Hendrix-Murphy Foundation - Programs in Literature and Language

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Hendrix-Murphy salutes all AAPI voices in literature. Fatimah Asghar is a poet who also writes 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, an Emmy-nominated web series that highlights friendships between women of color. In her collection 𝘐𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘴, Asghar discusses her childhood as a Pakistani-Kashmiri-American and references many culture-specific items and events. She writes, in a poem titled "Portrait of My Father, Alive," "at the pizza shop he eyes pepperoni... he orders a slice with no sauce / no cheese no toppings 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥? / just the bread he says & leaves carrying his naan home."

We had some amazing submissions this year for the Hendrix-Murphy Student and Alumni Playwriting Contests. However, two plays in each category came out on top. Of the student submissions, Avery Kennedy '22's 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘥𝘴 won first place and Sam Gibson '22's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘕𝘰 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 won second place. Of the alumni submissions, Jonah White '20's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘴 won first place and Ken Wrobel '86's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 won second place. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who submitted their work!

Congrats to our 2021 graduates! Be on the lookout for features of our Murphy Scholars graduates in the coming weeks.

I’m so excited to share the results of our spring tutorial course, The Hendrix Review, with you. This is one of my favorite courses I’ve ever taught, combining pop criticism with digital publishing. We read @NifMuhammad and @RGay and @JiaTolentino, among many others, and wrote about movies, music, food, art, games, and more. Launching today, Murphy Scholars at @hendrixcollege co-edited a web publication that you can view – The Hendrix Review – including a series of mini-reviews and now, Issue #1! Check us out and post about what you think. -- Dr. Erin Hoover (@erinhoover) Issue #1: Go to bit.ly/3hjMfvk

This spring, students in The Hendrix Review tutorial course taught by Dr. Erin Hoover produced a digital publication of popular criticism: a review of movies, politics, art, books, and more. The debut issue of The Hendrix Review -- written and edited entirely by Murphy Scholars -- launches Monday, May 10th! Here's a sneak peek: "[Show creator Sarah] Lampert amplifies the voice of single, young mothers in Ginny and Georgia while providing us with an enticing story about the mother-daughter duo." - Ishrar Islam

The day is here! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯, Hendrix's literary magazine, will hold its virtual release reception for Volume 36 at 5 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel. The reception will include readings from the winners of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Writing Contest and a discussion from the winners of the Hendrix Art Department Contest. Contact JohnsonQC@hendrix.edu with questions.

Fun fact: Hendrix-Murphy has a guest book that we ask all our visiting writers to sign. Going back to 2002, this is a star-studded log of famous autographs. For example, here’s a sweet message from 2x Murphy Visiting Director Gus Kaikkonen: "Neither snow nor ice nor COVID-19 stayed these Hendrix troupers from the swift completion of their "Dream." - Xox Gus Kaikkonen, Feb - March 2021

Today is Earth Day-- and what better way is there to celebrate the Earth than through poetry? Few poems describe the human love for nature as well as William Wordsworth's 𝘖𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥: And O, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves, Forebode not any severing of our loves! Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might; I only have relinquish'd one delight To live beneath your more habitual sway... May this excerpt help you recall your love for the Earth and encourage you to care for it.

Murphy Scholar Christian Maddox '22 was recently accepted to the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute sponsored by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As part of the application process, he proposed a research project to work on over the summer. Maddox says his project "involves analyzing the relationship between antiblackness... and antiradicalism." He believes this program will be a great opportunity in preparing his thesis, its research being "very important in explaining how the U.S. and other countries function to silence those that dare to make society better." Overall, he hopes that his work will "help uplift those voices that were and still are not able to speak for their work and dedication to helping communities."

Hope Coulter, Director of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language and award-winning writer, will read selections of her poetry at the Hendrix Day of Giving Virtual Happy Hour tonight at 7 p.m. Register here: bit.ly/3dxSCHO

Tomorrow, April 15, is the Word Garden Senior Showcase, where English-Creative Writing seniors Lily Bay, Kaitlyn Butler, Will Harris, Maia Henderson, Quinn Carver Johnson, and Nelly Omolo will read excerpts from their theses. Come support them at 7 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel.

