Ten upper mids have been selected for the inaugural MacLeish Scholars Program this summer. The students will spend June 12-27 at Yale, where they will divide their time between researching literary materials in Yale’s Special Collections, writing their own creative pieces, and learning through hands-on experience the process of bookbinding, paper making, and letterpress printing. 

Instructor in English Jeffrey Blevins, who directs the program, announced the following upper mids as scholars:

Sarah Asante

Margo Donohue

Stephanie Ge

Keeilah Jewell

Rahul Kalavagunta

Ilene Park

Jerry Qiao

Isabel Su

Ha Trang Tran

Annie Xu

A committee of five teachers selected the cohort from a pool of 35 applicants. The selected students represent a broad range of literary interests, including some who have already begun working on their own novels, others who have written and published significant amounts of poetry, and still others who have been involved in literary research projects at institutions like the Library of Congress.

Of the scholars, Blevins noted that “this is a dynamic, high-powered group, one already producing college-level literary work, both analytical and creative. The goal of this program is to allow each student to pursue a completely personal set of passions and interests as writers and readers, and I’m excited to work with all of these students as they develop a plan for their particular research and creative projects. At the same time, I think this is a group that will collaborate exceedingly well, and I am eager to watch as they forge new intellectual and personal bonds with one another over the course of the summer and next year.”

Upon being selected as a scholar, Isabel Su commented: “I think this program is an incredible opportunity for us to explore our own various literary interests deeply, especially with the expert guidance of Dr. Blevins. I really hope to gain a deeper understanding of archival research and to successfully complete a project of my own, along with a body of creative writing. I'm also hopeful that the ten of us students, along with Dr. Blevins, will become a collaborative community that can enjoy each others' findings and successes.” 

Scholar Annie Xu said, “I look forward to exploring Yale’s extensive literary archive and seeking novel perspectives from the manuscripts and other primary sources. And I am excited to explore the intersection of my interests and Yale's holdings and potentially to arrive at exceedingly surprising and creative findings.”

The next step for scholars will be to gather for a series of meetings across the spring as they work to make a plan for their work in June. As part of these meetings, the program will invite a number of scholars of literature and practicing authors to speak with the group about different approaches to the study of English and creative writing.

The School is grateful for the generosity of Richard Bernstein ‘64, who is funding all costs associated with this program, making it free for participating students.

The scholar 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.