In the Spotlight

This is the place we put a little English on it: What's new this semester? What's of current interest to English students? What special projects are being sponsored or promoted by the English Department? What events are people talking about? Planning for? Reading about? Raving about? Want to know more about?

To learn more about this semester's active projects, use the menu at left.

Here's an overview of annually popular spotlight projects:

The Acorn Review

Grossmont College's own literary arts magazine, edited and produced by students, is on sale now at the Grossmont College Barnes and Noble Bookstore, and showcases the creative work of students from the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and features new and original works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, photography and art. 

African-American Read-In

Helping Grossmont College to make the celebration of African American literacy a traditional part of U.S. Black History Month, this evening of readings and performances of powerful literature, written by past and present African American writers, annually features students, faculty, staff, and community members. 

Creative Write-a-Thon

Sponsored by the Creative Writing Program, this fundraising event to help the support the spring Literary Arts Festival returns March 12, 2016. Students are pledged amounts for every hour they spend writing and participating in the a daylong series of writing prompts, literary activities, craft talks, and even quiet time expanding their manuscripts. Registration costs and details are available on the "Creative WRITE-A-THON" page of the Grossmont College Creative Writing Program website.

Fall Readings Series

The annual Fall Readings Series (a.k.a. Fall Authors Series) is sponsored by the Creative Writing Program and showcases readings and literary activities during each month of the fall semester. Regular events include the Celebration of Banned Books at the end of September, the Lester Bangs Memorial Reading in October, and the New Voices Student Reading in December. Guest authors and poets are also featured during the months of October and November. 

First Book Contest

As part of the celebration surrounding the Literary Arts Festival’s 20th Anniversary, the Creative Writing Program will hold a First Book Contest this year for writers who have taken one or more creative writing courses at Grossmont College in the past twenty years, and who have a sufficient writing portfolio for a book-length manuscript in one of the following genres: literary fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. The winner of the contest will be announced at an event during the 2016 Fall Reading Series. For contest rules and guidelines, visit "First Book Contest" on the Grossmont College Creative Writing Program website.

First Female Contest

Co-sponsored by the La Mesa-El Cajon American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Grossmont College English Department, this annual writing contest is open to all young women in East County high schools. The goal of the contest is to celebrate and support young women who are breaking through barriers as a “First Female.” 

Grossmont College Lester Bangs Archive

The GC Lester Bangs Archive is a resource center for the research and enjoyment of famed Grossmont College alumnus, Lester Bangs. Bangs, who attended Grossmont College between 1966 and 1988, is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential rock journalists of the twentieth century, credited with coining the terms "punk" and "heavy metal." In addition to being one of the original writers and editors of Creem magazine, Lester Bangs has been widely published, both nationally and internationally, in magazines such as Circus, Creem, Fusion, Let It Rock, Music Gig Magazine, Musician Magazine, New Musical Express (NME), Phonograph Record, Rolling Stone Magazine, Shakin' Street Gazette, Stereo Review, The Village Voice, and dozens of others. He was also a song-writer, vocalist, musician, poet, fiction writer, and memoirist. The Lester Bangs Memorial Reading is held each year in October as a celebration of Bangs's contributions to the canon of literary writing as well as his subversive spirit as a gonzo journalist.

Literary Arts Festival

Organized by the Creative Writing Program with sponsorship from the Foundation, Poets & Writers, and the World Arts and Cultures Committee, this spring Festival of literary events occurs at the end of April each year and brings authors, poets and screenwriters of local, national and international renown to the Grossmont College campus. Each year, new writers are invited, but a comprehensive, ongoing archive of each annual Festival is still available to the public. Details of the latest Literary Arts Festival, held during or near the last week of April, can be found on the Literary Arts Festival site. Use the menu at left to visit it or the archived sites for previous Festivals. 

One Theme, One Campus

The English Department participates in this annual campus-wide project in which faculty and students across the disciplines celebrate a single theme that is investigated over the academic year through special activities, lectures, exhibitions, and competitions. Following the successful "Water Project" begun in 2014, the "Food Project" explored the theme of "food" as a resource, a cultural experience, an archetype, a literary motif, a worldwide problem, and a shared and private experience. A successor to the "Food Project" is currently in development, and another dedicated microsite will become an online resource center, calendar, and research portal for student, faculty and the public interested in participating. An archive of past "One Theme" projects is also available on the Resource Center microsite.