Spring 2009 New Writing Series

The spring Series is projected to comprise six CADLS-supported events featuring eight writers whose work covers a wide spectrum of contemporary literary practice and whose visits lend themselves naturally to collaboration with other programs on campus: the well-known African-American poet and editor Claudia Rankine is projected to be our Honors College featured writer for the semester; the visit of poet Richard Blanco is scheduled to coincide with a UMaine Museum of Art exhibition by Blanco\u27s frequent collaborator, the visual artist John Bailly; the innovative conceptual artist and digital archivist Kenneth Goldsmith will perform and lecture in the first of what we hope will be a series of collaborations with the fledgling Intermedia MA/MFA program on campus. In the New Writing Series\u27s continuing commitment to diversity on campus, we\u27ll be bringing two younger gay writers-Magdalena Zurawski and CA Conrad-who are touring in the New England area in January. Nick Piombino, Nada Gordon. and Gary Sullivan are adventurous poets well into substantial careers who will be making first visits to Orono in the spring. (\u27We also anticipate two additional NWS events, featuring UMaine faculty members and students, that do not require CA/DI,S support.) Capsule biographics of all eight writers are appended to this letter