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 15, at 5:00 p.m., selected students from spring courses in creative writing will read from their work in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and literary translation. Next, at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 21, seniors in the Program in Creative Writing will read from the screenplays or collections of poems written as their senior independent work under the mentorship of professional writers on the faculty. The series will conclude on Tuesday, April 22, at 4:30 p.m., when seniors in the Program will read from the novels, collections of short stories, or creative nonfiction 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. Each senior pursues original work in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, or translation under the guidance of practicing, award-winning writers on the faculty, including Michael Dickman, Katie Farris, Aleksandar Hemon, A.M. Homes, Ilya Kaminsky, Yiyun Li, Paul Muldoon, Patricia Smith, Lloyd Suh, and several distinguished lecturers and visiting professors.
On April 15, several selected students will read from their work produced throughout the spring semester in introductory and advanced creative writing courses. Students enrolled in the special topics courses, “Writing Speculative Fiction” 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 21, the seniors who will read from their poetry collections are Malia Chung, Thia Bian, Annie Cao, David Odekunle, Rosemary Dietz, Rahma Elsheikh, Jeanie Chang, and Emanuelle Sippy. Senior Layla Williams will share her work in screenwriting.
On April 22, the seniors who will read from their novels and collections of short stories are Andrew Zacks, Bracklinn Williams, Daniel Viorica, Isabel Max, Soncera Ball, Charles Nuermberger, Will Hartman, Noelle Carpenter, Audrey Zhang, Amalia Lopkin, and Brenden Garza. Seniors Cassadie Royalty and Youngseo Lee will share their work in creative nonfiction.
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 Hanif Abdurraqib, Don Mee Choi, Marilyn Hacker, Ayana Mathis, Elizabeth McCracken, Samanta Schweblin, Brenda Shaughnessy, and Douglas Stuart. The series is cosponsored by Labyrinth Books.
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.
