West Virginia University’s Department of English has invited celebrated poet Campbell McGrath, professor at Florida International University, to read from his collection of works centered on American culture on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair Gold Ballroom.

The event is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.

McGrath is an award-winning author of eight collections of poetry and many other books. His latest work is an epic, book-length poem, called “Shannon,” that recounts 16 days that George Shannon, the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, spent wandering the prairie alone. His book, “Spring Comes to Chicago,” was recently awarded the Kingsley Tufts Prize – the single, most lucrative book prize in the United States.

“Campbell McGrath is one of the most accomplished poets of his generation,” said James Harms, poet and professor of English at WVU, who congratulates McGrath for being one of few poets under the age of 50 to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. McGrath has also received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and the Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, among various other awards.

McGrath is the Phillip and Patricia Frost Professor of Creative Writing at Florida International University, where he teaches in the master’s of fine arts degree (MFA) program. Previously, he taught at the University of Chicago, Warren Wilson College, Northwestern University, Columbia College, and North Park College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Chicago in 1984, and a MFA in creative writing from Columbia University in 1988.

To learn more about McGrath and his work, visit http://www.fiu.edu/~mcgrathc/.

For more information on the event, contact Mark Brazaitis, director of creative writing in WVU’s Department of English, at (304) 293-9707 or Mark.Brazaitis@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

lp/9/8/09

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
304-293-7405, ext. 5251, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu