by Patrick Coy-Bjork ‘24
At the start of each semester, we often have new faculty members becoming acquainted with the English Department for the first time. This semester, however, we’re fortunate to welcome back two familiar faces to the department: Professors Aurora Masum-Javed and Kerry Alexander!
Aurora Masum-Javed is a poet whose work has been published in numerous journals including Aster(ix), Black Warrior Review, and Nimrod. She received her MFA from Cornell University where she taught several courses related to creative writing. Aurora previously taught at Macalester between 2021-2023 with classes like “The Body & The State” and “Building Poetic Worlds.” This semester, Aurora is teaching an Introduction to Creative Writing Course (ENGL 150-04) as well as “Crafts of Writing: Poetry and Play” (ENGL 280-01), which is a course that focuses on bringing curiosity and delight into the practice of creating poetry.
Kerry Alexander is the co-founder and lead singer of the widely-celebrated indie pop band “The Bad Bad Hats,” which was formed at Macalester in the early 2010s. They have released three full-length albums and have performed at events like South by Southwest and Mac’s very own Springfest. Additionally, on a personal note, they’ve been one of my favorite bands since before I even came to Macalester! This will be Kerry’s first semester as a professor here, but she knows the department well, having majored in Creative Writing as a student. She is teaching “Three Chords and the Truth: Introduction to Songwriting” (ENGL 294-08), a course all about breaking down the components of songwriting and developing original work.
We’re so happy that we’ll be seeing these two on campus once again! Welcome back Aurora and Kerry!