Andres Cordoba. a recent recipient of Brown's MFA, was one of five poets selected by the Poetry Foundation as a 2025 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow.

Poet and editor Thomas Sayers Ellis, MFA '95, died on 17 July 2025. Thomas was a highly-regarded poet and an enthusiastic builder of literary communities, such as the Dark Room Collective in Cambridge, Mass.

Bhion Achimba, MFA '22 has been awarded a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. Achimba had previoiusly been named the 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow.

Kwame Dawes and Lorna Dawes know there is a wealth of poetry from African authors out there. Thousands of poems, they say, sit in universities and libraries across the world, waiting to be catalogued, translated, digitized and promoted.

The pair of Brown University researchers is committed to sharing this wealth of poetry with the world, and they’ll work to do so with support from a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Professor Kwame Dawes has been elected as member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences in spring 2025. Professor Dawes joined the Literary Arts department at Brown in January of this year.

Kwame Dawes, Professor of Literary Arts at Brown and newly-named Poet Laureate of Jamaica, talks about poetry with Artscape reporter, Luis Hernandez.

Robert Coover, TB Stowell Adjunct Professor, is remembered for is writing, his teaching and his advocacy on behalf of new forms of literature in print and digital frameworks.

Jennifer Levin and John Eisendrath have designed their spring 2026 Advanced Screenwriting workshop to reflect the dynamics of a writers' room. And the workshop members have good things to report.

Kwame Dawes, professor of Literary Arts, has been recognized for his literary contributions by being named as Poet Laureate of Jamaica.

Francesca Mari, assistant professor of the practice, has written a thoughtful and empathic account of responding to a family member's dementia.

We extend our condolences to the family and friends of Shay Youngblood, who earned an MFA from Brown in playwriting in 1993.

The department of Literary Arts extends heartfelt condolences to the McCormack family as we mark the death of alumnus Thomas McCormack, who was regarded as a ground-breaking editor at St. Martin's Press. Owing to his generosity, the department hosts most of our on-campus events in the McCormack Family Theater

Governor Dan McKee named Colin Channer as Rhode Island’s 7th Poet Laureate. Colin Channer is associate professor or Literary Arts at Brown University and author, most recently, of Console, a book of poems.

“Colin Channer is an accomplished writer whose talent and work have touched the lives of so many people,” said Governor McKee. “I’m excited to see him continue his craft here in the Ocean State where he will not just be a leader in poetry but serve as a poetry and literary inspiration to Rhode Islanders across our state.”

The announcement was made on Friday, 1 March 2024.

Stine An, alumna of the MFA program at Brown has been awarded a fellowship for translation by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Michael Antonucci ’88 has recently published Understanding Michael S. Harper, an invaluable exploration of Professor Harper's life and poetry. Professor Harper, who died in 2016, served as mentor for generations of Brown students and taught for the Literary Arts department for 43 years.

“Open again a turn of light,” written by Brown faculty members Eric Nathan and Sawako Nakayasu, will premiere on Saturday, Oct. 21, part of the inaugural public performance at The Lindemann Performing Arts Center.

Literary Arts congratulates Bhion Achimba, MFA class of 2022, for receiving the prestigious Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship. On October 21, 2023, a special event at the Poetry Foundation will bring all five fellows together for the first time for a free public reading to share their poetry and celebrate their accomplishments.

Keith Waldrop, professor emeritus, who died 27 July, is remembered in the New York Times.

Associate Professor Karan Mahajan's latest work of fiction, The True Margaret, may be read through the New Yorker's online site.

Keith Waldrop, recipient of the National Book Award in Poetry, died on 27 July 2023. Keith retired from Brown as Brooke Russell Astor Professor in 2011; a distinguished poet and translator, he was named Chevalier of Arts and Letters from the French government. Keith and his wife, Rosmarie, ran Burning Deck Press for over 50 years and published over 200 books.

Laura Colella is leading an intensive filmmaking course foregrounding hands-on collaborative work, giving students a chance to gain experience and confidence.

Aya Natalia Karpinska, MFA '03, was part of the design team that won the prestigious Core 77 Design Award for Interaction. The team created an augmented reality experience for a gallery of photographs in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.