Brenna Womer speaks at Writing a Life event

Writing: A Life

“Writing: A Life” Events

Each semester the College welcomes a visiting author to host a reading on campus as well as other events that may include writing workshops or classroom visits.

“Writing: A Life” broadens our students’—all students, not only those in Creative Writing and English—exposure to exciting, vibrant artists and allows them to make connections that will serve them as professionals and as practitioners of their craft, as well as understand the way the arts intersect across all disciplines.

LVC will welcome two visiting writers to campus this spring. Their public readings will take place either via Zoom or in person and will be available free to the campus community and the public. Copies of the writers’ books will be available for purchase and signing at the readings.

Asiya Wadud

Asiya Wadud

February 27 | 7 p.m. | Bishop Library Atrium and Zoom

Join us for a reading and Q&A session. Readings are free and open to all. Registration required for Zoom session.

About Asiya Wadud

Asiya Wadud is the author of several poetry collections, most recently No Knowledge Is Complete Until It Passes Through My Body (Nightboat Books 2021) and Mandible Wishbone Solvent (University of Chicago Press 2024). Her recent work appears in e-flux journal, BOMB Magazine, Triple Canopy, POETRY, Yale Review and elsewhere. Asiya’s work has been supported by the Foundation Jan Michalski, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Danspace Project, Finnish Cultural Institute of New York, Rosendal Theater Norway, and Kunstenfestivaldesarts among others. She lives in New York where she teaches poetry at Saint Ann’s School, Columbia University and Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Cynthia Arrieu-King

Cynthia Arrieu-King

April 2 | 7 p.m. | Bishop Library Atrium or Zoom

Join us for a reading and Q&A session. Readings are free and open to all. Registration required for Zoom session.

About Cynthia Arrieu-King

Cynthia Arrieu-King is a professor of creative writing at Stockton University and a former Kundiman fellow. Her books include Futureless Languages (Radiator Press 2018) and its companion Continuity (Octopus Books 2021) and the experimental memoir The Betweens (Noemi Press 2021). Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Crazyhorse, TriQuarterly, and the tiny. She has taught educators and writers in New Jersey schools through the Dodge Poetry Foundation and through the professional development seminars offered by Poetry Out Loud. Her podcast is The Last Word on IG as @thisisthelastword.

Outcomes and Reviews

Green Blotter editorial staff members Rachael Speck ’20 and Paige Bryson ‘20, in collaboration with genre editors Sydney Fuhrman ’18 and Jackie Chicalese ’18, published a guide to undergraduate literary magazines for Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies under guidance from visiting writer and reviewer Renee d’Aoust.

As a result of Renèe d’Aoust’s in-class discussion of the value/professional development merit of publishing book reviews, Sydney Fuhrman ’18 published a book review in Alternating Current Press’s literary magazine The Coil. Fuhrman wrote the review for ENG 254 Fiction Workshop.

Cheyenne Heckermann ’17 is now a book reviewer for Anomaly, focusing particularly on works by writers of color and LGBTQ2IA writers. Her reviews are online here.

Read what some of our students have to say about the “Writing: A Life” series.

“The opportunity to meet one-on-one with Adam Tavel and discuss my work was incredibly beneficial, as I was able to receive unique advice and encouragement from a knowledgeable and award-winning poet. As a mentor, Adam was insightful and sincere, and offered his personal experiences and support to assist in preparing me for a transition from undergraduate writing to graduate.” ~ English major

“Another section that I thought was really relatable to me was the ‘real writer’ conversation. Being a musician, when Tom McAllister talked about the set of habits, it made me understand why writers have to practice with workshops and lectures just like musicians have to sit down and play…. he inspired me as a musician to treat music different and to experiment.” ~ music education major