Pitt-Greensburg’s Written/Spoken Series welcomes poets Kristofer Collins and Dakota Garilli Thursday, November 16 at 7 p.m. in Lynch Hall 102. The reading is free and open to the public; a book sale, reception, and signing will follow the readings.
Pitt-Greensburg student writers Shelby Newhouse and Jason Eichner open the night with readings of their own work. Both writers received Pitt-Greensburg’s Creative and Professional Writing awards last year. Newhouse received the Scott Turow Prize in Fiction, and Eichner was awarded the Gerald Stern Poetry Prize. Eichner’s nonfiction chapbook, “Drunken Decade,” was published as part of his Capstone seminar last year.
Kristofer Collins is the author of three full-length books of poetry: “Pennsylvania Welcomes You,” “Make-Out Party,” and, most recently, “Local Conditions.” He is also the author of several limited-edition chapbooks, including “Salsa Night at the Hilo Tavern,” which was recently published by Hyacinth Girl Press. Collins is editor and publisher of Low Ghost Press, a small, independent press located in Pittsburgh. He also writes a monthly book review column for “Pittsburgh Magazine,” is the owner of Desolation Row Records, and manages Caliban Bookshop in Oakland.
Dakota Garilli is a queer poet and essayist living in Pittsburgh. Garilli received an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University and has taught in the Words Without Walls Program at the Allegheny County Jail. Garilli is a founding member of “IDK Magazine,” and serves as their nonfiction editor. Garilli’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in “Weave Magazine,” “The Good Men Project,” and “Two Hawks Quarterly,” and Garilli’s first poetry collection, “Call It Something Different,” was published by Seven Kitchens Press last year.
Written/Spoken Series brings nationally-known poets and writers to the Pitt-Greensburg campus. Undergraduate student writers participate in readings and give performances of their own work. The series is sponsored by Pitt-Greensburg’s Creative & Professional Writing Program and the Office of Academic Affairs. For more information, please contact Professor Lori Jakiela at 724-836-7481 or at loj@pitt.edu.