Award-winning author Danielle Cadena Deulen has dipped her pen into two sides of the writing world: nonfiction and poetry. At 7:30 p.m. in David Letterman Communication and Media Building room 125, she will share excerpts of her pieces in both genres as a part of the English Department’s Visiting Writer’s Series.
Her ability to dabble in both poetry and nonfiction was one of the reasons why Mark Neely, an associate English professor, and the department chose her for the event.
Although the free event is focused on English students, it is open to anyone, and Neely encourages others to attend.
“It’s always interesting to see and hear a good writer talk about her process for any sort of field that has a creative element,” he said. "Majors such as journalism and telecommunications all depend on writing and telling stories.”
Although Deulen rarely chooses her excerpts ahead of time, she said she knows what works from which she’ll read.
The first reading will come from her memoir “The Riots,” which explores issues of class, race and violence in intimate relationships. “The Riots” won the 2010 AWP Prize in Creative Writing as well as the GLCA New Writers Award.
The next will come from her poetry collection “Lovely Asunder.”
Lastly, she’ll present poems from her new manuscript “After Fever,” which is about the aftermath of intense experiences, both the good and the bad.
Deulen said she will give the usual banter between readings and answer questions after them, but the event will mostly focus on the readings.
“I don’t believe in lenghty readings,” she said. “People have only so much attention for listening.”
Prior the evening’s event, Deulen will speak with a graduate poetry class.
Neely hopes the event will inspire the department’s undergraduate writers.
Deulen offers a piece of advice for those hoping to break into the field.
“Read widely, openly, with fervor,” she said. “Literature is not a series of individual books. It is a conversation among thousands of writers over centuries. Reading will help you find your own voice in that ever-evolving conversation.”
