Dr. Charles Fort
professor of English, 308.865.8164
Four distinguishing poets will be visiting the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus during March and April as part of the Reynolds Writers and Readers Series.
The series will host Leslie Adrienne Miller on March 29 at 8 p.m. in Copeland Hall, room 142. Miller is a professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. Her accomplishments include book publishings such as “Ungodliness” and “Staying Up For Love”. Miller’s book entitled “Yesterday Had a Man In It” received a Minnesota Book Award Nomination.
Miller was also the recipient of numerous awards including a 1998 Loft Mcknight Award of Distinction and third place in the 1999 Jane Kenyon Memorial Poetry Contest.
The Series’ featured poet for this semester is Eamon Grennan, and Irish poet originally from Dublin, Ireland. Grennan will lecture on April 4 at 4 p.m. in Copeland Hall room 140. His lecture, “An Irish Sampler,” will discuss Irish poets. On April 5, Grennan will give his Reynolds Writers and Readers presentation at the Kearney Community Theater at 8 p.m.
The Irish poet is currently the Dexter M. Ferry Jr. Professor of English at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. His poems, reviews and critical essays have appeared in publications such as Cyphers, The Irish Times, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry and The Nation. Grennan’s volumes of translations, “Leopardi: Selected Poems,” won the 1997 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation.
On April 26, the series will host two poets at 8 p.m. in Copeland Hall room 142. Susan Aizenberg and Twyla Hansen will join and present their Reynolds Writers and Readers presentation.
Aizenberg is the Contributing Editor for the Nebraska Review. Her works have been published in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The Journal, Laurel Review and the Prague Review. Aizenberg ‘s first collection, “Peru,” appeared in Greywolf’s Take Three: Agni New Poets Series. The book was chosen as a “Recommended Book” by both the Poetry and Small Press editors of Amazon.com, and was also a “Noted Book” by American Poet. Currently, Aizenberg is a professor of English at Creighton University.
Hansen’s work was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by the editors of the Prairie Schooner. Her work recently appeared in the Flint Hills Review, Midwest Quarterly and Palo Alto Review. Hansen is currently a horticulture consultant and a creative writing scholar through the Nebraska Humanities Council.
All presentations are free and open to the public. A book signing and reception will follow the presentations.
The Reynolds Readers and Writers Series is the premiere literary event for visiting writers in Nebraska and is recognized as a major literary center in the Midwest. The Reynolds Readers and Writers Series has been responsible for bringing Pulitzer Prize winners and National Book Award finalists to the Kearney community.
