Retelling Frederick Douglass’ story, with a soundtrack — Harvard Gazette Senior composes musical about abolitionist’s early life.

Here's a recent story about a Harvard student who has undertaken a major project: writing a musical about the life of Frederick Douglass

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Immersed in Toni Morrison’s multitudes — Harvard Gazette Professor’s book is an appreciation of Nobel-winning novelist’s ‘difficult’ oeuvre — and a defense.

The true genius of Toni Morrison, says Harvard professor Namwali Serpell, isn’t found in the first read, but in the second, third, or fourth.

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Tina Fey’s keys to a good joke: Snark, confidence, surprise — Harvard Gazette Comedian keeps Harvard crowd laughing with longtime co-writer Robert Carlock ’95.

For Robert Carlock ’95 and Tina Fey, who spoke at Harvard last week, success in comedy requires a combination of “benign grandiosity and imp of the perverse.”

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Bill Rauch ‘84 to receive Harvard Arts Medal Acclaimed theater director Bill Rauch ’84 will be the recipient of the 2026 Harvard Arts Medal, the Office for the Arts announced Thursday. The award will be presented by Harvard University President ...

Acclaimed theater director Bill Rauch ’84 will be the recipient of the 2026 Harvard Arts Medal, the Office for the Arts announced today.

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What do Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Kushner, and Yo-Yo Ma have in common? — Harvard Gazette They all visited Harvard as part of arts program kicking off 50th year with talk by Robert Carlock, Tina Fey

Harvard's Office for the Arts is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Learning From Performers program. The initiative brings professional artists to campus for events, workshops, coaching, and more.

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Veritalk: Stephen Greenblatt on Artificial Intelligence and Human Creativity YouTube video by Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

"We were about to see what would happen if we told this bot to write the lost play of Shakespeare, 'Cardenio.' Then I stopped."

Check out the latest Harvard FAS Veritalk episode with Stephen Greenblatt on what we want from AI and what it means for human creativity.

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Writing like it’s a ‘game of telephone’ — Harvard Gazette Students workshop TV script ideas in course designed as writers room ‘bootcamp’

This advanced writing course in Harvard's Theater, Dance & Media program simulates a TV writers room.

“To make a tv show is to work incredibly collaboratively, and to risk failure, really boldly, over and over again in a serialized, recurrent way” - Phillip Howze

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When your research donor is 6 — Harvard Gazette First-grader raises $1,000 for axolotl research, meets her scientist hero — and maybe gets taste of what she wants to do when she grows up

A recent favorite! #Harvard
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(Featuring a fabulous and stylish Vanity Fair-style group portrait by Stephanie Mitchell of some of the faculty who will be teaching these courses.)

Hooking first-years on the arts and humanities — Harvard Gazette Beginning this fall, nine new introductory courses will be offered to engage more first-year students in the studies.

Can rethinking how we teach introductory courses draw more students to the humanities? Harvard thinks so. A new initiative led by Arts & Humanities Dean Sean Kelly aims to reverse the nationwide decline in humanities enrollment.

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Helen Vendler honored for lifetime of achievement Poetry critic reflects on "thrilling" career, writers who inspire, declining support for humanities.

Remembering poetry critic Helen Vendler this week on the anniversary of her death, and the conversation we had in 2023. Publishing a book, she said, was like “somebody had taken a piece of your soul, created it into an object, and said, ‘Here’s a piece of you back.’"
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Patricia Lockwood wants you to admit the internet is real life — Harvard Gazette In Harvard talk, the author riffs on "cloistered" upbringing, crafting characters through dialogue, and working in bed vs. on the couch.

Posting this story from earlier this month: Patricia Lockwood's visit to Harvard for the Mahindra Humanities Center's 'Writers Speak' series
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Uncovering the palette of the past — Harvard Gazette Project maps pigments used in South Asian art

It's been a treat to write about Harvard professor Jinah Kim's Mapping Color in History Project, an object-based pigment database for historical research on art from South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. Check the story out below:
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The House that will be home — Harvard Gazette Housing Day — one of Harvard’s most beloved traditions — marks a milestone for first-years.

Housing Day, one of Harvard’s most beloved (and rowdy) annual traditions, did not disappoint this year!
"When I was a freshman I didn't realize how fun it was going to be," one student told me. "I didn't know how impactful it would be on my life." news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Looking to art in troubled times — Harvard Gazette Joseph Koerner's book explores how masterpieces from Bosch to Beckmann offer warnings and wisdom in turbulent eras.

Harvard professor Joseph Koerner’s new book examines three images created in dangerous moments, and how people throughout history have reacted to them. "Art has that characteristic of becoming relevant whether you like it or not," Koerner said.

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Letting the portraits speak for themselves — Harvard Gazette New exhibit elevates overlooked voices as it explores hope, change, and how we see other.

This exhibition brought together portraits from The Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project and Robert Shetterly '69.
“Every one of the people I paint has a particular kind of courage that meets a particular moment,” Shetterly told chief campus curator Brenda Tindal

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Harvard Choruses to perform new opera ‘American Jezebel: The Trial of Anne Hutchinson’ The Harvard Choruses will perform a world premiere of “American Jezebel: The Trial of Anne Hutchinson” Saturday, an opera that tells the story of Puritan midwife and theologian  Anne Hutchinson.…

On Saturday, the Harvard Choruses will premiere an opera that tells the story of Puritan midwife and spiritual leader Anne Hutchinson. The story is close to home for Harvard students, as it brings to life a dramatic chapter of Boston history.

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Davóne Tines ’09 to receive Harvard Arts Medal Davóne Tines ’09, acclaimed operatic bass-baritone, will be the recipient of the 2025 Harvard Arts Medal, which will be awarded by Harvard University President Alan Garber at a spring ceremony in…

Davóne Tines, acclaimed operatic bass-baritone, is the recipient of the 2025 Harvard Arts Medal, which will be awarded at a ceremony in May. The award honors excellence in the arts and contributions via the arts to education or public good.
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Office for the Arts celebrates 50 years — Harvard Gazette An evening at Sanders Theatre filled with storytelling, music, dance, poetry, and more.

“Artmaking is born from courage." Harvard's Office for the Arts celebrated its 50th birthday this month, in an evening filled with storytelling and performances in music, dance, poetry, and more.

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Star of new ‘Odyssey’ adaptation? Your imagination. — Harvard Gazette Puppet designer on power of negative space to provoke emotion — and creating a convincing Cyclops

Harvard Theater, Dance & Media lecturer Kate Brehm is the director and designer of puppetry for the new "Odyssey" adaptation at the A.R.T. In this piece, she shared about the choreography of puppetry, and what exactly goes into making a cyclops eye. 👁️

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Tech has changed. Dating? It’s complicated. — Harvard Gazette If you think algorithms and chatbots are ruining romance, ‘Labor of Love’ author has a history lesson for you

"The history of love and the history of technology have always been intertwined." New Q&A out now with Moira Weigel, Harvard assistant professor of comparative literature, and author of "Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating."

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An archaeological record that doubles as art — Harvard Gazette Painter captured ancient Egyptian tomb’s secrets in vivid brushstrokes.

The Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East's new Joseph Lindon Smith painting is an example of archaeological documentation before color photography. But it's also still a valuable historical record to scholars today. Read more here:

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Why are so many novels set at Harvard? — Harvard Gazette Beth Blum notes campus is beautiful, romantic setting that lends itself to exploring collision of ideals, reality

How has the 'Harvard novel,’ a subset of campus fiction, maintained such a longstanding appeal? Associate professor of humanities Beth Blum shares insights on novels that engage with Harvard as an object of cultural intrigue and critique.

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