The Department of English at West Virginia University will be holding its Second English Gathering, beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 in Colson Hall on the downtown campus. The event is part of WVU’s Mountaineer Week.

The Gathering is an opportunity for graduates and former faculty of the department to convene to celebrate the work of the department and its graduate students.

Current students in the department’s four graduate programs (PhD, MFA, MAPWE, and MA) will be available throughout Colson Hall to talk about their research, creative writing, teaching practices and service work, and guests will have the opportunity to roam the halls of historic Colson Hall, chat with these graduate students, and meet current and former faculty and students.

A celebratory wine and hors d’oeuvre reception will begin at 6 p.m., to be followed by a special program in honor and memory of the distinguished West Virginia poet Tom Andrews.

The program will feature readings of Andrews’ poems, a personal reflection on his life by Creative Writing Program Director Mary Ann Samyn, and a talk by the distinguished poet, translator, scholar and editor David Young, who is Longman Professor of English at Oberlin College.

Young is the author of countless books of poetry, translation, nonfiction and criticism, including most recently, “Moon Woke Me Up Nine Times: Selected Haiku of Basho” (Knopf, 2013), and “Field of Light and Shadow: Selected and New Poems” (Knopf, 2010).

A special announcement will conclude the celebratory event.

The Second English Gathering is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow.

For more information, contact James Harms, at 304-293-9720 or jharms@wvu.edu

-WVU-

jh/10/07/13

CONTACT: James Harms, Chair of the Department of English
304-293-9720, jharms@wvu.edu

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