Maria Melendez to give poetry reading at Goshen College May 1

Event: Poetry reading by Maria Melendez
Date and time: Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Umble Center Yost Room, Goshen College
Cost: Free and open to the public
Event sponsor: Goshen College English Department

GOSHEN, Ind. – Poet Maria Melendez will give a poetry reading at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 in the Yost Room of the Goshen College Umble Center. Melendez’s reading will include work from her recent book, “How Long She’ll Last in this World,” published by the University of Arizona Press. Melendez teaches creative writing and American literature at Utah State University, and formerly taught at St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind.

Joining Melendez for this reading will be Norman Minnick, author of “To Taste the Water,” which won an Academy of American Poets Prize in 2001. Minnick is the coordinator of the Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series at Butler University.

Melendez’s poetry, fiction and essays appear in such magazines as “Barrow Street,” “International Quarterly,” “Isotope” and “Ecological Restoration,” and her recent collection of poetry, “How Long She’ll Last in This World,” was published in 2006 by the University of Arizona Press. The collection was awarded Honorable Mention at the 2007 International Latino Book Awards, and was named a finalist for the 2007 PEN Center USA Literary Awards.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.