THE nEW sCHOOL pUBLIC pROGRAMS: lITERARY eVENTS fALL 2009

NEW YORK, August 6, 2009—This fall, The New School and its Writing Program present a wide and engaging range of literary events and readings. The offerings run the gamut from fiction to poetry to writing for children forums that feature some of the most gifted writers and thinkers of our times, including Brenda Shaughnessy (Sept. 8), Ntozake Shange (Oct. 8), and Mark Doty (Dec. 14).

Highlights include a screening and colloquium, Birth and Rebirth of a Nation (Sept. 26) which considers issues of race and representation in the media and beyond. English philosopher Simon Critchely (Oct. 9) will discuss his 2009 New York Times bestseller The Book of Dead Philosophers. The Writing for Children Forum: Picture Book Panel (Oct. 13), moderated by Deborah Brodie, will feature Geoffrey Hayes, Tad Hill, Amy Schwartz, Anne Schwartz, and Lee Wade. The New School will also celebrate the contributions of influential writers, including a tribute to Thom Gunn (Oct. 28) and the presentation of the AICA/USA Distinguished Critic Lecture with Roberta Smith (Nov. 5).

The university will also host events in conjunction with literary awards ceremonies. Best American Poetry (Sept. 24) will include readings by John Ashbery, Mark Bibbins, Suzanne Cleary, Richard Howard, Phillis Levin, and Matthew Zapruder. The Academy of American Poets Awards Ceremony (Oct. 16) will include readings from winning poets and presenters. This Award ceremony precedes the Poets Forum: Discussion of Contemporary Poetry (Oct. 17) with Frank Bidart, Rita Dove, Lyn Hejinian, Edward Hirsch, Sharon Olds, Ron Padgett, Carl Phillips, Robert Pinsky, Kay Ryan, Gerald Stern, Susan Stewart, Jean Valentine, and Ellen Bryant Voigt. Finally, several workshops are geared to helping writers in these challenging economic times, including Book Publishing: Challenges and Opportunities in a Turbulent Market (Oct. 7).

About the New School Writing Program
The New School has been a vital center for writing and its instruction since 1931, when Gorham Munson, a Manhattan editor and influential partisan of the Alfred Stieglitz circle, introduced his now-legendary workshop in creative writing. Since 1996, The New School has offered a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree with concentrations in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and writing for children. Founded by poet and biographer Robert Polito, the MFA program marks the latest transformation in the school’s commitment to creative writing. Over seven decades of steady innovation, The New School’s writing faculty has featured many of America’s most important poets, novelists, literary critics, and editors, including Robert Frost, W.H. Auden, Robert Lowell, and Frank O’Hara. The current faculty includes Francine Prose, Helen Schulman, Stephen Wright, Dale Peck, Vivian Gornick, Susan Cheever, Abigail Thomas, Honor Moore, Suzanna Lessard, and David Lehman. For more information, visit www.writing.newschool.edu.

All public programs are subject to change.

EDITOR’S NOTE: FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS AVAILABLE HERE

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