Local Poets Launch 2011 Written/Spoken Series

Karen Dietrich, author of “Anchor Glass,” and Richard St. John, author of “Shrine” and more, open the 2011-2012 Written/Spoken Series at Pitt-Greensburg on Tuesday, September 27, at 7.p.m. in the Village Hall Coffeehouse.

Dietrich is a graduate of the English Writing program at The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and the Master of Fine Arts program at New England College. Her poems and essays have appeared in “Weave Magazine,” “PANK,” “Main Street Rag,” “Monkeybicycle,” “The Bellingham Review,” and elsewhere.

She is also a musician and performs with her husband, RJ Dietrich, as Essential Machine. In 2010, Essential Machine was featured on The Local News, a weekly segment on WYEP radio that showcases Pittsburgh-area artists. Dietrich lives in Greensburg, and teaches part-time at The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Westmoreland County Community College.

Richard St. John's first book of poems, “The Pure Inconstancy of Grace,” was the runner-up for the 2004 T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. His collection “Shrine” was published Finishing Line Press in March 2011. His work has also appeared in “Sewanee Review,” “Poet Lore,” and “Carolina Quarterly” as well as many other periodicals and anthologies. He received degrees in English from Princeton University and the University of Virginia. In 2002, he completed a mid-career Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Kate.

Dietrich and St. John are the first visiting writers in this year’s Written/Spoken Series, Pitt-Greensburg’s monthly reading series. The series, which offers readings on the last Tuesday of every month during the academic year, brings local and nationally-known poets and writers to campus for readings and workshops.

The series is sponsored by Pitt-Greensburg’s writing program and is free and open to the public. All readings begin at 7 p.m. in the campus coffeehouse, located in Village Hall. Book signings and receptions follow all events.

For more information about the series or about Dietrich and St. John’s visit, contact Lori Jakiela, associate professor of English, at 724-836-7481 or e-mail loj@pitt.edu.