More autographs from our vault are on their way! First, we have Little Rock native Trenton Lee Stewart '92, who is known for his New York Times Best Selling series, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺. He has visited Hendrix three times as a Murphy Visiting writer and was a Murphy Visiting Writer-in-Residence in 2019. Can you tell what his autograph of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 (2016) says?
Today we celebrate Juneteenth with Robert Hayden's 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, a sonnet that defines freedom by recognizing one of the main figures who fought for it:
When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful
and terrible thing, needful to man as air,
usable as earth; when it belongs at last to all,
when it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole,
reflex action; when it is finally won; when it is more
than the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians:
this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negro
beaten to his knees, exiled, visioning a world
where none is lonely, none hunted, alien,
this man, superb in love and logic, this man
shall be remembered. Oh, not with statues’ rhetoric,
not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone,
but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives
fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.
Murphy Scholar Savannah Wiegel '21 is a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major who graduated 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with many departmental honors in addition to winning a prestigious Watson Fellowship. An aspiring physician, she is fascinated by the roles that storytelling and communication play in healthcare, an interest reflected in her Murphy Scholar projects: the Conway Regional Medical Spanish Translation Project, the Narrative Medicine Reading Group and Conference, a Japanese language course, a personal writing workshop, and the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Essential Skills Program. Savannah also attended Hendrix-in-Madrid, went on the Spanish Civil War trip in Spain, and was a Spanish House resident. Congrats, Savannah! You've played a large role in the Hendrix community, and your awards and honors are well deserved.
Murphy Scholar Rosemarie Ochoa '21 graduated 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with distinction in both Music and Spanish. Her Murphy Scholar projects include the Ida Burns Reading Program where she read to elementary schoolchildren, the Spanish Civil War Trip in Spain, and attending Hendrix-in-Madrid. As a testament to her varied interests, Rosemarie also earned the Hendrix Choir Student Recognition Award as well as Phi Beta Kappa membership. Congrats, Rosemarie-- may your love for language carry you far!
Murphy Scholar Kailey Miller '21 graduated 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with distinction in both Odyssey and her major, Interdisciplinary Studies: Political Communications. Her Murphy Scholar projects include taking Arabic language lessons, going on the Spanish Civil War Trip, attending the workshop "Tell Us Something about Yourself: Write a Great Personal Statement in 5 Days," completing a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification course, and taking a Korean language course and lessons. With everything Kailey has accomplished, it's no wonder that she earned Phi Beta Kappa membership. Congrats, Kailey!
Murphy Scholar Mallory Magruder '21 graduated with distinction in Sociology/Anthropology with an emphasis in Sociology. It’s no surprise that she won the Murphy Scholars Program’s “Farthest Travelled” Award: she studied abroad in Morocco and Ghana, and while in Ghana took language lessons in the Twi dialect. Mallory also earned the Juanita D. Sandford Social Justice Award. We loved having her in the Murphy Scholars program, and are excited to see where life takes her next. Congrats, Mallory!
Murphy Scholar Quinn Carver Johnson '21 majored in English-Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Studies: Performance Studies. Quinn's time in the Murphy Scholars Program has yielded projects such as participation in the Southern Festival of Books, an intensive study on Murphy Visiting Writers Nickole Brown & Jessica Jacobs, and attending two workshops at the Brooklyn Poets organization. Quinn graduated 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with distinction in both majors, and earned the Isaac Andrew Campbell Memorial Prize and the McCuistion English Prize. We hope your love for writing and performance continues for a lifetime, Quinn!
The Murphy Scholars Program is sad to bid farewell to Dr. Martin Shedd, Murphy Visiting Fellow in Classics, who has made boundless gifts of time, creativity, energy, and positivity as a mentor in the program. He has developed and led new projects, encouraged students to reach for new goals in literature and language, and supported Murphy Scholars, colleagues, and co-workers alike through a hard couple of years. Now his visiting position is over, and he’s moving on to new horizons. Martin, we will miss you hugely and we wish you all the best!
The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation’s core program, the Murphy Scholars Program in Literature and Language, has an opening for a two-year position to begin this August: the Murphy Visiting Fellow in English/creative writing. Further details are available at bit.ly/3g2btfE or the link in our bio.
The Murphy Scholars Program is sad to bid farewell to Dr. Erin Hoover, Murphy Visiting Fellow in English/creative writing, who has made boundless gifts of time, creativity, energy, and positivity as a mentor in the program. She has developed and led new projects, encouraged students to reach for new goals in literature and language, and supported Murphy Scholars, colleagues, and co-workers alike through a hard couple of years. Now her visiting position is over, and she’s moving on to new horizons. Erin, we will miss you hugely and we wish you all the best!
The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation’s core program, the Murphy Scholars Program in Literature and Language, has an opening for a two-year position to begin this August: the Murphy Visiting Fellow in English/creative writing. Further details are available at https://jobapply.page.link/Uwi7.
