Inspired Writer Series Begins Feb. 16
Ƭapp’s Inspired Writer Series returns this semester with a diverse roster of distinguished authors, each of whom will offer insight into their creative process and their most recent publications during a series of six interactive book discussions. Each 7 p.m. event is free and open to the public and presented in part by the University’s MFA in Creative Writing and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Initiated as a companion to the University’s MFA program, the Inspired Writer Series celebrates the program’s concentrations in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry with a rotation of exemplary guest authors. The Spring 2017 line-up, which premieres on Feb. 16, features a dynamic combination of award-winning authors, MFA alumni and University faculty whose works span a wide array of topics and genres.
“The MFA author series brings together a community of every age from both on and off campus, who love the world of books and writing,” said Ƭapp Director of Community and Lifetime Education Elizabeth Hastings. “The notion that a finite number of words can produce worlds that educate us, lead us to inquiry, allow us to travel vicariously and experience a wealth of emotions through the craft of writing, is one all book lovers embrace joyfully.”
The spring semester series kicks-off on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the DiMenna-Nyselius Library, with a talk by award-winning prose writer Lelia Philip , who will discuss Water Rising , a collaboration with renowned sculptor Garth Evans that combines realist prose with abstract watercolors to create a visually stunning read.
The series continues on Thursday, Feb. 23, with the first of three faculty discussions at theUniversity’s downtown bookstore starting with English professor Dr. Elizabeth Boquet , who will discuss her efforts to combat violence with peaceful pedagogy in her latest publication, Nowhere Near the Line: Pain and Possibility in Teaching and Writing . On March 2, MFA Program Director Sonya Huber addresses the nature of living with chronic pain and an invisible disability in Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System , and on March 30, Catholic Studies professor Dr. Paul Lakeland explores the role of imagination in the face of mystery with his latest book, The Wounded Angel: Fiction and the Religious Imagination.
In April, the series concludes with two final discussions that will be held in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room. The first event will feature acclaimed author, screenwriter and filmmaker Gloria Norris , who will read from her darkly humorous yet moving memoir, Kookooland, on Tuesday, April 4, followed by a discussion with five-time New York Times bestselling author Jean Hanff Korelitz , who will discuss her latest novel, The Devil and Webster , on April 18.
For more information on the Spring 2017 Inspired Writer Series’ featured authors and books, contact Elizabeth Hastings at ehastings@fairfield.edu or visit
