Contemporary Writers Series
Information on the 2007-2008 series
Established in 1997, the Canisius College Contemporary Writers Series brings fiction writers and poets of national stature to the Canisius campus to read from their work and to meet with students, faculty, and members of our community. The series is made possible through the generous support of the John R. Oishei Foundation, the Hassett and Scoma Endowments, and with the cooperation of Just Buffalo Literary Center and Talking Leaves Books.
The series is coordinated with Canisius College courses taught in a variety of disciplines—English, History, Women’s Studies. Students in these courses are given the opportunity to meet the authors of the books they study, to engage them in conversation about art, politics, and history, and to gain a unique understanding of how literature is made.
All readings include a question-and-answer period, a reception, and a book-signing; all are free and open to the public. We welcome high school and college students and their instructors, our Western New York neighbors—all passionate readers and students of serious literature—to join the conversation.
Visiting writers have included some of our best writers, from new voices like Junot Diaz, Lorrie Moore, and Edwidge Danticat to well-established, award-winning authors like Mary Gordon, Tim O’Brien, Ha Jin, and Gloria Naylor. The series maintains a special focus on writers with strong ties to our area: Buffalo natives Connie Porter and Lucille Clifton, as well as upstate writers like Richard Russo and William Kennedy.
The series is coordinated by Canisius English professor and writer-in-residence Mick Cochrane. The author of two novels, Flesh Wounds (Doubleday, 1997) and Sport (St. Martin’s Press, 2001), Professor Cochrane teaches courses in contemporary fiction, creative writing, and literary publishing, and is the coordinator of the college’s creative writing minor. You may contact him with questions, suggestions, and comments: cochrane@canisius.edu.