For acclaimed novelist and Pomona professor Jonathan Lethem, curiosity is central to the writing process. Lethem came to Pomona in 2010, succeeding David Foster Wallace as the Roy Edward Disney ’51 Professor of Creative Writing. Bianca Mirica PO ’29 sat down to interview the writer on the practices that define both his teaching and his work.
Tag: English
For the love of the game: 5C alumni discuss working in Hollywood
Part of Pomona College’s Humanities Toolkit Series, a Feb. 7 panel highlighted alumni of the English and Media Studies departments who have pursued and found success in Hollywood careers. The alumni –– Lucas Rojas PO ’12, Nick Hurwitz PO ’12, Steph Saxton PO ’12 and Nelson Cole PO ’16 –– describe how they navigated the tumultuous world of the entertainment industry post-graduation.
School Survival Guide: Why I chose a major of passion over one of prestige
Norah Mannle CM ’27 discusses whether to chase your passion or an ideal career when choosing a major, and how to balance the two seemingly stratified options.
Moments to Savor: caffeinated confessions from a novel English major
Emily Kim PO ’25 talks about how her sense of connection within Pomona’s English community was fostered through an evening of boba tea.
Lost in Translation: Embracing the violence of translation
Reflecting on the texts we’ve read in translation at the 5Cs, columnist Claire Welch SC ’27 explores the imperfect nature of literary translation and how it relates to learning new languages.
Homegrown talent: 5C alums turned novelists speak on their debut novels
On Mar. 20, four 5C alumni novelists Francesca Capossela PO ’18, David Connor PO ’15, Julius Taranto PO ’12 and Tyriek White PZ ’13 shared excerpts from their debut novels and discussed their career trajectories. The event was organized by Pomona English professor Jonathan Lethem. Excerpts explored themes such as surrealism, intergenerational ties, trauma, supernatural and grief.
American in Paris: Love language(s)
As a student studying abroad in France, TSL columnist Tania Azhang PZ ‘25 is ruminating on the role of language in her experience.
OPINION: Not speaking your parents’ native language doesn’t make you a bad Asian American
Not speaking our parents’ native language fluently is not a result of our personal failures but rather the result of our circumstances and upbringing, argues Alexander Chao PO ‘25.
OPINION: Speaking multiple languages should be a requirement, not a bonus
Speaking multiple languages opens doors to new experiences across the world and should be a requirement of education.
OPINION: Edit and Delete: How Standard English grammar promotes silence
Things that make my skin crawl: nails on a chalkboard, loud gum-chewing, and hearing someone say “less” when they really should have said “fewer.” With a former English professor for a mother, my latter pet peeve makes sense; ‘proper’ grammar has always come easily and been important to me. As