Professor Haynes Named Distinguished Scholar of the Year

Long Island University Professor of English and Film Studies Dr. Jonathan Haynes is the Lagos Studies Association’s 2019 Distinguished Scholar of the Year. 

Paul Ugor, Associate Professor at Illinois State University, nominated Dr. Haynes, writing: “Prof. Haynes’ research work in African literature and cinema marks him out as a scholar of towering international reputation whose persistence of scholarly inquiry into African modes of self-expression has secured legitimation for a field of study now known globally as Nollywood studies. … What Prof Haynes has achieved in African studies is truly remarkable and unprecedented, for very few people who invented a discipline still live amongst us in flesh and blood.”

You can read the full citation here.

Congratulations, Professor Haynes! This fall, he will teach ENG 580, a graduate level seminar on the contemporary African novel. 

Lewis Warsh and Barbara Henning reading at the Bobbie Louise Hawkins tribute

Professor Lewis Warsh and Barbara Henning (Professor Emerita) along with previous guests of the Creative Writing MFA program, Anne Waldman and Brenda Coultas, will pay tribute to Bobbie Louise Hawkins at the Poetry Project on Wednesday April 24. You can find more information about the event and a link below.

Bobbie Louise Hawkins (1930 - 2018) was the author of more than twenty books of poetry and prose and taught for more than thirty years at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. We are proud to remember Bobbie in this special event with readings and performances from Reed Bye, Brenda Coultas, Penelope Creeley, Sarah Hall Creeley, Jennifer Dunbar Dorn, Barbara Henning, Laird Hunt, Eileen Myles, Julie Patton, Eleni Sikelianos, Anne Waldman, and Lewis Warsh.

The event is free. You can find more details and register by clicking this link.

Update from Professor Haynes!

Professor Jonathan Haynes, celebrating a 20 year milestone at LIU, has been on sabbatical for the past year. He has shared some updates and photos of the work he has done during this time. 

With important people, including poet and Head of the UNILAG
English Department Hope Eghagha (left) and
poet and commentator Odia Ofeimun (center).

Professor Haynes has returned home after six months on a Fulbright at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He enjoyed the whole thing immensely. One of the best parts was a two-week trip to South Africa, sponsored by an additional Fulbright grant.

My research facility, UNILAG campus

Presentations delivered by Professor Haynes on his sabbatical:

“Storylines, Nigerian Filmmaking, and the Liberal Arts.” Keynote address, iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival, Lagos, March 2019.   

“The Nigerian Film Industry.” Honours Programme, AFDA, Johannesburg, March 2019.   

“No Condition is Permanent: Capitalist Integrations in Nollywood.” Keynote Address, Post-Graduate Conference, School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, March 2019. 

“The State of Nollywood’s Art: Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys.” Faculty of Arts Seminar, University of Lagos, February 2019; AC Jordan Chair in African Studies, Archie Mafeje Chair, English Department, and Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape Town, March 2019; Department of African Literature, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, March 2019.

Celebrating the birthday of novelist Igoni Barrett (left)
with music producer Bassey (center)
and man of letters Adewale Maja Pearce. 

With Yoruba film star Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka)

We're looking forward to welcoming Professor Haynes back to campus in the fall!

Cape Town is fun!

University of Cape Town

English / Philosophy / Foreign Languages Faculty Milestones!

A hearty congratulations to our esteemed English / Philosophy / Foreign Languages faculty for reaching milestones in their teaching career at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus.

Professor Srividhya Swaminathan (English) was honored for 15 years at LIU Brooklyn!

Professor Swaminathan, front row on the far right in the gray cardigan.

Professors Margaret Cuonzo (Philosophy), Jonathan Haynes (English), and Gregary Racz (Foreign Languages) were honored for 20 years at LIU Brooklyn! Professor Haynes began his tenure at LIU Southhampton before its closure, then joining the faculty at Brooklyn.

Professor Racz, back row on the far left and Professor Cuonzo, back row on the far right.

Lastly, Professor Robert Pattison (English) was honored for an astounding 40 years teaching at LIU! He also began his tenure at LIU Southhampton before it closed, which is when he joined the faculty in Brooklyn.

Congratulations to our faculty, and thank you for your dedication to LIU students!

Paumanok Lecture with John Keene, April 10th.

Please join us in the Kumble Theater on April 10 for this year's Paumanok lecture with novelist and  2018 MacArthur Fellow, John Keene! 

This event is free and open to the public. Please find all pertinent details on the flier below.

Undergraduate Courses: Summer & Fall 2019

One day fiction workshop with Idra Novey!

Idra Novey is coming to LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, April 6 for a one day master class fiction workshop! This workshop is open to the public.

Please see the flier for all pertinent details.

You can RSVP by sending an email to bkln-creativewriting@liu.edu

Chia-Lun Chang awarded Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship

Congratulations are in order to MFA alum, Chia-Lun Chang (2014), one of ten literature fellows selected for the inaugural Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, a two year program supporting fellows in "the creation of new work, research, travel, development of new skills and/or other needs directly related to artistic and career development as defined by the Fellow."

You can read Chia-Lun's bio and artist statement here.

Special recognition was given to Naomi Jackson, named a finalist for her outstanding application. Jackson visited LIU in November 2018 and led a one day master class fiction workshop.

Congratulations, Chia-Lun and Naomi!

Campus Community Urban Sustainability Program: Waterfront Design Talk

The Campus Community Urban Sustainability Program is sponsoring an event 7-8 pm, Thursday, February 14, in LLC 116 featuring a talk by Owen Foote from the Gowanus Dredgers ​Canoe Club on waterfront design. Please see the flier below for more information:

If attending, please click the link to RSVP on Eventbrite. You can also visit the Facebook page event.

Cynthia Cruz one day workshop at LIU Brooklyn!

Join us at LIU Brooklyn where Cynthia Cruz will be giving a one day master class poetry workshop on Saturday February 23! The event runs from from 11 AM to 5 PM and is meant to generate new work. 

This event is open to the public. Please note the request to RSVP to bkln-creativewriting@liu.edu on the flier so we know how many people to expect.

Any inquiries about the workshop can also be sent to the above email to Jacob Matkov's attention.

Cynthia Cruz is the author of Dregs (Four Way Books, 2018), How the End Begins (Four Way Books, 2016), Wunderkammer (Four Way Books, 2014), The Glimmering Room (Four Way Books, 2012), and Ruin (Alice James, 2006). She is the editor of an anthology of contemporary Latina poetry, Other Musics: New Latina Poetry, as well as Disquieting: Essays on Silence, a collection of essays about silence as a form of resistance, both forthcoming in 2019. She has published poems in numerous literary journals and magazines including the New Yorker, Kenyon Review, the Paris Review, and the Boston Review, as well as essays, interviews, book and art reviews in the LA Review of Books, Hyperallergic, Guernica, The American Poetry Review, and The Rumpus. The recipient of fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and a Hodder fellowship from Princeton University, Cruz teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She currently lives in Brooklyn.