10/22/99
Photos of Darrell Spencer, Sharon Bryan, Mark Halliday and Bob
DeMott are available at:
http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/spencer.jpg,
http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/bryan.jpg,
http://www.ohoiou.edu/news/pix/halliday.jpg and
http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/demott.jpg
ATHENS, Ohio -- As part of the national Writers Harvest, Ohio University's Program in Creative Writing will host a reading by four faculty members at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in 194 Irvine Auditorium on the Athens campus' West Green.
Writers Harvest is the nation's largest literary benefit, featuring readings in more than 600 locations during October. Since 1984, the benefit's parent organization, Share Our Strength, has distributed $55 million in aid to anti-poverty and anti-hunger organizations. All proceeds from the $5 admission charge for the Athens reading will go to the Southeastern Ohio Food Bank's Second Harvest, a nine-county food pantry distribution program.
This year's program features fiction writer Darrell Spencer and poets Sharon Bryan, Mark Halliday and Bob DeMott.
Spencer's forthcoming book, "CAUTION Men in Trees," was the 1998 winner of the coveted Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. Spencer has written two other collections of short stories, "Our Secrets Out" and "A Woman Packing a Pistol." His short stories have appeared in numerous journals, including the Gettysburg Review, Antioch Review and Epoch.
Sharon Bryan, this year's poet-in-residence at Ohio University, received her master of fine arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop. She is the author of three collections of poetry, "Flying Blind," "Objects of Affection" and "SaltAir." Her work has appeared in many anthologies and journals, including American Poetry Review,Iowa Review and Ploughshares. Bryan's awards include an Academy of American Poets prize and a Discovery Award from Nation magazine.
Halliday joined the English Department in 1997 and is director of the Program in Creative Writing. His most recent collection of poems is "Selfwolf." He also is the author of two previous books of poetry, "Little Star," selected for the National Poetry Series, and "Tasker Street," winner of the Juniper Prize. His poems have appeared recently in The New Yorker,The Chicago Review, Poetry and The Ohio Review. Through a Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest Foundation Grant, he is coordinating a series of readings at the Dairy Barn featuring local and nationally known writers.
DeMott is the recipient of numerous Ohio University outstanding teaching and faculty awards, including the Distinguished Professor Award. He directs the English Department's Honors Tutorial Studies Program. He has published two chapbooks of poetry, "News of Loss" and "The Weather in Athens." He is the author of many other works, including "Steinbeck's Typewriter," "Working Days" and a 1996 edition of "Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings," and has lectured and published works on 19th and 20th century American literature.
Tickets for Writers Harvest may be purchased at the door to Irvine Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. the day of the event. A book signing and reception will follow the event.
