, which accepts writing from poets, fiction writers & essayists ages 14 and up.

Guidelines & submit: ow.ly/iyUI50WW4jU #ASUHumanities @tempegov.bsky.social

Flyer advertising the Tempe Writing Contest, deadline Sep. 18

Department of English at Arizona State University @asuenglish.bsky.social · 29d

Journalist Eliot Stein visits ASU (virtually) Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. to discuss his book "Custodians of Wonder." @wsj.com says Stein's writing and sensitivity to the subject are "a great gift...worth giving to others."

Register: ow.ly/12xb50WUJhW #ASUHumanities

A collage of images featuring the book cover of "Custodians of Wonder" by journalist Eliot Stein, followed by Stein's portrait and then a graphic advertising ASU Common Read 2025 sponsored by the Department of English.

Reposted by Department of English at Arizona State University

Matt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 29d

This week in my Worldbuilding for Science Fiction and Fantasy course: THE FIFTH SEASON by N.K. Jemisin!

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