NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three prominent writers who also critique others in their field will participate in Vanderbilt University’s annual Spring Symposium on March 23 and 24.
Linda Gregerson, David Lehman and James Wood will give readings and participate in a panel discussion about their vocations as writers and critics as part of The Gertrude Vanderbilt and Harold S. Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Program.
“These are all interesting writers who excel in the area they study,” said Mark Jarman, professor of English and organizer of the symposium. “It’s a dual role that many people have, and should make for interesting discussions.”
At 4:10 p.m. on March 23, Wood will read from his work in Room 126 of Wilson Hall. Gregerson will follow with a reading at 8 p.m. in Room 101 of Buttrick Hall.
Gregerson, Lehman and Wood will jointly discuss their vocations as writers and critics at 1:10 p.m. March 24 in Room 103 of Wilson Hall, and at 4:10 p.m. Lehman will read from his work in Room 101 of Buttrick Hall.
All symposium events are free and open to the public. Vanderbilt is located at 2301 West End Ave.
Gregerson is the Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of English at the University of Michigan. She specializes in 16th and 17th century England and is also an internationally recognized poet. Her poetry collections include Waterborne, The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep and Fire in the Conservatory. She is also the author of Negative Capability: Contemporary American Poetry and The Reformation of the Subject: Spenser, Milton, and the English Protestant Epic.
Lehman is the series editor of The Best American Poetry and author of five poem collections including The Daily Mirror: A Journal in Poetry, which gathered some of his efforts to write a poem a day. His longest streak was 140 consecutive days.
Lehman is on the core faculty of the graduate writing programs at Bennington College and the New School for Social Research.
Wood is a senior editor at The New Republic, where he writes and commissions book reviews. His books include a novel, The Book Against God, and The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief and The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel.
The Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Series is sponsored by an endowment given to the university by Gertrude and Harold S. Vanderbilt.
Media Contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu