Visiting Latino writer and poet Francisco Aragon at Goshen College Sept. 25-26

GOSHEN, Ind. – Visiting writer and poet Francisco Aragon will spend Sept. 25-26 at Goshen College giving poetry readings, speaking about his work as a poet and translator, and meeting with both literature and communication classes.

The public is invited to hear Aragon read from his work at a convocation in the Church-Chapel at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 25. He will also speak with students and interested members of the public about his work at noon that day in a “Multicultural Monday” brown bag lunch in Java Junction, Goshen College’s student-run coffee shop. In addition, interested members of the public are invited to hear him read and speak in Newcomer Center Room 19 at 7 p.m. that Sept. 25 when he will be a guest in an evening class taught by Director of Multicultural Affairs Odelet Nance. On Tuesday, Sept. 26, he will be a class guest at 9:30 a.m. and at 12:30 p.m., both held in Newcomer Center 19, and taught by Professor of English Ann Hostetler. All of these events are free and open to the public.

A native of San Francisco and long-time resident of Spain, Aragon holds degrees in Spanish from University of California at Berkeley and New York University, as well as degrees in English from University of California at Davis and the University of Notre Dame. He is the Director of Letras Latinas, the literary program at the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Aragon is the author of “Puerta del Sol” (Bilingual Press, 2005), a bilingual collection of poems, as well as the editor of “The Wind Shifts: The New Latino Poetry,” which is forthcoming in the spring of 2007 from the University of Arizona Press.

Aragon’s own anthology publications include “Inventions of Farewell: A Book of Elegies” (W.W. Norton & Company), “Under the Fifth Sun: Latino Literature from California” (Heyday Books), “American Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement” (University of Iowa Press), “How to Be This Man” (Swan Scythe Press), “Red, White, & Blues: Poetic Vistas on the Promise of America” (University of Iowa Press) and “Bend, Don’t Shatter” (Soft Skull Press). His poems and translations have appeared in various publications and his works as a translator include four poetry collections by Francisco X. Alarcón. For further information about Aragon, visit his Web site at: www.franciscoaragon.net.

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 four-year 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.