Department News and Events

Dr. Heidi Williams' Ted Talk Published!

Check Out LLPs. Dr. Heidi Williams Ted Talk: "Homeschool to Higher Ed: The One Point That Matters Most"
"The United States spends billions of dollars each year on standardized testing. Imagine redistributing those funds into resources, smaller class sizes, and better pay for our hard-working educators and administrators. In this TEDxOldHickory talk, Dr. Heidi Williams, college professor and homeschool mom, discusses her personal experiences with standardized testing and why she endorses home education. " See video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwP2-w2iSdY

LLP partners with Southern Fesival of Books in hosting an Evening with Acclaimed Poet Terrance Hayes Oct. 18th

Terrance Hayes is the author of American Sonnets for My Past And Future Assassin and To Float In The Space Between: Drawings and Essays in Conversation with Etheridge Knight. To Float In The Space Between was winner of the Poetry Foundation’s 2019 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism and a finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. American Sonnets for My Past And Future Assassin won the Hurston/Wright 2019 Award for Poetry and the 2018 National Book Award in Poetry, the 2018 TS Eliot Prize for Poetry, and the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. New works for fall 2023 are a collection of poems, So To Speak, and collection of essays, Watch Your Language. Hayes is a Silver Professor of English at New York University. Hayes will host a special writer's workshop for TSU folks, and a Reading that is open to the public.   Learn more about the event here:  A Conversation with Terrance 

Introducing the new Social Media Intern: Amauri Barnes

Barnes is the LLP Social Media Intern.  She will find new and inventive ways to keep you informed.  She will manage the LLP Twitter, Facebook, Insta, and Blog Accounts with on the scene reporting and in-depth interviews. Her first blog has already been posted.  She writes: "I chose to minor in English because it supports me in every work field I could dream of pursuing. Someday I would love to teach either children or young adults in college." Check out her blog, and get reviews and all the news with Amauri.

PASS Tutoring is Back, Fall 2023

This semester, faculty members from the English department are working with Tiger Tutoring. Tutors will be available soon. This service is free to students. PASS is a great opportunity for students who need help with writing to receive immediate feedback from faculty.  Our writing tutors are equipped to help students at the University with various writing assignments and activities (within English department classes and beyond). They can assist the student at any stage of their writing process from brainstorming ideas to providing strategies for revision. For tutoring schedule and related information, visit the PASS Tutoring Webpage.

Soul Fire is Back!  "We Want Live Words!"

Soul Fire  Poetry Group and Workshop will return Fall 2019.  The first meeting of the semester will be held at  5 p.m., Weds., Sept. 6, On ZOOM . This departmental organization meets once a week to hone poetry writing and performance skills, organize open mic performances, and to workshop their ideas.  It features a Poet Mentor from Southern Word, who helps students craft their skills. Learn more about their efforts by clicking here: Soul Fire Mini-Documentary.

*Check Out Spoken Word Performances by the Soul Fire Members and Friends.

Faculty Adviser: Dr. Michelle J. Pinkard