A West Virginia University professor and a graduate of WVU’s Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing program will give a reading of their literary works Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Reading Room of the WVU downtown library. The reading is free and open to the public.

Kevin Oderman was awarded the Bakeless Prize for his book of literary essays, “How Things Fit Together,” which was published by University Press of New England. He is also the author of the novel “Going” and a book of literary criticism, “Ezra Pound and the Erotic Medium.” Oderman’s work has appeared in “North American Review,” “Shenandoah,” “Southwest Review,” “Northwest Review,” “North Dakota Quarterly,” and elsewhere. He has twice been a Fulbright Scholar, first in Thessaloniki, Greece, and subsequently in Lahore, Pakistan.

Erin E. Tocknell was born and raised in Nashville, Tenn., but has lived and studied in Pittsburgh, Pa., Kalispell, Mont., and Morgantown.

She is a former award-winning staff reporter for “The Columbia Daily Herald” in Columbia, Tenn., and her essays have been published in “The Southern Review,” “Creative Nonfiction,” and the “Tampa Review.”

In 2007, she was the winner of the Associated Writing Program Intro Journals Award for creative nonfiction. She currently resides in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she teaches literature and coaches rowing at the McCallie School.

“Kevin Oderman is a master of his craft,” said Mark Brazaitis, a WVU associate professor of English and the director of the Creative Writing Program. “He’s a precise, exacting, and exquisite writer. Erin is a rising star, a writer we are all watching with keen interest. It will be a terrific reading.”

For more information, please contact Mark Brazaitis at 304-293-9707.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Marketing and Communications Coordinator
304-293-7405, ext. 5251, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.