Community Outreach
See also: Conferences, Workshops, & Special Events | Faculty Outreach | Ongoing Programs
"Expanding the Audience for Literature"
The Department of English sponsors a wide variety of outreach programs, which provide both formal and informal instruction to the greater Knoxville community on topics related to literature and writing.
Many of these efforts are made possible in part through the generous support of the John C. Hodges Better English Fund, which was established by Professor John C. Hodges of the English Department before his death in 1967 to enhance the offerings of the department. Many are also cosponsored by other departments and programs on campus, by community-based institutions such as the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Knoxville Writers' Guild, and by local public schools.
Brian N. Conley Young Writers’ Institute
For
the past 15 years, UT faculty members and
students have inspired area high school students and
their teachers to write prose and poetry.
More than 1,300 students have attended the annual
daylong workshop, which is free and offers lunch.
Formerly known as the Young Writers’ Institute, the program was renamed to honor UT alumnus and former Metro Pulse owner Brian N. Conley, who gave an endowment to the program a decade ago, ensuring that it will continue for many years to come.
For more information about this program, CLICK HERE.
Faculty Radio Interviews
Our faculty participate in local, national, and international radio programs on their areas of expertise, and the programs they participate on are sometimes archived.
Amy Elias, a specialist in contemporary fiction and the author of Sublime Desires: History and Post-1960s Fiction, discusses the meaning of “postmodernism” on a National Public Radio program, “To the Best of our Knowledge.” CLICK HERE, go to the August 3, 2008, broadcast at noon (the one which also includes an interview with Salman Rushdie), and click “listen.” Amy’s interview begins around 16 minutes and 30 seconds into the broadcast.
Margaret Dean, our new Professor of Creative Fiction, was interviewed in August of 2007 on the Public Radio International program, “Here and Now,” about her novel which touches on the Challenger disaster, The Time It Takes to Fall. CLICK HERE, then click on “listen,” when the new page opens. The paperback edition of the novel came out earlier this year.