Fall literary readings feature celebrated writers, film premiere

~ by Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com; Creative Writing Program graduate assistant Rose Galaviz contributed to this report

The fall 2016 Fresno Poets’ Association Reading Series will include an acclaimed literary publisher, faculty from the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing (fresnostate.edu/creativewriting) at Fresno State and a special film premiere featuring a beloved Fresno poet.

Friday, Sept. 23 — Gary Young (gary-young.net/)

The illustrator and printer of Greenhouse Review Press and director of Cowell Press at UC Santa Cruz, Young’s poetry collections include “Even So: New and Selected Poems” and “The Dream of a Moral Life.” His honors include two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships and a Pushcart Prize. The reading will be held at 7 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business building, Room 191) inside the University Business Center. Admission and parking is free.

Friday, Oct. 28 — Fresno State creative writing faculty

Readers will include:

• Steven Church, founding editor for The Normal School literary magazine. His recent works are the nonfiction books “Ultrasonic” and the new “One With the Tiger.”
• Corrinne Clegg Hales, coordinator of the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest. Her most recent poetry collection is “To Make it Right.”
• John Hales, author of “Shooting Polaris: A Personal Survey in the American West.” His most recent essay is “Seeing and Believing.” 
• Tim Skeen, coordinator of the Fresno State Creative Writing Program. He published his latest collection of poems, “Risk,” in 2014.

Faculty Randa Jarrar is on sabbatical this fall. The reading will be held at 7 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business building, Room 191) inside the University Business Center. Admission and parking is free.

Friday, Nov. 18 — “A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet” (alatestyleoffire.com/)

Just one month after its world premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival in San Rafael, this lyric documentary makes its Central Valley debut. The film tells the story of the brilliant poetry of Fresno State alumnus Larry Levis (poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/larry-levis), whose troubled life came to an abrupt halt when he died in 1996 at age 49. The film explores his childhood working alongside Mexican field hands in Selma, his friendships with America’s greatest poets and his own words for answers. The film includes appearances by director Michele Poulos, producer Gregory Donovan and poet David St. John. The premiere will be held at 6:30 p.m. at The Tower Theater (815 E. Olive Ave.). General admission is $10.

Friday Dec. 2 — Steven Church (steven-church.com/)

As founding editor of The Normal School literary magazine, Church’s nonfiction books include “One with the Tiger” and “Ultrasonic.” His nonfiction has been published widely including in “Best American Essays” and in “After Montaigne: Contemporary Essayists Cover the Essays.” The reading will be held at 7 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business building, Room 191) inside the University Business Center. Admission and parking are free.