Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Spring Reading Series will
being at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at the Southwestern Bell Cultural
Center, located at 1207 N. Elm St., in Rolla. The first author featured will be
Dr. Devin Johnston, associate professor of humanities at Saint Louis
University.

Johnston has written several works of poetry, and currently is writing a
book of essays on birds, pastorialism and poverty in modern poetry. He holds a
Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and his research interests include
contemporary and modern American literature and creative writing in poetry and
fiction.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the Meramec/Gasconade Room of Missouri
S&T’s Havener Center, the Spring Reading Series will continue featuring
Brian Goedde. Goedde is an adjunct professor of literary nonfiction at the
University of Iowa. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Resonance
and Writing on the Edge, among other publications.

The final night of the Spring Reading Series will feature Missouri’s first
poet laureate, Walter Bargen. Bargen will present his works at 7 p.m. Friday,
April 25, in the Meramec/Gasconade Room of Missouri S&T’s Havener Center.
Bargen’s poems and works of fiction have appeared in more than 100 magazines.
His writing has received numerous awards, including a National Endowment for
the Arts poetry fellowship in 1991.

The Spring Reading Series is free and open to the public. Refreshments will
be served at each event.

The Spring Reading Series is sponsored by the department of English and
technical communication at Missouri S&T. For more information, contact the
department at 573-341-4681.