Pitt to Launch Seventh Season of the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Sept. 15

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series at the University of Pittsburgh will launch its seventh season Sept. 15 and will include readings, presentations, and discussions by poets, travel writers, an essayist, short story writer, and Pulitzer Prize winner. Poets Eve Alexandra, author of The Drowned Girl (Kent State University Press, 2003), and Tracy K. Smith, author of The Body's Question (Graywolf Press, 2003), will open the season at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15 in Room 501 of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

All of the free, public events will be held at various campus locations (listed below) and will take place at 8:30 p.m., except for the Roundtable Discussion, at 3 p.m.

Sept. 23, and the Travel Panel, at 6 p.m. Oct. 13.

A complete season listing follows.

Sept. 15 Eve Alexandra

Poet, author of The Drowned Girl (Kent State University Press, 2003),

and

Tracy K. Smith

Poet, author of The Body's Question (Graywolf Press, 2003)

Evening Reading, 501 Cathedral of Learning

Sept. 22 Jen Hofer, Christina Rivera-Garza, and Ofelia Perez Sepulveda

A Reading of Contemporary Poetry by Mexican Women

Evening Reading, William Pitt Union Kurtzman Room

Sept. 23 Roundtable Discussion with Hofer, Rivera-Garza, and Sepulveda

3 p.m., 4D56 Posvar Hall

Oct. 13 Travel Writing: A Panel Discussion featuring

Tom Haines, The Boston Globe; James O'Reilly, Travelers' Tales; and Kate Wheeler, The New York Times and Outside

6 p.m., 501 Cathedral of Learning

Oct. 20 Dionne Brand

Poet and novelist, author of In Another Place, Not Here (Knopf Canada,

1996); Land to Light On (McClelland & Stewart, distributed by

Canbook, 1997); No Language is Neutral (Coach House, 1990); and

Thirsty (McClelland & Stewart, 2002)

Evening Reading, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Room 125

Nov. 3 Drue Heinz Literature Prize Reading

Jane McCafferty, 1992 Drue Heinz Literature Prize winner for

Director of the World and Other Stories (University of Pittsburgh Press,

1992), and

Darrell Spencer, 2004 Drue Heinz Literature Prize winner for

Bring Your Legs with You (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003)

Evening Reading, William Pitt Union Ballroom

Jan. 19 Tomaz Salamun

Poet, author of The Shepherd, the Hunter (Pedernal, 1992); The Four Questions of Melancholy (White Pine, 1997); and Feast (Harcourt Brace, 2000)

Evening Reading, 501 Cathedral of Learning

Feb. 2 Eddy L. Harris

Essayist, author of Mississippi Solo: A River Quest (Owl Books, 1998);

Native Stranger: A Black American's Journey into the Heart of Africa

(Simon and Schuster, 1992); and Still Life in Harlem (Henry Holt and

Company, 1999)

Evening Reading, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Room 125

Mar. 16 ZZ Packer

Short story writer and 2004 William Block Sr. Writer, author of

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Riverhead Books, 2003)

Evening Reading, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Room 125

April 7 W. D. Snodgrass

Poet, author of Heart's Needle (Knopf, 1959), which won a Pulitzer

Prize; The Fuehrer Bunker: The Complete Cycle (BOA Editions, 1995); and Each in His Season (BOA Editions, 1993)

Evening Reading, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Room 125

The Contemporary Writers Series is cosponsored by the Wyndham Garden Hotel-University Place, Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, The Book Center, and the University of Pittsburgh Press.

###

8/12/04/blg