Prose of the Month: How to Grapple with the Fact That You Will Never Be Extraordinary by Caitlyn Ladd

How to Grapple with the Fact That You Will Never Be Extraordinary First, you must know that one day you will be asked a question you cannot answer. It does not matter how prepared you may be, or how many times you rehearse your reply to the unknown query: it is not a response to be spoken aloud. The next few steps will be critical to your understanding of what…

Prof. Morín’s Poetry Reading and Book Launch

Fairy lights twinkled against the dark bluing night sky as the murmur of the audience drifted in waves, carried by the breeze, weaving in and out of rows of seats, dissipating towards the front, where a wooden lectern stood against the red-bricked background of Rice University’s Ray’s Courtyard. It is here that poet Dave Lucas began to speak. Lucas’s curled hair, thick-rimmed square glasses and colorful shirt caught the eye…

“Molding Clay” by Sarah Easley

We are thrilled to feature Sarah Easley’s final project from Dr. Castromán Soto’s “Graphic Novel in African American Literature” course. Titled “Molding Clay,” this amazing series of papercut art compositions imaginatively visualizes excerpts from W.E.B. Du Bois’ well-known speech/essay, “Criteria of Negro Art” (1926). Sarah Easley is a visual artist and recent Rice graduate with degrees in Visual and Dramatic Arts and Political Science. Working primarily in sculpture and illustration, Sarah explores…

Video Essay: “DIASPORA”

In this stunning video essay, “DIASPORA,” Sanvitti Sahdev, Kelly Park, and Joyce Chen meditate upon the intimate threads that weave the complex webs of their transnational identities. Considering their relationship to diaspora, Asia, America, and “home,” they craft a profoundly nuanced portrait of the complicated ties that can at times bind, while at other times connect. This project was created in Prof. Marte-Wood’s “21st-Century Asian American Literature and Racial Formation” course.…

PHOTOS: Spring Semester ’22 Preview

On November 2nd, the English Department’s Undergraduate Committee held a successful Spring Semester Preview event where they introduced upcoming courses, clarified major requirements, and answered questions. Faculty, undergraduates, and grad students shared stories, food, and laughter on the Herring Hall patio on what turned out to be a beautiful evening! Here are some photos from the event.

Welcome to The Wild Grain! November 2021 Launch

The Editorial Staff of The Wild Grain would like to introduce you to the Rice University English Department’s newest digital publication. Rice University prides itself on an accomplished and flourishing School of the Humanities, rich with an intellectual environment that serves students inside and outside of the classroom, both in the undergraduate population as well as within graduate student education. Long in the works but new to the screen, our website…