Creative Writing at Ball State
The Lilly II Visiting Writers Series

Spring 2005

• Amy Benson, Christopher Coake, Cynie Cory & Brad Land (Feb. 22-23, 2005)
• Bruce Smith (March 24, 2005)
• Michael Perry (April 20, 2005)

Fall 2004

• Julie Schumacher (Sept. 23, 2004)
• Marilyn Kallet (Oct. 25, 2004)
• Stephen Herz (Nov. 15, 2004)

Spring 2005

IN PRINT

Tuesday, February 22nd

Four newly published authors—Amy Benson, Christopher Coake, Cynie Cory & Brad Land—will read at 7 p.m. in the Museum of Art, Room 217.

Wednesday, February 23rd

The four IN PRINT authors will join Nickole Brown from Sarabande Books in a panel discussion on the writing and publishing of a first book at 7 p.m. in the Museum of Art, Room 217.

Amy Benson's first book, The Sparkling-Eyed Boy (Houghton Mifflin, 2004), was the 2003 winner of the Bakeless Prize in Creative Nonfiction from the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference. Native Hoosier Christopher Coake’s first collection of short stories, We’re in Trouble, will be published by Harcourt Brace in the spring of 2005. Cynie Cory’s first collection of poems, American Girl, was published by New Issues in 2004. Memoirist Brad Land’s debut book, Goat, was released by Random House in February 2004.

Bruce Smith

Thursday, March 24th

Bruce Smith will read at 7 p.m. in Bracken Library 225

Bruce Smith is the author of five books of poems. His new book, Songs for Two Voices (U. Chicago Press, 2005) was released in March.  His previous books include The Other Lover (University of Chicago, 2000), a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, Mercy Seat (U. Chicago, 1994), Silver and Information (U. Georgia, 1985), and The Common Wages (U. Press of New England, 1983). His work has appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Partisan Review, Poetry and The American Poetry Review, among others.

Michael Perry

Wednesday, April 20th

Michael Perry will read at 7 p.m. in Bracken Library 225

Michael Perry is the author of three books, including Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time (HarperCollins, 2002), Big Rigs, Elvis, and The Grand Dragon Wayne (Whistlers & Jugglers Press, 1999), and Why They Killed Big Boy…and Other Stories (Whistlers & Jugglers Press, 1996). His writing has appeared in numerous publications including Esquire, Newsweek, and The New York Times Magazine.

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Fall 2004

Each reading will be followed by a book signing and reception with the author(s). The 2004-2005 Visiting Writers Series is sponsored by Lilly II and Creative Writing in the Department of English. All events are free and open to the public.

Julie Schumacher

Thursday, September 23rd

Julie Schumacher will read at 7 p.m. in Bracken Library 225

Julie Schumacher’s first novel, The Body Is Water (Soho Press, 1995), was an ALA Notable Book of the Year, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and winner of the Minnesota Book Award. Her other books include a short story collection, An Explanation for Chaos (Soho Press, 1997), and two recent books for young adults: Grass Angel (Delacorte, 2004) and The Chain Letter (Delacorte, 2005).

Marilyn Kallet

Monday, October 25th

Marilyn Kallet will read at 7 p.m. in Art & Journalism 225

Marilyn Kallet is the author of nine books, including her most recent collection of poems, How to Get Heat Without Fire (New Messenger Books, 1996) and One For Each Night: Chanukah Tales and Recipes (Celtic Cat Publishing, 2003). Her poems have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines, including New Letters, Prairie Schooner, and Tar River Poetry. In 2005, BkMk Press will publish her next volume of poems, Lure, and the University of Tennessee Press will publish an essay collection, The Art of College Teaching: 28 Takes, co-edited with April Morgan.

Stephen Herz

Monday, November 15th

Stephen Herz will read at 5 p.m. in Bracken Library 225

Poet Stephen Herz, a former advertising copywriter, has been widely published in literary journals and magazines. He's a winner of the New England Poet's Daniel Varoujan Prize. His first book of poems, Whatever You Can Carry: Poems of the Holocaust (Barnwood Press, 2001), is a collection of experiences and responses to the Holocaust by inmates of the concentration camps, Nazis, persons who saw the deportations, American soldiers who liberated the camps, and the author's American Jewish family.

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