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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Literary Festival Brings Prominent Pens to Villanova
This past semester, six literary luminaries
visited campus to read excerpts
from their oeuvres for the Department of
English’s 12th annual Villanova Literary
Festival, a celebration showcasing established
authors and rising stars.
The festival kicked off January 26 with
Elizabeth Strout, who read from the work
that earned her the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction: Olive Kitteridge, a collection of
stories about a woman and her family and
friends on the coast of Maine.
On February 18, Anthony Swofford,
whose Gulf War memoir Jarhead was made
into a movie in 2005, shared excerpts from
two works in progress.
On April 13, poet Ange Mlinko, a
native of Philadelphia who lives in Beirut,
read from her newest poetry collection,
Shoulder Season.
The Irish Studies Program co-sponsored
the April 20 twin billing: poets Peter
Fallon and Seamus Heaney. Fallon, who
served as the inaugural Heimbold Professor
of Irish Studies at Villanova in spring
2000, read poems from News of the World.
A leading poet of his generation,
Heaney received the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1995. He offered selections from
Opened Ground.
The festival concluded April 29 with
Arthur Phillips. The novelist shared
excerpts from The Song Is You, a 2009 New
York Times Notable Book.
The guests also spent time in the classroom
with students enrolled in Literary
Festival Workshop, a seminar co-taught by
visiting professor Daisy Fried and Professor
Alan Drew, the festival director.
“As a teacher and writer, I was gratified
to see the students engaged in a dialogue
with these impressive authors,” Prof.
Drew said. “They asked thoughtful questions
and showed they take the writing
process seriously.”
Elizabeth Strout, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction in 2009
Senior Presents Research at Notre Dame Conference
Diondra Burney ’10, a Sociology major
with minors in Africana Studies,
Biology and Spanish, presented her
research, “The Medical and Social Treatment
of Children with Special Needs in
Uganda,” at the Human Development
Conference at the University of Notre
Dame February 26-28. For Diondra, a
highlight of the conference was the
address to the participants by the Rev.
Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., president
emeritus of Notre Dame, whose involvement
in issues such as civil rights and
Third World development helped earn
him a Congressional Gold Medal.
In fall 2008, Diondra had studied in
Uganda—an experience she described as
“humbling and enlightening.” During a
six-week internship at CURE Children’s
Hospital of Uganda, she had observed the
confluence of traditional and modern
medical beliefs and practices.
After graduating, Diondra plans to attend
medical school and do a year of service.
Senior Diondra Burney (right) spends time with
two mothers whose babies are being treated at the
CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda.
46 Villanova Magazine