Contemporary Writers Series 2006-2007
George SaundersThursday, February 8
7 p.m. Reading
Montante Cultural Center
George Saunders was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Syracuse University. He is the author of three collections of short fiction: CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction in 1997; Pastoralia, a New York Times Notable Book for 2000; and the recently published In Persuasion Nation. He has also published a children's book, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, and a novella, The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil. His work has appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper's, Kenyon Review and Esquire, and received several awards, including the National Magazine Award for Fiction and the O. Henry Award. Saunders currently teaches creative writing at Syracuse University.
Web Resources
George Saunders LandInterviews
http://www.georgesaundersland.com/index.html
Contains biographical information, a complete bibliography, writing excerpts, and links to other websites about Saunders.
Short Story: “Sea Oak”
http://www.barcelonareview.com/20/e_gs.htm#author's%20bio
In the September/October 2000 issue of The Barcelona Review.
Essay: “Chicago Christmas, 1984”
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?031222fa_fact
From The New Yorker, issue of 2003-12-22 and 29.
Short Story: “CommComm”
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fiction/050801fi_fiction
From The New Yorker, issue of 2005-08-01.
September 5, 2003
http://www.zulkey.com/diary_archive_090503.html
Saunders discusses satire, pop culture, the short-story form, and his writing routine with Claire Zulkey.
August 10, 2005
http://www.slushpile.net/index.php/2005/08/10/
interview-george-saunders-author/
In this interview with SlushPile.net, Saunders discusses his short-story collection CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, teaching creative writing, lean prose, and the novella The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil.
September 7, 2005
http://maudnewton.com/blog/?p=5610
Saunders discusses his approach to writing and his works with Roy Kesey.
September 15, 2005
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/
birnbaum_v/george_saunders.php
In this interview with Robert Birnbaum of The Morning News, Saunders discusses the literary community, his journey to becoming a writer, and The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil.
May 2006
http://beta.boldtype.com/11995
Saunders talks with Toby Warner of Boldtype about his latest book, In Persuasion Nation, everyday language, and screenwriting.
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Fourth Annual Hassett Reading
Thursday, March 8
7 p.m. Reading
Montante Cultural Center
Eamon Grennan was born in Dublin in 1941. He studied English and Italian at University College, Dublin and received his Ph.D. in English from Harvard. He has published several volumes of poetry, including Still Life with Waterfall, which received the 2003 Lenore Marshall Award for Poetry, and his latest collection, The Quick of It. His other publications include Leopardi: Selected Poems, which won the 1997 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, and Facing the Music: Irish Poetry in the 20th Century, a collection of critical essays. Grennan’s poetry has received a number of Pushcart Prizes, as well as awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. He lives in Ireland and Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he is the Dexter M. Ferry Jr. Professor of English at Vassar College.
Web Resources
Blue Flower Arts PageInterviews
http://www.blueflowerarts.com/egrennan.html
The website of Grennan’s speaking agent; contains a biography of Grennan and two of his poems, “Art” and “Cold Morning.”
Poem: “The Trip”
http://www.salon.com/weekly/grennan.html
From Salon.com.
Poem: “Agnostic Smoke”
http://public.gettysburg.edu/academics/gettysburg_review/
Previous_Selections/egrennan.htm
In the Winter 2000 issue of The Gettysburg Review.
Poem: “From the Train”
http://www.bu.edu/agni/poetry/print/2006/63%20-%20Grennan.html
Published in Issue 63 of AGNI Magazine.
January 29, 1997Bios
http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/olv1n3.html#grennan
In this interview with Timothy Cahill of SUNY Albany, Grennan discusses his influences, the subject of his poetry, and his writing process.
August 2000
http://www.cortlandreview.com/issue/12/grennan12.htm
Grennan reads and discusses selected poems from his collection Relations: New and Selected Poems with Ben Howard.
Famous Poets and Poems Page
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/eamon_grennan/biography
Includes a short biography and links to selected poems.
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In Residence April 18-20
Thursday, April 19
7 p.m. Reading
Grupp Fireside Lounge
Connie Porter grew up in Lackawanna, New York, the second youngest of eight siblings, and graduated from Buffalo’s City Honors High School. She earned an undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University. Following the publication of her critically acclaimed first novel, All-Bright Court, she was named a regional winner in Granta’s Best Young American Novelists competition. She is the author of a second novel, Imani All Mine, and the best-selling Addy books in the American Girls series.
Web Resources
Houghton Mifflin Company Reader’s GuideInterviews
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/porter.shtml
Includes discussion questions for both All-Bright Court and Imani All Mine, and an interview with Porter.
All-Bright Court Review
http://www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmArticleid=3178
From Ploughshares.
Imani All Mine Review
http://extras.denverpost.com/books/book540.htm
Renee Graham of The Boston Globe reviews Porter’s novel Imani All Mine.
Essence Article
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_n5_v22/ai_11204340
A short article by V.R. Peterson about Porter’s life and her first novel All-Bright Court; in the September 1991 issue of Essence.
Kidsreads.com InterviewBios
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-porter-connie.asp
Porter discusses writing historical fiction with Shannon Maughan of Kidsreads.com.
Wikipedia Article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Porter
A short biography and list of Porter’s published works.