English

Teaching the principles and mechanics of good writing has been a Hotchkiss tradition since its founding. English classes at Hotchkiss are designed to help students discover and harness the power of language through careful reading and analysis of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and plays. Essays and writing assignments help students sharpen their critical thinking skills, develop their voices, and deepen their understanding of literature.
 

Summer Reading: Required Texts for 2023

Meet English Department Faculty Members



MacLeish Scholars Program

The MacLeish Scholars Program is named in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Archibald MacLeish, Class of 1911. MacLeish graduated from Yale and authored more than 50 works of poetry, nonfiction, and drama.

The program affords students the chance to undertake archival research on a literary subject, complete a substantial creative writing project, and practice classical forms of papermaking, bookbinding, and letterpress printing. The program takes place over two weeks each June at Yale's Beinecke Library. The summer program is followed by a year-long Honors course in which students build their summer research into a substantial senior thesis.

Program applications are accepted each winter, and a committee of teachers reviews materials and conducts interviews. Ten students are selected for the program by early spring, and preparation for the program begins immediately upon selection.

Read recent article about the program.

All costs associated with the program are covered through a generous grant from Richard Bernstein '64.