Sponsored by the School of Humanities, the Visiting Writers Series brings working writers to campus to read from their work, to talk about their writing, and to interact with our students. Both the St. Edward's and larger Austin community have benefited from the award‐winning novelists, poets, and playwrights who come to campus. These working artists will inspire students and add dimension to professors' curriculum.

Visiting Writers: 2011-2012

All Visiting Writers readings are free and open to the public.

Oscar Casares

Oscar Casares is the author of the novel Brownsville and Amigoland, a collection of stories, which have earned him fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Copernicus Society of America, and the Texas Institute of Letters. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he now directs the University of Texas’ Creative Writing MFA Program.
October 20, 7:30 p.m. | Maloney Room, Main Building

 

Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye has published over ten volumes of poetry and numerous books, including 19 Varieties of Gazelle, which was a National Book Award finalist. In 2010 she was elected to the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets. She will read and sign copies of her newest collection There Is No Long Distance Now. Free to St. Edward's community with SEU ID. Free to public with purchase of Nye's book at BookPeople or at the door.
November 7, 7:00 p.m. | Mabee Ballroom, Robert and Pearle Ragsdale Center

Debra Monroe

Debra Monroe’s first book, The Source of Trouble won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Fiction. She has received critical acclaim for a second book of stories, A Wild, Cold State, and the novels Newfangled and Shambles. Her new memoir about being the white mother of a black daughter in rural Texas is On the Outskirts of Normal.
February 1, 7:30 p.m. | Maloney Room, Main Building

 

Steven Dietz

Steven Dietz is one of America's most widely‐produced and published contemporary playwrights. Since 1983, his twenty‐plus plays have been seen at over 100 regional theatres in the US, as well as Off‐Broadway. He’s won awards from the Kennedy Center and PEN USA.
March 29, 7:30 p.m. | Maloney Room, Main Building

 

Marie Howe

Marie Howe’s debut volume, The Good Thief, won National Poetry Series Award in 1987. She’s since published two more collections, What the Living Do and The Kingdom of Ordinary Time. Her awards include a fellowship at the Bunting Institute, a Guggenheim, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Columbia University.
April 12, 7:30 p.m. | Maloney Room, Main Building

 

Please contact Carrie Fountain for information on how these readings could compliment your curriculum.

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