TAMIU
debuts
new Writers Series
A
new speaker series celebrating the voices of writers
debuted recently at Texas A&M International University
under the auspices of the University's Writing Center.
The Voices in the Monte Writers Series provides an
opportunity for students, members of the University's
service community, and the public to visit with local,
regional, and national writers who will share their
personal vision of writing and finding their voice.
The series is made possible by funding provided by
TAMIU and a Title V Grant. All series events are free
of charge and open to the public.
The series opened with local writer Jesse G. Herrera.
"Mr. Herrera's poetry has a remarkable resonance
and documents his experience and perspectives of life
on the border," said series organizer Randy Koch,
director of the University's Writing Center.
Local playwright, poet, and artist Raquel Valle Senties,
author of Soy como soy y que, will lecture on April
24. The series also presented performance poet Tammy
Gomez of Ft. Worth, whose social activism is laced
with feminism.
In September, 2002 National Book Award nominee, poet,
and children's story writer Naomi Shihab Nye of San
Antonio will be the first of two writers visiting
the university in the fall, Koch said.
He explained that the Writers Series is a natural
extension of the Writing Center's mission and presents
a rare opportunity for budding writers to glean first-hand
insight from the visiting writers.
"The primary mission of our Writing Center is
to provide free individual and small-group tutoring
sessions and writing workshops to students,"
he said. "We also employ writing tutors who are
specially trained students and who have demonstrated
excellence in helping others improve their written
communication skills. All these forces combine to
help students become better writers. The series offers
them a glimpse of what is possible for all who choose
to write and share in the joy of writing."
Koch said he hopes that the series will encourage
a rich interaction among people from the university,
the city, and the surrounding area with visiting writers.
"Our hope is that it will provide inspiration
for writers and readers, information about the writing
process, a reformation of ideas about good writing,
a transformation of people's view of border and regional
writers and an appreciation for the writers themselves
and their lives," he said.
For additional information, please contact Koch at
326-2885, Killam Library, room 218 or rkoch@tamiu.edu.
