The Words: November 2025
Fall 2025 Capstones
Another semester in the English & Creative Writing Department means another round of capstones showing off the wonderful work of our majors! This semester’s capstone class featured a creative writing section and a literature section presented on Tuesday, December 2 and Wednesday, December 3, with presenters from each class interspersed with one another. Projects ranged from novels to poetry collections to critical analyses. Read on to find out about what our spectacular scholars have been up to this semester.
Catching up with Professor Coral Lumbley
The Words got in contact with Professor Coral Lumbley, who is currently on sabbatical, and is a member of the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey this academic year.
Waffles and Goat Sweaters: Severance Screenwriter and Macalester alum shares wisdom with students
On Wednesday, November 19, Severance-, screenwriting-, and waffle-enthusiasts alike gathered in Old Main 111 for a conversation with screenwriter and Mac alum Megan Ritchie ’09, who appeared virtually. Because of Ritchie’s experience writing for the Emmy-winning and zeitgeist-y TV show Severance, refreshments consisted of apple juice and waffles—an allusion to one of the show’s most iconic and enigmatic symbols.
Alumni Spotlight: Chloë Moore ’24 talks poetry, public service, and the arc of the moral universe
This month, The Words reached out to English major Chloë Moore for an update on how things are going after graduation. Chloë, who served as a Senior Newsletter Editor for The Words during their time at Mac, generously told us all about their adventures back home in Ithaca, NY and in Missoula, MT, where they are currently pursuing an MFA in Poetry! We are so grateful to Chloë for their insights, stories, and photos, and we hope you enjoy the update.
Lucy Flack’s Study Abroad Experience
As I’m writing this, I am approaching my last month in Granada, Spain, for my study away term. There is a quote by Federico García Lorca—a famous poet, author, and playwright born and raised in Granada—that I think about daily when considering how to make the most of what’s left of my time here: “Verlo todo, sentirlo todo.” This roughly translates to: “See everything, feel everything.” And so, I’ve tried to see and feel everything I can while in Granada.
Words in the Wild: Jamila Sigal Vásquez
For this month’s edition of Words in the Wild, we sat down with senior Jamila Sigal Vásquez to learn more about Chanter. English and Creative Writing major, Jamila Sigal Vásquez, is the current Editor-in-Chief of Chanter, a student-run literary and art magazine. Chanter was founded in 1957 and “is now the oldest and longest-running student publication at Macalester College,” according to their website. After weekly open-to-all blind-selection meetings, followed by the staff and board copy-edit and layout process, Chanter publishes an issue at the end of each semester.
Student/Faculty Accolades
Read the monthly roundup of student/faculty accolades here.