Meet authors, aspiring authors and other lovers of literature as the Wilkes University Department of English hosts public readings courtesy of the Allan Hamilton Dickson Fund.
Join these distinguished artists as they read from their work and discuss the creative process:
Alex Burns
7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6
Alex Burns is founding artistic director of Quintessence Theatre Group (www.quintessencetheatre.org), an ensemble theater dedicated to the performance and adaptation of epic works of
classic literature and drama in Philadelphia, Pa. In addition to more than 30 shows
at Quintessence, he has directed at the Arden Theatre, Trinity Shakespeare Festival
and the Shakespeare Theatre. Burns also served as assistant director for productions
at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre and Syracuse Stage, among others.
Burns holds a B.S. in theater from Northwestern University, was the directing fellow
at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., and is an alumnus of the Lincoln
Center Theatre Directors Lab and the Jack O’Brien Director Fellowship.
Ben Lerner
7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14
Ben Lerner was born in Topeka, Kan. He received fellowships from the Fulbright, Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations, among other honors. Lerner is the author of three books of poetry (The Lichtenberg Figures, Angle of Yaw and Mean Free Path), two novels (Leaving the Atocha Station and 10:04) and several collaborations with artists (including Blossom, with Thomas Demand). His most recent book is the monograph The Hatred of Poetry. Through his work, Lerner strives to explore the relevance of art and the artist to modern culture.
Lerner holds a B.A. in political science and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Brown University. He is Distinguished Professor of English at Brooklyn College.
Jean McGarry
6 p.m. Tuesday, April 17
A native Rhode Islander, Jean McGarry was educated at Regis and Radcliffe colleges, the University of California-Irvine and Johns Hopkins University. Her professional experience includes newspaper reporter and translator, though she has primarily taught writing at the University of Missouri-Columbia, George Washington University and now at the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.
McGarry’s books include Airs of Providence, The Very Rich Hours, The Courage of Girls, Home at Last, Gallagher’s Travels, Dream Date and Ocean State. Her most recent work, No Harm Done, was published by Dalkey Archive Press in 2017. McGarry’s stories have appeared in The Yale Review, Southwest Review and The New Yorker, among others.
All readings are in the Kirby Hall Salon, 202 S. River St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Free parking is available behind the Henry Student Center, 84 W. South St.
These events are free and open to the public.
Contact:
Dr. Mischelle B. Anthony
Associate Professor/Chair Department of English
Wilkes University
Kirby Hall. Rm. 201
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
(800) WILKES-U Ext. 4529
mischelle.anthony@wilkes.edu
