Harold Frederic English Society

Harold Frederic English Society

The Harold Frederic English Society was formed in the fall semester of 1999 to offer students both inside and outside the English major the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the literary and creative life of the college. It is named in honor of the Utica native and noted nineteenth-century American novelist who chronicled the city's religious and ethnic groups at the turn of the century in his acclaimed novel The Damnation of Theron Ware. James Scannell, Associate Professor in the English department, is the club's faculty advisor.




In the past, the Society has hosted at Halloween a "Scary Poetry Reading" in which members of the club, the college community, and the greater Utica community read their favorite frightening verse by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Browning. The Society was also influential raising funds to buy books for the Breakfast Reading Club, a reading program for young children at Kernan Elementary School in West Utica.  The club also makes at least one cultural outing each year and organizes one community service effort.