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Humanities & Society

Previously unknown Tennessee Williams poem found in the budding playwright’s 1937 Greek exam

Tennessee Williams’ ‘blue’ bookA piece of literary history has returned to Washington University in St. Louis, thanks to a fortuitous find in a New Orleans bookstore. In 2004, Henry I. Schvey, Ph.D., professor and chair of the university’s Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, co-directed the world premiere of “Me, Vashya,” a one-act play written in 1937 by then-student Tennessee Williams. Only weeks later, Schvey happened upon another important Williams-related artifact from 1937: a small blue Washington University test booklet containing what appears to be Williams’ Greek final, which he had worried about passing, as well as a previously unknown poem. It is assumed Williams wrote the 17-line poem, which he appropriately titled “Blue Song,” in the back of the booklet while taking his exam.

The 76th Annual Fashion Design Show

Downloadable, high-resolution promo photos for the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts’ “76th Annaul Fashion Design Show” at Saint Louis Galleria May 1.

Nanoparticles offer new hope for cancer detection, treatment

Magnified nanoparticlesSpecially designed nanoparticles can reveal tiny cancerous tumors that are invisible to ordinary means of detection, according to a study by researchers at the School of Medicine. Researchers demonstrated that very small human melanoma tumors growing in mice — indiscernible from the surrounding tissue by direct MRI scan — could be “lit up” and easily located. Because the nanoparticles can be engineered to carry a variety of substances, they also may be able to deliver cancer-fighting drugs to malignant tumors.

Future Bear?

Photo by Joe AngelesThe “YES Clinic” at the Athletic Complex was an opportunity for approximately 250 area youngsters to learn from WUSTL coaches and student-athletes.

A man for all seasons

Ben Sandler’s nearly 37-year relationship with the University started innocently enough, in 1966, when he arrived from his role as an English teacher in Maine to do graduate work in English literature. The choice of WUSTL was an easy one for him. “The English department had a great reputation,” he says, before adding, “and Washington […]

Neandertal protein is sequenced

“This research opens up the possibility of getting detailed protein information from past human populations,” says WUSTL anthropologist Erik Trinkaus.