Murphy Scholar Zelda Engeler-Young ’21 is an English-Literary Studies major who graduated 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with many departmental honors. During her time in the Murphy Scholars Program she completed a host of Murphy Scholar projects, including the 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘕𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 editing project, an intensive study of visiting writer Sy Montgomery, the Roman Comedy Reading Group & Hendrix Latin Play, and the Hendrix-Murphy 𝘖𝘹𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 Editorial Internship. Zelda also attended the Hendrix-in-Madrid program, the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference, a personal writing workshop, and the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) Conference, and was a Writing Center Associate. When reflecting on her experience as a Writing Associate, Zelda says, "Every time that look of awe and comprehension flashed across the face of a student with whom I was working, I felt a deep, fulfilling joy that I haven’t felt in any other work I’ve done." You've been a crucial part of the Hendrix community, Zelda, and your Citizen Scholar Award is well deserved-- congrats!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
—Katherine Lee Bates, 1895
We remember.
Murphy Scholar Danielle Dilday ’21 is a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major. Her Murphy Scholar projects include the Hendrix Latin Play, the Ida Burns Reading Program where she read to elementary school children, and the "Writing for Animals" online workshop. Indeed, Danielle's experience with the children at Ida Burns "turned out to be more than just another bullet point to add under the ‘Volunteer Experience’ section of my resume. I learned, in more aspects than one, about the true value of reading.” It's wonderful to see how Murphy Scholar projects can influence a Scholar's view of literature and language. After years of exploring what Hendrix-Murphy has to offer, Danielle graduated 𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 with distinction in her major. Congrats, Danielle!
Among Hendrix’s new graduates are 22 Murphy Scholars in Literature and Language—students from a range of majors who share a passion for creative writing, drama, language learning, and lit studies, and got to pursue those interests with extra resources and mentorship during their time in college. Today we feature Amy Cabrera ’21. An Economics and Business major, Amy spent a lot of time in the realms of service, literature, and language. Her Murphy Scholar projects include volunteering with AR Kids Read, an internship at El Zócalo Immigrant Resource Center, and a poetic interpretation of immigrant experiences, “Los Fantasmas de Esperanza." During her time at Hendrix, she definitely made an impact as a leader, earning the Alice Hines Award for Excellence in Multicultural Leadership and Service and the Student Impact Award. Amy says that the Murphy Scholars in Literature and Language program "has offered me so many opportunities to not only embrace my own creativity, but also embrace all aspects of me into what I love of literature and language.” Congrats on your amazing accomplishments, Amy!
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Hendrix-Murphy salutes all AAPI voices in literature. Fatimah Asghar is a poet who also writes 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, an Emmy-nominated web series that highlights friendships between women of color. In her collection 𝘐𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘴, Asghar discusses her childhood as a Pakistani-Kashmiri-American and references many culture-specific items and events. She writes, in a poem titled "Portrait of My Father, Alive," "at the pizza shop he eyes pepperoni... he orders a slice with no sauce / no cheese no toppings 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥? / just the bread he says & leaves carrying his naan home."
We had some amazing submissions this year for the Hendrix-Murphy Student and Alumni Playwriting Contests. However, two plays in each category came out on top. Of the student submissions, Avery Kennedy '22's 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘥𝘴 won first place and Sam Gibson '22's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘕𝘰 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 won second place. Of the alumni submissions, Jonah White '20's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘴 won first place and Ken Wrobel '86's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 won second place. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who submitted their work!
Congrats to our 2021 graduates! Be on the lookout for features of our Murphy Scholars graduates in the coming weeks.
I’m so excited to share the results of our spring tutorial course, The Hendrix Review, with you. This is one of my favorite courses I’ve ever taught, combining pop criticism with digital publishing. We read @NifMuhammad and @RGay and @JiaTolentino, among many others, and wrote about movies, music, food, art, games, and more. Launching today, Murphy Scholars at @hendrixcollege co-edited a web publication that you can view – The Hendrix Review – including a series of mini-reviews and now, Issue #1! Check us out and post about what you think. -- Dr. Erin Hoover (@erinhoover)
Issue #1: Go to bit.ly/3hjMfvk
This spring, students in The Hendrix Review tutorial course taught by Dr. Erin Hoover produced a digital publication of popular criticism: a review of movies, politics, art, books, and more. The debut issue of The Hendrix Review -- written and edited entirely by Murphy Scholars -- launches Monday, May 10th!
Here's a sneak peek: "[Show creator Sarah] Lampert amplifies the voice of single, young mothers in Ginny and Georgia while providing us with an enticing story about the mother-daughter duo." - Ishrar Islam
The day is here! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯, Hendrix's literary magazine, will hold its virtual release reception for Volume 36 at 5 p.m. in the Hendrix-Murphy Events channel. The reception will include readings from the winners of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Writing Contest and a discussion from the winners of the Hendrix Art Department Contest. Contact JohnsonQC@hendrix.edu with questions.
Fun fact: Hendrix-Murphy has a guest book that we ask all our visiting writers to sign. Going back to 2002, this is a star-studded log of famous autographs. For example, here’s a sweet message from 2x Murphy Visiting Director Gus Kaikkonen:
"Neither snow nor ice nor COVID-19 stayed these Hendrix troupers from the swift completion of their "Dream." - Xox Gus Kaikkonen, Feb - March 2021
