Distinguished Writer and Educator to Speak at The University of Scranton

On Monday, May 2, The University of Scranton will present “Jay Parini: My Life as a Writer, in Poetry and Prose.” The prolific, versatile writer and longtime professor will reflect on a distinguished career and focus on his two most recent books, “New and Collected Poems” and “Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal.”

The presentation will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the Heritage Room on the fifth floor of the Weinberg Memorial Library. A book signing will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

An award-winning poet, biographer, fiction writer and educator, Jay Parini’s novel, “The Last Station,” was made into a film, which was released in 2009 and received two Oscar nominations.

Dr. Parini’s other novels include “The Love Run,” “Benjamin’s Crossing,” “The Apprentice Lover” and “The Passages of H.M.” His biographies include “John Steinbeck,” “Robert Frost: A Life” and “One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner.” He published several books of poems, including “Singing in Time,” “Anthracite Country,” “Town Life,” “House of Days” and “The Art of Subtraction: New and Selected Poems.”

His non-fiction books include “Theodore Roethke, an American Romantic,” “Why Poetry Matters” and “Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America.” He has also published a textbook, “An Invitation to Poetry,” and wrote a book of essays about his philosophy of teaching titled “The Art of Teaching.”

A college professor for four decades, Dr. Parini serves as the director of the creative writing program and the Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College, where he has taught since 1982.

Dr. Parini received the Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author from The University of Scranton’s Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library in 2012 and served as principal speaker at Scranton’s 2005 commencement, where he received an honorary degree.

A native of Scranton, Dr. Parini is a graduate of West Scranton High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

“Jay Parini: My Life as a Writer, in Poetry and Prose,” is presented in collaboration with Friends of the Weinberg Library and the Schemel Forum. To register, contact Emily Brees, Schemel Forum assistant, at 570-941-6206 or at emily.brees@scranton.edu.