UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

English

Reading By Leni Zumas, Nov. 15

Author Leni Zumas will read from her work on Wednesday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. Zumas is the author of the story collection Farewell Navigator and the novel The Listeners, which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. She teaches in the MFA program at Portland State University. Her forthcoming novel, Red Clocks, was selected for Publishers Weekly’s “Top 10 Literary Fiction” list and has been described by Maggie Nelson as “funny, mordant, political, poetic, alarming, and inspiring—not to mention a way forward for fiction now.”

For details follow this link to the English department’s list of readers or contact Lars Larson, English, at larson@up.edu. Please note: Leni Zumas is substituting for the previously scheduled Carmen Maria Machado.

 

Alan Weltzien Reading, October 24

Poet, memoirist, and Pacific Northwest culture scholar Alan Weltzien will hold a reading on campus on Tuesday, October 24, 7:30 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. Weltzien has published nine books, most recently Thinking Continental: Writing the Planet One Place at a Time, and Exceptional Mountains: A Cultural History of the Pacific Northwest Volcanoes, which explores the relationship between the region’s identity and the Cascade mountains amid the recent growth of outdoor recreation. He edited the Norman Maclean Reader, the poetry collection To Kilimanjaro and Back, and the Puget Sound memoir A Father and an Island: Reflections on Loss.

For details follow this link, or contact Lars Larson, English department chair, at larson@up.edu.

 

NUCL Keynote: “Critical Thought for Critical Times,” March 25

Literature professor Erica Edwards of the University of California, Riverside will present “Critical Thought for Critical Times,” the keynote address for the 2017 Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL), on Saturday, March 25, at 1:45 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons. Her talk is free and open to all.

What is the nature of critical thought in literary studies, and why does it matter? Edwards addresses the question through a discussion of artists like Gwendolyn Brooks, Claudia Rankine, and others who have worked with literary forms—poetry, fiction, drama, essays, plays, and film—to dissent to the world that was given to them and to imagine a new world to come. Edwards specializes in African American literature, gender and sexuality, and black politics and social movements.

NUCL is sponsored by the English department, the provost’s office, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the dean of admissions. For ADA accommodations or more information, contact the Department of English at x8031 or hiro@up.edu.

Reading with Megan Kruse, Feb. 15

Fiction author Megan Kruse will read from her work as part of the English department’s Readings & Lectures Series on Wednesday, February 15, at 7:30 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. The reading is free and open to all.

Megan Kruse grew up in the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in Olympia, Wash. She studied creative writing at Oberlin College and earned her MFA at the University of Montana. Her work has appeared widely in journals and anthologies, and her debut novel, Call Me Home, was released from Hawthorne Books in March 2015, with an introduction by Elizabeth Gilbert. She teaches fiction at Eastern Oregon University’s Low-Residency MFA program, Hugo House, and Gotham Writers Workshop. She was the recipient of a 2016 PNBA Award, and one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 for 2015.

For more information contact the English department at x7228 or english@up.edu.

Author, Musician Willy Vlautin, Nov. 28

willy-vlautin-copyOregon novelist and musician Willy Vlautin joins our campus on Monday, November 28, at 7:30 p.m., at the Pilot House bookstore.  Born and raised in Reno, Nev., Vlautin has published four novels of dark literary realism: The Motel Life, Northline, Lean on Pete, and The Free. His bands include Richmond Fontaine and the Delines. Vlautin’s storytelling in both prose and song explores economic vulnerability, addiction, and relationships in the overlooked spaces of contemporary America.  A short interview on the English Department Blog can be found here. A recent short story of his, “The Kill Switch,” is available here. For details contact Lars Erik Larson, English, at larson@up.edu or x7267.

Poetry Reading: Kate Gray, Oct. 5

kate-gray-150x150Portland poet and writer Kate Gray will visit the UP campus on Wednesday, October 5, at 7:30 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore to read from her work. Gray is the author of the Oregon Book Award nominated Another Sunset We Survive (poems) and the novel Carry the Sky.  Her work thinks through conditions of vulnerability, loss, and ethical justice, and her current novel-in-progress explores a connection between Sylvia Plath and a sister of William Buckley, Jr.  A short interview with Gray can be found here on the English department blog, and a PDF sample of her work is also available.

For details contact Lars Erik Larson, English, at larson@up.edu or x7267.

NUCL Keynote Speaker: William Deresiewicz, March 19

William Deresiewicz copyAward-winning essayist and critic William Deresiewicz will present the keynote lecture, titled “The Self in Society and the Humanity in Both,” for English department’s annual Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL) on Saturday, March 19, at 1:45 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. His lecture is free and open to the public.

Deresiewicz’s works include A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught me About Love, Friendship, and the Things that Really Matter (2011) and Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life (2014), a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in nonfiction. His criticism appears in The Nation, The American Scholar, The New Republic, The New York Times, and Harper’s. He taught English at Yale University for ten years and at Columbia University for five years.

For more information contact the English department at 7228 or english@up.edu.

Sara Jaffe Reading, Oct. 7

drylandPortland writer Sara Jaffe will read from her first novel, Dryland, on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. Her reading is free and open to all faculty, staff, students, and the public. Jaffe’s short fiction and criticism have appeared in publications including Fence, BOMB, NOON, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and others.

For more information contact the English department at 7264 or english@up.edu.

Tim Dayton NUCL Keynote, March 28

NUCLEnglish professor and author Tim Dayton will give the keynote address for the 2015 Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL) on Saturday, March 28, at 1:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center recital hall. His talk is free and open to all. Dayton is a professor of English at Kansas State University, and the author of Muriel Rukeyser’s The Book of the Dead.

The Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature, founded in 2004, creates a professional atmosphere to promote student criticism and challenge student critics. Cosponsors include the English department, the provost’s office, the College of Arts and Sciences, and admissions. For more information contact the English department at 7264 or english@up.edu.

Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writer Alice McDermott, Feb. 26

mcdermott copyThe renowned novelist and essayist Alice McDermott, who won the National Book Award for her novel Charming Billy, will visit the  campus and read from her work on Thursday, February 26, at 7 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. Her lecture is free and open to all faculty, staff, students, and the public.

McDermott is the author of six other works of fiction, most recently the novel Someone. She is a professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins University.

The University’s Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series, founded in 1988, annually brings some of the finest writers in the world to campus, to meet with and speak to students, staff, and friends.

For more information contact Brian Doyle, marketing and communications, at bdoyle@up.edu or go to up.edu/schoenfeldtwriters/.