Students in the Lewis Center for the Arts’ world-renowned undergraduate Program in Creative Writing at Princeton University will present new work in a series of readings. On Tuesday, April 16, at 5:00 p.m., selected students from spring courses in creative writing will read from their work in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and literary translation. Next, at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, seniors in the Program in Creative Writing will read from the screenplays or collections of poems or translations written as their senior independent work under the mentorship of professional writers on the faculty. The series will conclude on Wednesday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m., when seniors in the Program will read from the novels and collections of short stories written as their senior independent work under faculty mentorship. All three readings, which are free and open to the public, will take place in Chancellor Green Rotunda on the Princeton campus. Chancellor Green is an accessible venue. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date.
Through the Program in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center, students can earn a minor in creative writing in addition to their degree in a major. The seniors in the Class of 2024 are the last students who will receive certificates, rather than minors, in creative writing upon graduation. Each senior has the opportunity to pursue original work in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and translation under the guidance of practicing, award-winning writers on the faculty, including Michael Dickman, Katie Farris, Aleksandar Hemon, A.M. Homes, Ilya Kaminsky, Christina Lazaridi, Yiyun Li, Paul Muldoon, Patricia Smith, Susan Wheeler, and a number of distinguished lecturers and visiting professors.
On April 16, several selected students will read from their work produced throughout the spring semester in introductory and advanced creative writing courses in fiction, poetry, literary translation, screenwriting, and creative nonfiction. Students enrolled in the special topics courses “The Act of Immersion: Reporting Deeply on the Lives of Others” and “Writing from Life” will also share their work. Averaging eight to ten students, these small workshop courses provide intensive feedback and instruction for both beginning and advanced students.
On April 30, the seniors who will read from their screenplays are Sierra Stern and Briony Zhao. The seniors who will read from their poetry are Kenza Benazzouz, Juliette Carbonnier, Ananya Grover, Sal Kang, Sabrina Kim, Ethan Luk, Hailey Mead, Zoe Montague, Anurag Pratap, Olivia Ragan, Mollika Singh, Grady Trexler, Emmett Willford, and Henry Wright. Senior Ellen Li will share her work in literary translation.
On May 1, the seniors who will read from their novels and collections of short stories are Anna Chung, Arlette Cojab, Sydney Eck, Andi Grene, Sydney Hwang, Ashley Hyun, Lara Katz, Amanda Kural, Abbie Lambert, Kate Lee, Tobias Nguyen, Claire Schultz, Cathleen Weng, and Valeria Zuluaga-Sánchez.
The Lewis Center’s Program in Creative Writing annually presents the Althea Ward Clark W’21 Reading Series, which provides an opportunity for students, as well as all in the greater Princeton region, to hear and meet the best contemporary writers. Guest writers over the past academic year included Sandra Cisneros, David Henry Hwang, Marlon James, current Professor of Creative Writing Ilya Kaminsky, Ling Ma, Khaled Mattawa, Hiroko Oyamada with translator David Boyd, and current Professor of Creative Writing Patricia Smith. The series is organized by Lecturer in Creative Writing and award-winning poet Michael Dickman.
Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about the Program in Creative Writing, the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the more than 100 public performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts, lectures, and special events presented by the Lewis Center each year, most of them free.
