Central College welcomes Mary Swander, poet laureate of Iowa, to the Writers Reading series on November 15. Swander will read from her latest book of poetry, “The Girls on the Roof.”
“The Girls on the Roof” is a long narrative poem about a mother and daughter isolated on the roof of a café on the banks of the Mississippi River during the flooding of 1993. She is the author of three other books of poetry, including “Heaven-and-Earth House,” “Driving the Body Back” and “Succession.” She is also the author of two memoirs.
Swander has published numerous individual poems, essays and short stories in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and Poetry Magazine. In addition to her literary work, Swander is touring her play “Farmscape,” a docudrama about the changing rural landscape.
Swander is a professor of English and a distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences at Iowa State University. She will read selections from “The Girls on the Roof” in the Geisler Library reading room at 7:30 p.m.
The Geisler Library Writers Reading Series was established in 1987 to promote an appreciation of books and their authors. The series features locally, nationally and internationally known writers who read and discuss their works. The reading is free and open to the public.
