The Words: April 2025
MFA Acceptances to Celebrate in the English and Creative Writing Department
The Words has some very exciting news about some of our English and Creative Writing alums that have recently been accepted into fully-funded MFA programs across the country. We are highlighting Miriam Ruiz ’24, Chloe Moore ’24, Charley Eatchel ’23 and Colleen Apostle ’23 with their amazing accomplishments.
Sarah Ghazal Ali and Sally Franson Finalists for MN Book Awards
As testament to the literary genius of Macalester English department professors, Minnesota Book Award judges selected the work of poetry Theophanies by Professor Sarah Ghazal Ali and the novel Big in Sweden by former Professor Sally Franson as 2025 finalists. Both works were selected by a panel of 30 judges from across the state and stand as one of four finalists in each genre.
MacSlams’ winning trifecta at the Midwest Poetry Mash-up
This past weekend, MacSlams, Macalester’s competitive slam poetry team, upheld their title as reigning champions at the third annual Midwest Poetry Mash-up. During April 25-26th, MacSlams co-leaders Adrien Wright ’25 and Veronica Kruschel ’25 joined with Tommy Fowler ’25 and former co-leader Kendall Kieras ’24 competed together against nine other teams at OpenBook, a Minneapolis-based literary center.
Honors Insights with English and Creative Writing Seniors
This year, the English and Creative Writing department has six seniors, Carling McQuinn, Katherine Norquist, Liam Lynch, Sofia Vaz, Rachel Kelly and Birdie Keller, doing Honors projects, all varying in topics and genres. The Words were able to get some information about their projects. You don’t want to miss out on knowing what their projects encapsulate.
10th Annual Apps & Alums: More Apps, More Alums
As has become tradition here in the Macalester English and Creative Writing department, the first Friday of April this year saw Mac students past and present convene in the Smail Gallery of Olin Rice for Apps & Alums. This year marked the 10th annual Apps & Alums which our very own Macalester chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society (EHS), produces each spring. As one of your EHS officers along with Leah Wasson and Natalie Mazey, I am pleased to report that once again, Apps & Alums was a smashing success!
Bookstores of the Twin Cities: Uncle Edgar/Hugo’s, Tropes and Trifles
Welcome back to Bookstores with Birdie! For this issue, I expanded my bookstore adventures from Saint Paul to Minneapolis. Read on to experience the magic of books, stickers, zines, and stuffed animals that I discovered waiting for me there.
From the Mac Weekly: English department Literary Salons: Fostering community
Eagle-eyed viewers of the Mac Daily and Old Main frequenters alike may have noticed an event advertised as the English department’s Literary Salons. Occurring during the department’s weekly Coffeehouse slot from 4:30-5:30, people may have wondered: “What’s that all about?” We can tell you!
Faculty Favorites: Bookstores!
Welcome back to faculty favorites! Read on to find out more of our wonderful professors’ favorite bookstores:
Student/Faculty Accolades
Read the monthly roundup of student/faculty accolades here.