Cornell’s Creative Writing Program returns in-person for the Fall 2021 Barbara & David Zalaznick Reading Series. The series will continue its legacy of bringing exciting and innovative award-winning authors to read from their work on Cornell’s Ithaca campus. Each reading closes with a live Q&A where attendees have the opportunity to interact with the speakers and is followed by a book signing with books made available for purchase on-site by Ithaca’s Buffalo Street Books.
All events are free. Open only to attendees who are current Cornell students or employees. Cornell ID required for admission — Masks required. Cornell employees attending indoor events must complete the Daily Check prior to attendance. For the latest university public health guidelines visit covid.cornell.edu. All readings take place on Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. in Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium, G70 Klarman Hall.
Poet & National Book Critics Circle Award winner Ada Limón will launch the series with a reading on September 23. Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her work has been supported most recently by a Guggenheim Fellowship. She grew up in Sonoma, California and now lives in Lexington, Kentucky where she writes, teaches remotely, and hosts the critically acclaimed poetry podcast, The Slowdown. Her new book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions in May 2022.
Poet Ed Skoog will visit next to give a reading on October 21. Skoog is the author of four books of poems, most recently Travelers Leaving for the City. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The New Republic, and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Novelist Angie Cruz will close the fall 2021 series with a reading on October 28. Cruz is the author of the novel Dominicana, a Good Morning America Book Club pick that the New York Times called “lovely” and “compelling.” Her other novels are Soledad and Let It Rain Coffee, which was a finalist in 2007 for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. She has published short fiction and essays in numerous magazines and journals, including VQR, Gulf Coast, Callaloo, the New York Times and Small Axe. Cruz has taught creative writing for over 15 years in academic and nontraditional settings. She is Editor-in-Chief of Aster(ix) Journal, a dedicated space for literature, art and criticism by and about women. Cruz holds a BA in English and MFA in Creative Writing from New York University and lives in the Washington Heights section of New York.
Worried about parking? TCAT bus Route 30 (Shops at Ithaca Mall-Cornell-Commons loop) leaves Seneca Street station every 15 minutes and stops outside Klarman/Goldwin Smith Halls where the readings will be held. TCAT bus Route 10 (Commons-Cornell shuttle) leaves Seneca Street station every 10 minutes Monday-Friday until 5:10 p.m. and will stop if requested outside Klarman/Goldwin Smith Halls. After that time, Route 10 runs every 20 minutes until about 7:00p.m. The cash fare for a single ride is $1.50. You can track the location of TCAT buses using the myStop mobile app – for more information visit tcatbus.com/Apps. For short term parking options, visit cornell.edu/visit/parking or call Transportation Services at 607-255-4600.
For more information, visit english.cornell.edu/zalaznick, email creativewriting@cornell.edu or call 607-255-7847.
