National Book Award finalist next up in Frostic Reading Series

Contact: Mark Schwerin
Photo of Dr. Jay Hopler.

Hopler

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A finalist for the National Book Award will be the first reader in the spring 2017 Gwen Frostic Reading Series.

Dr. Jay Hopler, professor of English at the University of South Florida, will read from his works at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 16, in 208-209 Bernhard Center. The reading is free and open to the public.

Hopler

Hopler earned a doctoral degree from Purdue University and master's degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He is the author of "Green Squall" and co-editor of "Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry." His most recent book, "Abridged History of Rainfall," was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2016.

"Rainfall," Hopler's second poetry collection, is described as "a mourning song for his father and an elegy of uproar, a hymn to disaster and its aftermath." In it, Hopler describes the struggle to live with great loss, an undertaking that takes him from the subtropics of Florida, to the mountains of the American West, the streets of Rome and the Umbrian countryside.

Hopler is the recipient of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award, a fellowship from the Lannan Foundation, the Whiting Writers' Award and the Rome Prize in Literature.

Frostic Reading 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 campus and off-campus audiences.

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

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.