Pittsburgh Poet Heather McNaugher to open Written/Spoken Series

Heather McNaugher, author of the newly released “System of Hideouts,” will be the first featured writer in Pitt-Greensburg’s fall Written/Spoken Reading Series. She will read and talk about her work on Thursday, September 27, at 7 p.m. in the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center.

McNaugher teaches literature, poetry, and nonfiction at Chatham University. She is the poetry editor of “Fourth Review.”

Her work has appeared in “5 A.M.,” “The Bellevue Literary Review,” “New Ohio Review,” “Leveler,” and “The Cortland Review.” She has also been featured on the radio show “Prosody.” Her poetry chapbook “Panic & Joy” was published by Finishing Line Press in 2008.

About her newest book, McNaugher said, “It’s about resisting your calling; finding every other way to not do what you’re supposed to. It’s about resistance and solitude . . . about being a grown-up and finding it rather stunning.”

Khalil Zeigler, a senior English writing major at Pitt-Greensburg, will open for McNaugher. His poetry has been featured in Pitt-Greensburg’s literary magazine, “Pendulum,” and he was the winner of the campus’s 2011-2012 Gerald Stern Poetry Award.

Pitt-Greensburg’s monthly Written/Spoken series brings local and nationally known writers to campus for readings and workshops. The series is sponsored by the Pitt-Greensburg’s writing program and is free and open to the public.

For more information about the series or about McNaugher’s visit to Pitt-Greensburg, contact Lori Jakiela, associate professor of English, at 724-836-7481, or e-mail loj@pitt.edu.