Support Murphy Scholar Rosemarie Ochoa ’21 at the Day of Giving Virtual Luncheon as she shares the inspiration she has found studying Music and Spanish at Hendrix. Join tomorrow, April 13, at 11:30 a.m. Be sure to register for the event here: bit.ly/3cRcTJn

Tomorrow is your last opportunity this semester to attend a Murphy Visiting Writer's lecture! Live from Pakistan, Murphy Visiting Writer Mohsin Hamid will discuss his award-winning writing that explores multinational identity, immigration, and global politics. Join Thursday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel.

Enter Hendrix-Murphy's student and alumni playwriting contest for a chance to win $300 for 1st place or $100 for 2nd place! Manuscripts can run for no longer than 75 minutes. They must be submitted electronically (preferred) or in person at the Murphy House by Monday, April 12. Email vanaman@hendrix.edu to submit your manuscript, or to receive more info.

Our very own Dr. Alex Vernon, M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of English, is an advisor for Ken Burns' new documentary, 𝘏𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘢𝘺. He also is featured as a special guest on the Zoom event titled "Hemingway, Journalism and War," which can be found here: to.pbs.org/3dAoImy. Dr. Vernon has a final zoom event coming up on Thursday with the American Writers’ Museum, which you can register for here: bit.ly/3dFJWPE.

The 𝘖𝘹𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 is a leading literary magazine, based here in central Arkansas, that offers editorial internships year round. Join us tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel when seniors MiKayla Millard and Zelda Engeler-Young will describe their experiences interning at the publication. Email hendrix-murphy@hendrix.edu for more info.

We are happy to announce the Murphy Scholars Cohort of 2024! 32 first-year Hendrix students have been selected to be a part of the nationally recognized Murphy Scholars program, which will enable them to create literature and language focused projects, take an Oxford-style tutorial course, and graduate with distinction. For the full announcement, visit the link in our bio or go here: bit.ly/2O5278M

The Murphy Scholars Program is garnering national attention! Being featured on page 66 of the new @HumanitiesAll report, 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, spotlights how we’re doing our part to keep the humanities strong in what is often a STEM-dominated world. You can check out our feature as well as all the strategies here: bit.ly/3fq5EtQ

Tomorrow is one of the last Word Gardens of the semester! Support Leighton DeLaune, Sophie O’Reilly, Sophia Stolkey, and Tristam Williams Thompson as they read their creative work. Join tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel of the Hendrix Community Events Team.

Congratulations to Murphy Scholar Savannah Wiegel '21 for being named to the 53rd class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows! Savannah’s project, “Healing Words: Building Community Health through Narrative Medicine” will take her to Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, Guatemala, and Argentina, where she will explore the intersection of storytelling and medicine to inform public health initiatives. The Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent study outside the United States, awarded to graduating seniors nominated by one of 41 partner colleges. Wiegel is the 38th Hendrix student to receive a Watson Fellowship. Wiegel heard about the Watson Fellowship from Hendrix nominee Kaersti McLellan ’19, while they both participated in the group Odyssey project “Exploring Aspects of the Nicaraguan Healthcare System.” Their experience included traveling to Nicaragua to learn about how kidney transplants are conducted there. “Being in that global setting helped me realize my dream to become a Watson Fellow,” she said. When Wiegel’s interest in narrative medicine began, she viewed it primarily on the individual level: the importance of telling and understanding experiences and emotions shared in one-on-one patient interactions. “It wasn’t until halfway through my junior year that I saw the potential narrative could have in public health, especially in the context of a pandemic,” she said. “I knew I wanted to find a way to intertwine my passions for narrative medicine, science communication, and public health, and I’m so honored to be able to pursue my dream in a global context.” Reposted from @hendrixcollege