Leave Space for Kindness and Joy Every Day: An Interview with Jack Ridl

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department The co-founder of the Visiting Writers Series, Jack Ridl, taught at Hope College from 1971-2006. During this time, Jack mentored many students and fought to bring creative writing to life on Hope’s campus. All the while, Jack poured …

Faculty Spotlight: Angela Winsor, Assistant Professor of English

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department What class(es) are you teaching this year? What do you love about teaching? Likewise, could you describe what drew you to this field? I love helping emerging writers cultivate a sense of their own authorship and move in …

Through Reading and Writing, We Taste Enchantment

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department 2024 Critical Issues Symposium The Jack H. Miller auditorium fills slowly. There’s nothing special about today’s set-up, only a lectern poised in the center of the stage. It’s unassuming, even ordinary, a design choice that soon becomes clear. …

From Hope to Houston

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department Alumni Spotlight: Eileen Ellis (’23) What do you do now? And we’d love to hear a bit about how you got there as well. Currently, I am in my first semester in the University of Houston’s  M.F.A. in …

Writing That Reached Us

By Anna Snader ‘26, English Literature Major and Political Science Minor On September 30th at 7:00 pm, the Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series welcomed Heather Sellers, a former Hope professor, and Anna Gazmarian, a 2014 Hope alum, to read their work. After reading Devout by Anna Gazmarian and You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know …

English Course Preview – Spring 2025

Take a look at our upcoming offerings as you begin to plan. Be sure to make an appointment with your advisor if you are not sure which English classes to take in the spring.

Making Art Is A Kind Of Play: An Interview with Heather Sellers

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department For many writers, the name Heather Sellers is a familiar one—we’ve all used her textbook, The Practice of Creative Writing, in an Intro to Creative Writing class. This, however, is often the only contact we have with her …

Research Is No Solitary Sport

Discovering Chasing Beauty Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department Deep in the basement of the Van Wylen Library, you’ll find the Rare Books Room. Lining its walls are hundreds of books ranging from first-edition novels to tomes of Michigan history. It’s both atmospheric and …

“Arms Flung Open in the Pursuit of Beauty”

Written by Anna Stowe, Hope College Creative Writing Major and Student Managing Editor for the English Department On September 11, Winants Auditorium was filled with members of the Holland Community, students, professors, and friends, all gathered to discover the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Light filtered through the stained glass windows as the room rumbled …