GW Department of English shot of a group of students in class discussing a text

#GWBookLife

You’re invited to join #GWBookLife for a virtual book club series with the Creative Writing & English Departments.  Our selected titles raise up black voices & writers from historically marginalized communities, and allow us to connect during a time of isolation and uncertainty.  Beginning in July, we’ll share passages with you on the GW English Department’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. We hope you'll share your thoughts and responses, and ask questions too. 

 

* #GWBookLife launches Monday, July 6.  We read 12-15 pages per day.  Print out the #GWBookLife bookmark and schedule!  If you skip a day, you can always catch up!  

* Over the next several months, join the convo on Twitter with #GWBookLife and #GWTweets @gwengl.  Follow along, tell us what you think, share your witty observations & ideas, keep in touch with your lit community and friends. 

* Round one will be led by Professor Annie Liontas on Twitter @aliontas using #GWBookLife to organize the ongoing conversation.

* Our first title is the debut novel Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Chicago’s Gabriel Bump.  Grab your copy from your local bookstore ASAP!  

* Gabriel Bump plans to follow along & might even drop by for a chat!

 

“A sharply funny debut novel that introduces an irreverent comic voice.  Bump tells the story of Claude Mckay Love, a young boy who has been abandoned by his selfish parents in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. Raised by his spirited grandmother and her close friend Paul, a lovelorn queer man who suffers tragedy after romantic tragedy, Claude chases affection in a community where yearning is everywhere but real intimacy can be hard to come by. But when a street gang–cum–political party called the Redbelters, led by the incorrigible demagogue Big Columbus, instigates a riot after a police killing of a young boy, Claude's entire life is turned upside down.”—Kirkus Review 

 

Everywhere You Don't Belong

 

a community of scholars and creative writers
engaging with literature in national and global contexts.

 

Who We Are

GW Department of English 3 students discussing in a classroom

 

The George Washington University Department of English offers comprehensive training in critical theory and literary and cultural studies, exposing students to a diversity of texts across global and transnational lines.

From Beowulf to Derek Walcott, from Virginia Woolf to Sojourner Truth, courses explore the human experience with thoughtful attention to style and content. Undergraduate and graduate students trace the ways in which English expressions can bridge cultures and shape perception, whether through ancient manuscripts, hip hop lyrics or graphic novels.

Beyond the classroom, the English Department hosts seminars and lectures on poetry, drama, film, literature and theory for the GW campus community. Our location in the heart of Washington, D.C., provides rich opportunities for internships and scholarly research — from the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library to the Washington Metropolitan Area Consortium of Local Universities.

 

Our Programs

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Undergraduate Programs

The department provides a unique learning experience for talented students to work directly with some of the nation's top scholars. Our creative writing program guides students from introductory courses to advanced seminars on poetry and novel-writing.

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Graduate Programs

Our Master of Arts program provides high-level training in literature and culture, while the PhD program offers focused scholarship on American literature and culture, British and postcolonial studies, crip/queer studies and medieval and early modern studies.

 

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