Date: Sep 17, 2007

Hofstra's "Great Writers, Great Readings Series" Continues With Antonio Cisneros

Monday, October 1, 2007 at 7 p.m.; Guthart Cultural Center Theater, 1st Floor Axinn Library, South Campus

Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York ... Peruvian poet and novelist Antonio Cisneros, whose first work, Destierro, is regarded among the classics of Latin American poetry, continues the fourth season of Hofstra’s “Great Writers, Great Readings” Series on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 7 p.m. The reading will take place at the Guthart Cultural Center Theater, located on the 1st floor of the Axinn Library, South Campus.

This event is free and open to the public. For information, please call (516) 463-5410.

Mr. Cisneros started his writing career while he was still a student with 1961's Destierro. His later writing focused more on political issues. Comentarios reales de Antonio Cisneros was aimed at the distortion of history by officials in his own country. His greatest success came in 1968 with the publication of Canto ceremonial contra un oso hormiguero. This was followed by 1972's Como higuera en un campo de golf.

Mr. Cisneros has held countless temporary teaching posts at international universities. He has published 20 collections of lyric poems and two prose works, which have been translated into five languages. In 2000 he received Mexico’s Gabriela Mistral Prize for lifetime achievement.

"Great Writers, Great Readings" was launched by Hofstra University in recognition of the importance of writing and literature in a liberal arts education. In addition to a baccalaureate degree in English, Hofstra offers a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing. The program's faculty include eminent essayist Philip Lopate, writers Eric Brogger and Julia Markus and two Guggenheim Fellows: novelist Martha McPhee and poet Phillis Levin.

Writers forthcoming in "Great Writers, Great Readings" series include:

Monday, October 29, 2007, 7 p.m.: Kiran Desai, author of The Inheritance of Loss, which received the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus.

Monday, November 19, 2007, 11:15 a.m.: Edmund White, writer and editor of more than 20 books, including Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples,Caracole and the autobiographical A Boy's Own Story. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 11:15 a.m.: Jonathan Lethem, MacArthur Fellow whose novels include Motherless Brooklyn, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; the best-selling The Fortress of Solitude; and 2007’s You Don't Love Me Yet. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 11:15 a.m.: Lynn Nottage, playwright of Intimate Apparel, produced in New York at the Roundabout Theatre Company. The play received numerous awards, including the 2004 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Location: Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus

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Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution offering more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, professors teach small classes averaging 23 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

Related Link: Great Writers, Great Readings