Pacific MFA in Writing Program Hosts Reading Series in January

Pacific University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing program will once again host readings by some of America’s finest writers during its 10-day residency in Seaside, Oregon, from Jan. 9 to 16, 2015.

Free and open to the public, the evening readings begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place from Friday, Jan. 9, through Friday, Jan. 16, at the Best Western Ocean View Resort, 414 N. Prom in Seaside.

This event is a rare opportunity to hear some of the best writers of contemporary American literature read on successive evenings. Featured authors include poet Marvin Bell, recipient of an American Academy of Arts & Letters Award in Literature; and fiction writer Pam Houston, winner of the Western States Book Award.

Reading Schedule

Jan. 9 | Pete Fromm, Joseph Millar & Mary Helen Stefaniak
Jan. 10 | Ellen Bass, Claire Davis & Vievee Francis
Jan. 11 | Sandra Alcosser, Craig Lesley & John McNally
Jan. 12 | Steve Amick, Eduardo Corral & Mike Magnuson
Jan. 13 | Frank Gaspar, Scott Korb & Valerie Laken
Jan. 14 | Marvin Bell, Carolyn Coman & David Long
Jan. 15 | Kwame Dawes, Pam Houston & Porter Shreve 
Jan. 16 | Jack Driscoll & Debra Gwartney

The authors in the reading series also teach at the residency where MFA students participate in workshops, lectures, classes and other events in preparation for the guided study that follows. Students leave the residency paired with a professional writer who responds to their reading and writing throughout the semester, encouraging and inspiring emerging craft and voice.

For more information about the writers or the MFA in Writing program, please contact director Shelley Washburn at 503-352-1532 or go to pacificu.edu/mfa.