EVENTS AT BUTLER
Creative Nonfiction writer and professor, David Gessner, will present a free reading. Gessner is the winner of the John Burroughs Award for Best Natural History Essay, is the author of nine books, including the forthcoming All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner and the American West. He is currently a MFA Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he founded the award-winning literary journal of place Ecotone.
2nd – David Gessner Q & A, ECCW, 9:35 AM
Join the Professor for a friendly question and answer session at Butler MFA’s Efroymson Center for Creative Writing.
2nd – Poetry Lunch Hour, ECCW, 12:30 PM
We are continuing our poetry conversation with a discussion of Visiting Writers Series and conversations@efroymson series poets, Ellen Bryant Voigt and Catherine Barnett. As always, lunch will be served and book purchase is not required.Please email Mindy at mdunn1@butler.edu to RSVP.
Martin has spent more than 25 years as a journalist—first in print with major newspapers and then in television. Her NPR show “Tell Me More,” which aired from 2007–2014, marked her debut as a full-time public radio show host. Martin has also served as contributor and substitute host for NPR news magazines and talk shows, including “Talk of the Nation” and “News & Notes.”
Catherine Barnett is a poet, editor, teacher and author of two collections of poetry. Voigt was a founder of the Goddard College low-residency MFA program, now the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, and she continues to teach creative writing. She continues to teach, write, and publish books of poetry and essays. The two will present a joint reading.
No matter what you write, and no matter whether you consider yourself a student of writing, a teacher of writing, or both, you won’t want to miss the final conversations@efroymson event, Writers and Mentors: Ellen Bryant Voigt and Catherine Barnett. Visiting poets Ellen Bryant Voigt and Catherine Barnett examine how writers learn from other writers-whether interacting as students and teachers in the classroom or as readers and writers on the page.
Talent from all over the world—from Los Angeles to Sierra Leone to Indianapolis—will perform at the third annual Butler ArtsFest on the Butler University campus. Fifty plus events are scheduled including three-time Grammy winner Christian McBride, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre from south Los Angeles, Indianapolis favorite (and Butler alumnus) Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and Butler Ballet performing The Sleeping Beauty.
INDY EVENTS
Indianapolis residents are invited to read and celebrate The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Ethiopian-American author Dinaw Mengestu through April 30 as part of the national campaign, “The Big Read,” which is designed to revitalize the role of reading in American culture.
The author himself will appear on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at Central Library to share his experiences as an Ethiopian immigrant and give insight into the process of writing his novel. Book signings will follow.
Other April events will include the “Ethiopian Lunch and Learn Series” at select Indy Library locations, during which attendees can enjoy traditional food of Ethiopia and learn about its history and culture. Also, there will be a screening of the documentary, “Sincerely, Ethiopia,” Ethiopian artwork on display at the Central Library, and book discussions held at various branches.
White-Ginder will be at Bookmamas to share the story of her son, Ryan White’s, extraordinary life. Both she and author Nelson Price will be available to sign copies of Nelson’s new book, The Quiet Hero: A Life of Ryan White.
Lori and Steve Zeller will talk about their experiences raising their basketball star sons, Luke, Tyler and Cody and sign their new book, Raising Boys the Zeller Way.
Purdue University is pleased to announce that Roz Chast will be the distinguished writer for the 2015 Literary Awards celebration. Events include a reception, dinner, remarks about the creative process by Ms. Chast, and a free public reading.
15th- Natalie Shapero, Depauw University, 7:30 PM
Natalie Shapero, this year’s GLCA New Writers Award for poetry, will be reading in the Peeler Auditorium. She is the author of the poetry collection No Object (Saturnalia, 2013), and her writing has appeared in The Believer, The New Republic, Poetry, The Progressive, and elsewhere.
Named by Library Journal as one of “Thirty Amazing Poetry Titles for Spring 2014,” Dana Roeser’s third book, The Theme of Tonight’s Party Has Been Changed, was published in March 2014 by the University of Massachusetts Press as winner of the Juniper Prize.
28th – Rick Bass, Depauw Univeristy, 7:30 PM
Fiction and Creative nonfiction writer Rick Bass has received many awards including O. Henry Awards, numerous Pushcart Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has had numerous essays and stories anthologized in Best American Short Stories, Best American Travel Writing, and Best American Science Writing. His memoir The Wild Marsh: Four Seasons At Home in Montana has been excerpted in O, The Oprah Magazine. Bass’ collection of short fiction, The Hermit’s Story, was named a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and The Lives of Rocks, was a finalist for the prestigious Story Prize and named Best Book of the Year by The Rocky Mountain News. His most recent book of nonfiction, Why I Came West, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award.
Christopher Speckman, the WITS director, was especially proud of the Seniors. He’s watched them grow as people and writers. Chris said, “To see [Paula and Isis] up on stage receiving applause and receiving a great award is really touching. These students have persevered and now they have this scholarship money to take the next step to go on to college. This award is very meaningful to them and really makes me happy as an educator.”