Three WMU alums on tap in fall reading series

Contact: Mark Schwerin

Photo of books.KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Three alumni of Western Michigan University will be the featured readers this month as part of the fall 2016 Frostic Reading Series.

Dustin M. Hoffman, Iliana Rocha and Glenn Shaheen will read from their works at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in 157 Bernhard Center. Their presentation is free and open to the public.

Dustin Hoffman

Hoffman's story collection, "One-Hundred-Knuckled Fist," won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize. His stories have appeared in Pleiades, Bat City Review, The Journal, Cimarron Review, Threepenny Review and elsewhere. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Winthrop University. A graduate of Bowling Green State University's Master of Fine Arts program, he earned his bachelor's degree from WMU in 2006 and his doctoral degree from WMU in 2013.

Iliana Rocha

Rocha is originally from Texas and is a graduate of the Mater of Fine Arts program at Arizona State University. Her first poetry collection, "Karankawa," was the recipient of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Donald Hall Prize for Poetry. Her work has appeared in Best New Poets in 2014, Blackbird, Third Coast, Banango Street, Bennington Review and elsewhere. She received her doctoral degree from WMU in 2016.

Glenn Shaheen

Shaheen is the author of the poetry collections "Energy Corridor" and "Predatory," which won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, as well as a flash-fiction chapbook titled "Unchecked Savagery." His work has appeared in The New Republic, Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, Iron Horse Literary Review and elsewhere. A graduate of the Mater of Fine Arts program at the University of Houston, he received his doctoral degree from WMU in 2015.

About the series

The Frostic Reading Series presents acclaimed creative writers from across the nation and beyond. Every year, a diverse range of readings that encompasses poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama attract both on- and off-campus audiences.

For more information, visit wmich.edu/english/events/frostic.

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