Kelly Writers House Programs

The Junior Research Seminar is designed to introduce English majors to methodologies currently employed in literary studies.

Organized and hosted by Davy Knittle, "City Planning Poetics" holds events that invite one or more poets and one or more planners, designers, planning historians or others working in the field of city planning to discuss a particular topic central to their work, to ask each other questions, and to read from their current projects.

Colleagues and friends read and share memories of Nina Auerbach.

Poet and translator Ellen Dor eacute Watson directs the Poetry Center at Smith College and has translated a dozen books from the Brazilian Portuguese, most notably poetry by Brazilian Ad eacute Prado.

Our student-run open mic night welcomes all kinds of readings, performances, spectacles, and happenings.

“Stand-Ups Sitdown” is an annual series that features stand-up comedians in conversation with eminent TV comedy writer (and Penn alumnus) Lew Schneider.

Students share their works and personal connections to the Writers House for admitted students visiting during Quaker Days.

What does it mean when one of the greatest songwriters of the past century -- and the recent winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature -- devotes that much energy to songs written by other writers?

This program features a short reading by three English-language poets of their work, originally written in German, Yiddish and Russian, and translated into English, followed by a discussion of poetry, translation and creativity, moderated by Al Filreis.

Stephen Metcalf, critic-at-large and columnist at Slate magazine and Wesley Morris, critic-at-large for The New York Times, join in discussion with Al Filreis.