By: Cassandra Kossowsky | Publish Date: October 12, 2026
If you visit the Center for Academic Success anytime soon and find yourself making the climb up to the third floor and into the heart of the English Department, you might pass by a display case. In that display case, you’ll discover a book that has been stapled to the wall.
This book is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play — English by Sanaz Toossi. It is the Common Read book in the English Department, in which all English and Transition to Kean students have been given a copy to read and discuss with their respective classes. This Tuesday, October 13th from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., Toossi will be engaging in a discussion with Kean students at Wilkins Theatre.
“The themes explored in Sanaz Toossi’s English reflect the interests that the majority of our campus community expressed in the selection process,” Professor Abriana Jetté, PhD, a member of the selection committee, said.
The Common Read is a collaborative program run by a selection committee, based on feedback from students and the Kean community. As for this year’s, English follows the journey of an Advanced English class in Iran, where five students are learning English to take their TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test, with the help of their teacher, Marjan.
“From my perspective, English tackles the concept of identity through language assimilation and creating our own norms; to find new ways to stand out, but to also not lose yourself in the process.” Alex Vega-Chipa, editor of Kean’s literary magazine, said.
Those who read English walked away with an understanding of other people that they hadn’t before, yet still able to find a piece of themselves within the story.
“English was a perfect choice for the Kean Common Read as its themes are something that young adults can relate to,” fellow Literary magazine editor Kevin Caffrey said. “College students often struggle with the same topics of identity and change that the characters do, so reading “English” could truly be of service to us.”
Toossi herself is an Iranian-American playwright and screenwriter, who’s worked on projects such as A League of their Own. She herself grew up speaking both Persian and English with regular visits to Iran, which are all experiences we can see being explored through the different characters in English.
Getting Toossi to come speak at Kean was a year-long collaborative process that took money, time, and a dedication to Kean and the enrichment of its students by the faculty who put it together.
“Bringing Sanaz Toossi to Kean is a large-scale community event that gets better and better as more programs participate,” Jetté said. “Because English is a play, the first department we wanted to collaborate with was Theater, and we’ve been so lucky to have substantial support from Dr. Evans and the Theater department as well as from Premiere Stages.”
It’s not just a talk, but an incredible opportunity for Kean students to attend the talk on October 13th. Although those in the English Department have incentives to attend, many students still express their interest and excitement for the opportunity to listen to a Pulitzer Prize winning author.
“I still would attend just because of how unlikely it is that I will have the chance to see a Pulitzer Prize winner speak again,” Caffrey said.
To learn more about the Common Read, visit Kean University’s website.
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