2017 Fall Readings Series

Emma Smith-Stevens Reading & Book Launch

Wednesday, September 6, 7 PM, Hyde Art Gallery

POSTPONED 

_{^{Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event will be rescheduled at a later date.}} 

Guest writer Emma Smith-Stevens's reading will be rescheduled  from her forthcoming fiction collection and her newly released novel, The Australian (Dzanc Books, 2017). A native of New York City, Smith-Stevens is Fiction Editor for The Mondegreen and teaches with the Bard Prison Initiative in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her writing appears in BOMB Magazine, Subtropics, Conjunctions, SmokeLong Quarterly, Joyland, Day One, Lucky Peach, PANK, The Hairpin, and the forthcoming anthology, Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture (edited by Roxane Gay and Ashley C. Ford). Her newest short story collection, Greyhounds, is due to be released by Dzanc Books in 2018. To learn more about Emma Smith-Stevens, visit her on-line at emmasmithstevens.com, or contact English instructor Ryan Griffith for additional information about this event: ryan.griffith@gcccd.edu.

Banned Books/Banned Lives: #Rise

Thursday, September 28, 7 PM, Griffin Gate

This annual reading presents literary performances and lectures by Grossmont College students and faculty, as well as guest authors, to celebrate freedom of expression and to raise awareness about censorship and persecution. This year's student-led Banned Books/Banned Lives reading includes original works paired with or inspired by classic resistance literature, including spoken word poetry, slam poetry, and performance prose—all of it informed by resistance literature. The event is held annually during U.S. National Banned Books Week, a campaign organized by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, to promote literacy and raise awareness of banned and challenged books as well as persecuted individuals.  For more information about this year's Banned Books/Banned Lives reading, contact English instructor Alan Traylor: alan.traylor@gcccd.edu.

During U.S. National Banned Books Week (September 24 - 30), be sure to visit the Banned Books display at Grossmont’s Learning Resource Center, educating students about the dangers of censorship and advocating for intellectual freedom.  For further info about the display, contact librarian Nadra Farina-Hess:  nadra.farina-hess@gcccd.edu. 

LBMR: First Book Winner, Douglas Payne Reading & Book Launch

Wednesday, October 18, 7 PM, Griffin Gate

In this 9th Annual Lester Bangs Memorial Reading, Grand Prize winner of Grossmont’s “First Book” contest, Douglas Payne, will read from his newly released poetry collection, Salted Rook.  A San Diego native and an alumnus of Grossmont College’s Creative Writing Program, Payne is currently completing his graduate degree at Arizona State University. His poems and stories have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies, including Muck and Muse, Breadcrumb Scabs, Mastodon Dentist, A Year in Ink Vol. 5, Nailed! An Erotic Death Anthology, and others.  Douglas Payne was selected as the winner of the 20th Anniversary Literary Arts Festival’s “First Book Contest.” Held annually in October, the Lester Bangs Memorial Reading honors Grossmont College alumnus and music critic Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs, recognized by most as “America’s Greatest Rock Critic” and considered one of the most influential voices in rock criticism. (Bangs is widely credited for coining the terms "punk" and "heavy metal.”)  To find out more about Lester Bangs, visit the Creative Writing Program’s Lester Bangs Archive on-line at the official website of the Grossmont College English Department: www.grossmont.edu/english. For more information about this event, contact English instructor Karl Sherlock, karl.sherlock@gcccd.edu.

Creative Writing Faculty Reading

Wednesday, November 1, 7 PM, Griffin Gate

Creative Writing Program faculty at Grossmont College offer a rare glimpse of their writing lives outside of the classroom in this multiple genre reading. Featured will be familiar names as well as new additions, including author and Novel Writing instructor, Rich Farrell, and slam poetry performer and Creative Writing instructor Daniela Sow. 

Creative Write-a-Thon 2017

Saturday, November 18, 9 AM—1 PM, Griffin Gate

Open to all Grossmont faculty, students, and staff, the semi-annual fundraising event is back to rock more page, and rock it even harder.  Participants collect pledges to help raise funds for our Creative Writing Program and bring nationally and internationally renowned authors to our spring Literary Arts Festival.  The event includes hours of inspiring and fun writing prompts presented by Grossmont instructors, prizes, and a celebratory lunch.  Look for additional details soon!  In the meantime, volunteers and donations of money or prizes for the event are welcome and greatly appreciated. Contact English instructor Daniela Sow: daniela.sow@gcccd.edu. 

New Voices: A Student Reading

Monday, December 4, 7 PM, Griffin Gate

The New Voices student reading returns to cap off a semester of hard work and literary inspiration. This popular event is always personal favorite for students and instructors. Our students are what it’s all about, and these rising stars will impress you with their readings and performances of original poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, and other unique forms of literary and spoken word art. Invited exclusively by this semester’s instructors of creative writing classes and workshops, participants in the New Voices reading also enjoy priority consideration for inclusion in Grossmont’s own literary journal, Acorn Review, edited and produced by students under the direction of Creative Writing instructor Julie Cardenas. For additional info about Acorn Review or English 145: Acorn Review, Editing and Production, contact Julie Cardenas: julie.cardenas@gcccd.edu.