The Common Room at Yale

Sarah Pearl Heard

Sarah Pearl Heard '18 visits the Common Room to discuss how she came to Yale without losing her North Carolina roots, what drew her to the creative writing concentration, and how her writing life has evolved now that she's an educator.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 
 

Marta Figlerowicz

Associate Professor Marta Figlerowicz talks about how meme culture is like Roman pantomime and what it means to be gender queer in Poland.
Figlerowicz's books include Flat Protagonists and Spaces of Feeling.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Rob Long

Rob Long '87 is a writer, television producer, and political commentator who has written for Cheers and Kevin Can Wait. He discusses how he broke into Hollywood, and how he writes as himself no matter the medium.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

John Durham Peters

Professor John Durham Peters explains why the weather is wonderful, and reflects on religious faith and the power of reading.
His books include Promiscuous Knowledge and The Marvelous Clouds.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Alanna Hickey

Assistant Professor Alanna Hickey describes how 19th-century books with humanitarian aims can hide serious abuses of power, and asks what happens when institutions acknowledge that crucial knowledge production happens outside their walls?
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Meghan O‘Rourke

Writer, poet, and editor Meghan O'Rourke discusses the joys of editing and her goals as the incoming editor of the Yale Review. 
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Marcel Elias

Assistant Professor Marcel Elias talks about why some Medieval crusaders converted to Islam, and how exposure to new cultures made them reassess their lives at home.
Marcel's first book is Questioning the Crusades: Romance and History in Late Medieval England.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Kyung Mi Lee

Senior Kyung Mi (Kiki) Lee, the DE&I Committee's first undergraduate representative, shares the moment she first felt at home at Yale—and how she helps other first-generation college students do the same.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Feisal Mohamed

Feisal Mohamed talks about poetry, tyrannicide, and how a case of bad breath led to the fall of a king. 
Feisal's books include Sovereignty and Milton and the Post-Secular Present.
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19. 

Anne Fadiman

Anne Fadiman, Francis Writer in Residence, talks growing up the child of authors, and shares the writing advice that has galvanized her students for 17 years. 
Her books include The Wine Lover's Daughter and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. 
The Common Room is a production of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Yale Department of English. Cover art by Sarah Harford; audio production by Robert Scaramuccia '19.