Enjoy a series of evening readings by an eclectic lineup of talented poets, authors, playwrights and YA writers in our Marran Theater, 34 Mellen St., Cambridge, from Jan. 5 to 10. All readings are free and open to the public.
Visiting poet Oliver de la Paz (pictured), winner of the Akron Prize for poetry for “Requiem for the Orchard” (2010), will be a special guest along with a selection of Lesley faculty authors. de la Paz is the “All Lesley Reads” author-in-residence, and the Lesley community will read and discuss a selection of his poems prior to his public reading on Saturday, Jan. 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The series will also feature readings by our MFA in Creative Writing faculty members including children’s author Tracey Baptiste (“Rise of the Jumbies,” 2017), poet Erin Belieu (“Slant Six,” 2014), nonfiction writer Jane Brox (“Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light,” 2010), novelist Laurie Foos (“The Blue Girl,” 2015), author Hester Kaplan (“Unravished,” 2014), novelist Michael Lowenthal (“The Paternity Test,” 2012), poet and memoirist Rachel Manley (“The Black Peacock,” 2017) and playwright Kate Snodgrass (“Que Sera, Sera,” 2004).
“This has to be one of the best reading series in Greater Boston, with nine nationally prominent writers reading from their work in the span of six days,” says Stephen Haven, director of our MFA in Creative Writing program.
On Sunday, Jan. 7, Lesley will host a free Picture Book Seminar with Mary Lee Donovan, editorial director of Candlewick Press, whose presentation is titled, “A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures: Examining the impact of word selection and arrangement on the artist and the reader.” The seminar is from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m., followed by a Q&A with Donovan from 10:20 to 11 a.m.
Schedule
Friday, Jan. 5, 5 to 6 p.m.
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather and travel delays, the January 5 reading event has been cancelled.
- Erin Belieu, poetry
- Hester Kaplan, fiction
Saturday, Jan. 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Oliver de la Paz, poetry
Sunday, Jan. 7
9:30 to 11 a.m.
- Picture Book Seminar with Mary Lee Donovan
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Jane Brox, nonfiction
- Kate Snodgrass, writing for stage and screen
Monday, Jan 8, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Tracey Baptiste, writing for young people
- Michael Lowenthal, fiction
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 7 to 8 p.m.
- Laurie Foos, fiction
- Rachel Manley, nonfiction
About Oliver de la Paz
Oliver de la Paz is the author of four collections of poetry, “Names Above Houses,” “Furious Lullaby,” “Requiem for the Orchard” (winner of the Akron Prize for poetry chosen by Martín Espada), and “Post Subject: A Fable.” He is the co-editor with Stacey Lynn Brown of “A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry” (2012). He co-chairs the advisory board of Kundiman, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian American Poetry and serves on the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Board of Trustees. A recipient of a NYFA Fellowship Award and a GAP Grant from Artist Trust, his work has appeared in journals like Virginia Quarterly Review, North American Review, Tin House, Chattahoochee Review, and in anthologies such as “Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation.” He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Pacific Lutheran University.