Ernesto Quiñonez, Kaveh Akbar and Jo Ann Beard Lead Major Author Reading Series
This semester’s version of the Major Author Reading Series begins on Thursday, February 15.
In its eighth year, Manhattan College’s Major Author Reading Series (M.A.R.S.) will bring Ernesto Quiñonez, Kaveh Akbar and Jo Ann Beard to campus during the spring semester.
Ernesto Quiñonez: Thursday, February 15, 6:30 p.m., O’Malley Library, room 100
Quiñonez is an acclaimed novelist, essayist, screenplay writer, and oral storyteller for The Moth. Raised in Spanish Harlem, he is currently an associate professor at Cornell University’s MFA program. The New York Times claimed his debut novel, Bodega Dreams, a “new immigrant classic.” His second novel, Chango’s Fire was also well received, the Washington Post declared, “Quiñonez ably illuminates the sordid politics of gentrification and the unexpected places new immigrants turn to for social and spiritual support.” His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Newsweek, El Pais and Latina Magazine.
Kaveh Akbar: Friday, March 23, 6:30 p.m., Hayden Hall, room 100
Akbar’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, The New York Times, The Nation, Tin House, The Guardian, PBS NewsHour, Harvard Review, American Poetry Review, Narrative, The Poetry Review, Best New Poets 2016, Guernica, and Boston Review. His debut full-length collection, Calling a Wolf a Wolf, was released in September 2017 and his chapbook, Portrait of the Alcoholic, was published by Sibling Rivalry Press in January 2017. Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, and currently lives and teaches in Florida.
Jo Ann Beard: Monday, April 16, 6:30 p.m., Hayden Hall, room 100
Beard is the author of In Zanesville, a novel, and The Boys of My Youth, a collection of autobiographical essays. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines, literary journals, and anthologies, including The New Yorker, Tin House, and Best American Essays. The recipient of a Whiting Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Beard teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
M.A.R.S. is designed to engage and expose students to contemporary literature. Since the series launched in 2010, it has brought several notable writers to campus for readings and book signings, including Pulitzer Prize winners Junot Díaz, Jennifer Egan, Claudia Emerson and Adam Johnson.
All events are free and open to the public.