The NYU Creative Writing Program’s Fall 2011 Reading Series continues in November with events featuring Tea Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife), Elizabeth Alexander (Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems), and Darin Strauss, whose Half a Life won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

NYU’s Creative Writing Program to Feature Tea Obreht, Elizabeth Alexander, and Darin Strauss in November
The NYU Creative Writing Program’s Fall 2011 Reading Series continues in November with events featuring Tea Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife), Elizabeth Alexander (Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems), and Darin Strauss, whose Half a Life won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

The New York University Creative Writing Program’s Fall 2011 Reading Series continues in November with events featuring Tea Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife), Elizabeth Alexander (Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems), and Darin Strauss, whose Half a Life won the National Book Critics Circle Award. All events are held in the program’s Greenwich Village home, the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House at 58 W. 10th Street, unless otherwise noted. Subways: F, L, M (14th Street/6th Avenue); 1 (Christopher Street); A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street). All events are free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 212.998.8816 or visit www.cwp.fas.nyu.edu. A complete schedule of the Fall 2011 Reading Series is available here.

Thursday, November 3, 7 p.m.

The New Salon: Tea Obreht and Alexi Zentner in Conversation with Joanna Yas

Tea Obreht’s debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, was released by Random House in 2011 and recently nominated for a National Book Award. W. W. Norton & Company published Alexi Zentner’s debut novel, Touch, in 2011. The conversation will be moderated by Joanna Yas, editor of Open City Books.

Friday, November 4, 5 p.m.

Cave Canem Poetry Prize Readings: Elizabeth Alexander, Vida Cross, and Iain Haley Pollock

Contest judge Elizabeth Alexander is the author of five books of poems, including her most recent collection, Crave Radiance: New & Selected Poems. She was chosen by President Barack Obama to compose and read a poem for his 2009 inauguration. Vida Cross’s manuscript, “Bronzeville at Night: 1949,” received an honorable mention for the 2010 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Elizabeth Alexander selected Cave Canem fellow Iain Haley Pollock’s collection, Spit Back a Boy, for the 2010 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. This event is co-sponsored with Cave Canem Foundation. 

Thursday, November 10, 7 p.m.

Imagine Ireland: Reading and Conversation with Kevin Barry and Nick Laird

Kevin Barry’s latest novel is City of Bohane (Jonathan Cape, 2008). Poet and novelist Nick Laird’s most recent books are On Purpose: Poems (W. W. Norton & Company, 2010) and the novel Glover’s Mistake (Viking, 2009). This event is part of “Imagine Ireland: A Year of Irish Arts in America,” an initiative of Culture Ireland.

Friday, November, 11, 2-4 p.m.

New Asian American Writers: Janine Oshiro and Samuel Park, with Special Guest Jessica Hagedorn

Jessica Hagedorn’s books include Dogeaters, which was nominated for a National Book Award, and most recently the novel Toxicology (Viking, 2011). Janine Oshiro’s first collection of poetry, Pier (Alice James Books, 2011), won the inaugural Kundiman Poetry Prize. This Burns My Heart (Simon & Schuster, 2011) is Samuel Park’s first novel. This event is co-sponsored with Kundiman and the Asian American Writers Workshop.

Friday, November 11, 5 p.m.

The New Salon: Sam Lipsyte in Conversation with Darin Strauss

The Ask is Sam Lipsyte’s newest novel, released in 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The conversation will be moderated by 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner and NYU faculty member Darin Strauss.

Friday, November 11, 7 p.m.

Emerging Writers Reading Series: Jennifer L. Knox, Special Guest

Jennifer L. Knox’s latest collection is The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway. Her other books are Drunk by Noon and A Gringo Like Me. The Emerging Writers Readings showcase the graduate students of the NYU Creative Writing Program and feature established writers as special guests. 

Location: KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street

Saturday, November 12, 4 p.m.

2011 Commonweal Conversations--The Writing Life: What Does Faith Have To Do with It?

This panel discussion features writers Paul Elie, Alice McDermott, and Valerie Sayers in a conversation moderated by Rand Richards Cooper. RSVPs are required; the panel discussion is free and open to the public and a ticketed reception follows. Please contact Christa Kerber, ckerber@commonwealmagazine.org; 484.437.3979.  This event is co-sponsored with Commonweal and the NYU College of Arts and Science.

Location: Hemmerdinger Hall, NYU Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East

Thursday, November 17, 7 p.m.

Fiction and Poetry Reading: Matthea Harvey and Lynne Tillman

Poet Matthea Harvey has most recently published Of Lamb (McSweeney’s, 2011), featuring poems with illustrations by Amy Jean Porter. Lynne Tillman’s most recent novel, American Genius, A Comedy, was published by Soft Skull Press.

Friday, November 18, 5 p.m.

The New Salon: Elissa Schappell and Helen Schulman in Conversation with Darin Strauss

Elissa Schappell’s new short story collection is Blueprints for Building Better Girls (Simon & Schuster, 2011). Helen Schulman’s new novel is This Beautiful Life (Harper, 2011). The conversation will be moderated by 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award winner and NYU faculty member Darin Strauss.

Editor’s Note:

The NYU Creative Writing Program, among the most distinguished programs in the country, is a leading national center for the study of writing and literature. The undergraduate and graduate programs provide students with an opportunity to develop their craft while working closely with some of the finest poets and novelists writing today. The Creative Writing Program occupies a townhouse on West 10th Street in the same Greenwich Village neighborhood where so many writers have lived and worked. The Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House allows writers--established and emerging--to share their work in an inspiring setting. For more, visit www.cwp.fas.nyu.edu.

Press Contact

James Devitt
James Devitt
(212) 998-6808