The Seton Hall Arts Council will bring three published poets and authors to read as part of the annual program, Poetry-in-the-Round.
The Arts Council invites a variety of authors and poets, to come and read a piece of their work at Seton Hall. The reading is followed by a question and answer session with the author, who will then occasionally sign books before they leave.
Gary Shteyngart, a New York Times bestselling author of "The Russian Debutante's Handbook," "Absurdistan" and most recently, "Super Sad True Love Story," will read exceprts from his works on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. int the Walsh Gallery. His books are critically acclaimed and international bestsellers and he also currently teaches writing at Colombia University, as well as Princeton. Shteyngart's reading is the last in the fall semester, but there are more to catch before that.
This fall season began on Wednesday night with Timothy Donnelly, a poet and current poetry editor of the Boston Review, as well as a professor in the writing program at Columbia University. Donnelly, who read for students gathered in Walsh Gallery, is the author of "Twenty-seven Props for a Production of Eine Lebenszeit" and "The Cloud Corporation."
Perhaps the biggest draw this season is Joyce Carol Oates. She has been writing for many years, publishing everything from novels and short stories, to drama and poetry, to essays, critical reviews and stories for both young and old. Her work has won countless awards over the years, including the National Book Award for her book "Them," as well as being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times. Oates also teaches graduate students at Princeton in their English department. She was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in 2010. Oates's reading will be held Oct. 4 in the Jubilee Auditorium.
Students who have never attended previous Poetry-in-the-Rounds, such as sophomore Tessa Giordano, might want to go see them speak.
"Oates's stories are captivating and draw you into the lives of the characters, and I'm very excited to see her speak," said Giordano.
In the past, Poetry-in-the-Round has been hosted to such writers as Billy Collins, Arthur Miller, John Updike and Jonathan Franzen.
For more information, contact Professor Nathan Oates at Nathan.Oates@shu.edu.
Mary Kate Martin can be reached at marycatherine.martin@student.shu.edu.
