Fantasizing about reading classic literature was (and still is) one of my favorite pastimes. So, when I got the opportunity to read works like Homer’s Illiad and Dante Alighieri’s Inferno with Professor Merkel, you could say that the dark academia wannabe in me was excited. Reading works like these were required for a class called “The Devil, the Hero, and God” which looked at literature that had these interactions.…
Elements of Haruki Murakami | Katie Davis (’26)
Haruki Murakami did not consider himself an author until the age of thirty, when, seemingly on a whim, he began to write his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, in the spring of 1978 after watching a baseball game. Since then, over twenty of his fictional novels have been translated into English, along with a number of non-fiction novels, essays, and short stories.…
Books To Add To Your Holiday Wish-List
The holidays are coming up– this is the perfect opportunity to expand your book collection and treat yourself to some new reads. Whether you are looking for an emotionally gripping book, captivating poetry, or a purely self-indulgent read, this list has the perfect story for you.
Fiction and Non-fiction Essays
The following recommendations are a collection of essays or feature elements of essay writing in their composition.…
The Brilliance of “Taxi Driver” (1976) | Peter Lujan (’23)
Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver is a film that changed my life. When people talk about the magic of cinema it is almost impossible to define. I think that you know it when you see it though. That could not be more the case than with Taxi Driver. This film has tremendously guided my personal work, as I plan on writing and directing feature films for the rest of my life.…
Battling Burnout | Katie Davis (’26)
The digital sphere has recently erupted with stories detailing young adults’ experiences with burnout. From blog posts to Instagram stories, many people have begun coming forward with stories of how they slid into burnout, all of which tend to follow a similar pattern.
Many testimonies begin with a high-achieving person, more often than not a woman, who begins by talking about her seemingly perfect life before developing burnout.…
Why Stories Are Important | Nora Domino (’24)
From the moment I could open my eyes and recognize words and pictures, I had a book in my hands. The first book I ever held was a cardboard copy of Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon, which was given to me by my parents. The cardboard copy was necessary as I tended to turn the pages of books excitedly, and my parents feared I would rip paper books to shreds.…
Why English? | Katie Davis (’26)
While I would love to tell a story about how I have known since birth that I would study literature and that I have had a career plan for years leading up to this moment, in reality, I chose to major in English on the day of fall registration. Even though I have always loved reading and telling stories, I went through school fully intending to major in vocal music education in spite of a history of voracious reading.…