By Taelor Pickett
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — Poet Oliver de la Paz will visit the University of Central Arkansas as artist in residence Feb. 22-23.
The highlight of the residency will be a public reading with Q&A and book signing on his most recent work, Post Subject: A Fable, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in the College of Business Auditorium 107.
All residency events are free and open to the public.
“The programs in creative writing at UCA are thrilled to welcome Oliver de la Paz to campus,” said Sandy Longhorn, assistant professor of creative writing and a faculty sponsor for the residency. “He is an accomplished poet and adds a diverse voice to our Artists-in-Residence lineup for 2016-2017.”
According to www.oliverdelapaz.com, he is the author of four collections of poetry: Names Above Horses, Furious Lullaby (SIU Press 2001, 2007); Requim for the Orchard (University of Akron Press 2010), winner of the Akron Prize for Poetry chosen by Martin Espada; and Post Subject: A Fable (University of Akron Press 2014).
“Oliver de la Paz is one of the finest young poets writing today and has been recognized for his work as a writer, editor and advocate for Asian-American poets,” Longhorn said. “Students will be able to hear these forceful poems read by the author himself and will have the opportunity to learn from his insights into the work of writing a well-crafted poem.”
Co-chair of the board of Kundiman, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian American Poetry, de la Paz also serves on the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Board of Trustees.
He is also the recipient of the NYFA Fellowship Award and a GAP Grant from Artist Trust. His work has appeared in journals such as the Virginia Quarterly Review, Tin House and Chattahoochee Review. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Pacific Lutheran University.
Other UCA residency activities include:
- Poetry Master Class, Win Thompson Hall Room 331, Feb. 22, 4 p.m.
- Poetry Craft Talk, Win Thompson Hall Room 331, Feb. 23, 1:40 p.m.
The Artist in Residence program is funded by UCA’s arts fee and is administered by the College of Fine Arts and Communication. For more information about the program, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at 501-450-3293 or e-mail jdmiller@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 501-450-3293.
