Providence College's Department of English

08/28/2025

Hello, Class of 2029!
We couldn’t be more excited to welcome you to Providence College Department of English—where your journey toward growth, friendship, and opportunity begins.
Over the next few years, you’ll discover your passions, meet lifelong friends, and shape your own future in ways you never imagined.
We’re here to support you—academically, socially, and wholeheartedly. So get ready to dive in:
Tip 1: Explore—join clubs, attend events, make your community yours.
Tip 2: Connect—with your advisors, faculty, and peers: your support network starts now.
Tip 3: Breathe—new beginnings can feel big. You’ve got this.

Class of 2029, your chapter starts now. Welcome home Friars!

05/06/2025

We will miss you every day, Bruce Graver. You've inspired us to be better citizens, mentors, and scholars. Most of all, we will miss the countless ways in which you have enriched everyday life in Ruane with your generosity and good humor, or as someone more poetic might say, your "little, nameless, unremembered, acts/ Of kindness and of love" that we will feel each time we think of you! Enjoy your retirement!!

04/23/2025

Yesterday, we celebrated the launch of the 2025 edition of The Alembic Journal! A heartfelt thank you to all the family, friends, and faculty who came out to support us.
Students — if you'd like a free copy, stop by the front desk at Phillips Memorial Library. A special shoutout of thanks to The Alembic advisor, Prof. Emily Pittinos and to Phillips Memorial Library for the collaboration!

Interested in joining The Alembic team? Reach out to The Alembic at [email protected].
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02/14/2025

Join us for a reading & Q/A with New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People.

Providence College Department of English, The School of Arts and Sciences & Institutional Advancement present "An evening with Alison Espach".

Alison Espach is the New York Times best-selling author of The Wedding People, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a TODAY Show Book Club pick, a Barnes and Noble Book Club Pick, and the #1 Indie Next Pick for August 2024. She is also the author of Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, a Chicago Tribune and NPR “Best Book of 2022,” as well as The Adults, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Barnes and Noble Discover pick. Her fictional audio series In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People is an Audible Original. She has written for McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, LitHub, Joyland and other places. She lives and teaches creative writing at Providence College.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Fiondella Great Room
Ruane Center for the Humanities
Book signing and refreshments to follow

Scan the QR Code with your mobile device to RSVP

10/29/2024

Join us for an inspiring evening with award-winning poet Monica Youn! Enjoy a reading from her latest collection, FROM FROM (Graywolf Press, 2023), followed by light refreshments.

Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Time: 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Location: Ruane Fiondella Great Room

10/22/2024

The missing link between Mary Shelley’s novel and the iconic Karloff film, PEGGY WEBLING AND THE STORY BEHIND FRANKENSTEIN tells how Peggy Webling, a British novelist and playwright, came to write the stage play of Frankenstein, based on “Mrs. Shelley’s well known book.” You’ll learn about her life before and after she wrote Frankenstein, how the play was written and produced, and its sale to Hollywood. You’ll also find out how her conception of Frankenstein contrasts with earlier stage and screen versions, as well as how her version of the Frankenstein story influenced the 1931 Universal film starring Boris Karloff.

This story has never been told before.

Why? Until now, no one has had all the information necessary to stitch the entire history of Webling’s Frankenstein together. Using a private family archive containing playscripts, letters and an unpublished literary memoir, Greenbaum and Graver have, for the first time, assembled the complete chronicle of Peggy Webling’s Frankenstein and its journey to Hollywood.

07/18/2024

04/30/2024

The consistent stream of students and alumni who have joined Graver at Wordsworth conferences through the years highlight his tenure at PC.

04/22/2024

The Department of English to host its annual Senior Symposium and Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Monday, May 6, 2024 in Slavin Overlook Lounge from 9:00am – 4:00pm.

This is a celebration of the scholarly achievement of our students, and one of the most important events of our academic year. Presentations will be occurring throughout the day. Feel free to come for all or part of the event. Please join us in support of our students and share in their fascinating projects. .congress.2024 congress.2026 .congress2027

04/17/2024

Professor Bruce Graver and Dorian Greenbaum are excited to be appearing as special guests on the SCARE U podcast, on which they discuss their new book, Peggy Webling and the Story Behind Frankenstein, and the Universal monster classic BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN with co-hosts Bradford Louryk and Eric Winick. SCARE U is a 'horror school' covering classics and underappreciated gems, with special guests, so please listen wherever you find your podcasts or visit https://scareupod.com/bride-of-frankenstein-1935. .congress.2024
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04/11/2024

Conversations with scholars about a world of ideas. Listen to Dr. Rodriguez's interview, English professor at Providence College and author of "Walk the Barrio". In the U.S., Hispanic neighborhoods sit at an intersection of American and Latin identities. Christina Rodriguez says these barrios play a big part in Latinx literature, but you’ve got to walk their streets to know how.

Episode 2 in our series, funded by National Endowment for the Humanities' Connecting Through Culture initiative, is out now!

Featuring Virginia Tech's Katrina Powell, Virginia Commonwealth University's Cristina Stanciu, Providence College's Cristina Rodriguez, and Restless Books' Ilan Stavans.

Listen here, the radio, or your fav podcast app:
https://www.withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/united-we-stand-the-peoples-tongue/

04/03/2024

What can you do with an English major?

The answer involves a remarkable — and lucrative, and ridiculous — scheme to game the way we find music today.