Beck Series

Upcoming Events

Image for Beck Series: Erika Meitner  (152404)
Here are just a few notable speakers from past years:
  • Eudora Welty Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Optimist’s Daughter”
  • Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize & National Book Award winner; author of “The Color Purple ”
  • Tom Stoppard Playwright & Oscar-winning screenwriter for “Shakespeare in Love”
  • W.S. Merwin Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner & United States Poet Laureate

About the Series

For over fifty years the Beck Series, funded by the Harriet Ewens Beck Endowment for English, has been a mainstay of creative writing studies at 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University. The series provides students the opportunity to hear, study with, and engage some this country’s finest writers in the close quarters and pastoral setting of our hilltop campus in Granville, Ohio.

Harriet Ewens Beck, class of 1910, developed a lifelong love of poetry after studying high school English with Willa Cather in Pittsburgh. Upon her passing, her husband Gordon C. Beck (class of 1906), arrived on campus in 1960 and announced to Paul Bennett of the English Department, “I want to establish an enduring monument to Harriet, something that will honor her interest in writing.” Beck pledged to fund the endowment and then, over a lunch of peanut butter crackers and chocolate chip cookies in the Student Union, the two men outlined the plans of what would become one of most vibrant and dynamic reading series on any campus in this country.

The Beck Series first visitor was Eudora Welty, whose four-day visit came in April of 1964. She met with faculty, visited classes, and conferenced with students about their manuscripts. That first visit set the tone and template that defines the Beck Series. Visitors to 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########’s campus continue to share their work in public readings, meet with creative writing classes and the campus community, and work with students in one-on-one manuscript consultations or lead workshops. The generous gift from the Beck family has brought to 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### twelve United States’ Poet Laureates and over twenty winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, including Derek Walcott, Louise Erdrich, Mark Strand, Aleksander Hemon, Steven Millhauser, and Edwidge Danticat, to name a few. David Baker, Thomas B. Fordham Chair of Creative Writing, says, “The Beck Series has been one of 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########’s jewels, a virtual anthology of American writing since 1960. New, emerging, established, and downright famous writers in every literary genre, from short poems to long novels, political, lyrical, confessional—every literary stance has been represented by our visitors.”

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Series Archives

2023 - 2024

Brenda Hillman

The Beck Series welcomes poet Brenda Hillman.

Sam Sax

The Beck Series welcomes poet sam sax.

Lars Horn and Tsering Yangzom Lama

The Beck Series welcomes GLCA Prize winners for for nonfiction, Lars Horn and for fiction, Tsering Yangzom Lama.

M.E. O’Brien

The Beck Series welcomes novelist M.E. O’Brien.

Julia Kolchinsky

The Beck Series welcomes poet Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach.

Iya Kiva

The Beck Series welcomes Ukrainian poet, translator, and journalist Iya Kiva.

Angus Fletcher

The Beck Series welcomes story scientist Angus Fletcher.

2022 - 2023

Jordy Rosenberg

The Beck Series welcomes novelist Jordy Rosenberg.

Melissa Valentine and Michael X. Wang

The Beck Series welcomes GLCA Prize winners for nonfiction, Melissa Valentine, and for fiction, Michael X. Wang.

Tomás Q. Morín

The Beck Series welcomes poet Tomás Q. Morín.

Joy Harjo

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University’s Laura C. Harris Series and Beck Series welcome Joy Harjo.

Melissa Faliveno

The Beck Series presents essayist Melissa Faliveno.

Erin Belieu and Cate Marvin

The Beck Series welcomes poets Erin Belieu and Cate Marvin.

Malika Booker

The Beck Series presents a poetry reading by Malika Booker.

2021 - 2022

Torrey Peters

The Beck Series presents author Torrey Peters.

Connie Schultz

The Beck Series presents Connie Schultz in conversation with Wesley J. Lowery and Jamil Smith.

Ada Limón

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Ada Limón.

Connie Schultz

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Connie Schultz.

Maria Dahvana Headley

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Maria Dahvana Headley.

2020 - 2021

Kim Blaeser

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Kim Blaeser.

Dave Zirin

The Beck series and Journalism welcome David Aldridge and Dave Zirin.

Alison Stine

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Alison Stine ’00.

 Angie Jackson

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Luke Lorentzen

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Marcus Jackson

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Journalism at 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### presents a?panel discussion on careers for English/CW/NJ students.

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Aoife O’Donovan

The Vail Series welcomes Aoife O’Donovan presenting a virtual concert.

Garnette Cadogan

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Philip Metres

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Luke Lorentzen

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University presents "Welcome Beck" Thursdays, a virtual reading series.

2019 - 2020

Jos Charles

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Jos Charles.

Lesley-Nneka-Arimah

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Lesley Nneka Arimah.

Camille T. Dungy

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Camille T. Dungy

Nicole Walker

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author Nicole Walker.

Hanif Abdurraqib

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib.

David Lynn

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author David Lynn.

2018 - 2019

ETHEL

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series presents poets Ann Townsend and David Baker, with special guest ETHEL, in an Evening of Poetry and Music.

Dave Lucas

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Poet Laureate of Ohio Dave Lucas

Photo of Min Jin Lee

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes award winning author Min Jin Lee

Barney-Davis

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University welcomes Becky Thompson and Sara Abou Rashed (DU ’21) presenting a Beck Lecture and poetry reading

Emily Fridlund and Hilary Plum

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes Emily Fridlund and Hilary Plum, GLCA Prize Winners

Photo of Victoria Chang

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes poet Victoria Chang

Photo of Emily Bernard

Emily Bernard presents lecture, ”My Own People: Identity, Intersectionality, and the Saving Grace of Friendship.”

Wil Haygood

Journalist Wil Haygood talks about his book "Tigerland"

Photo of Chen Chen

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author Chen Chen

Patrica Smith stands outside in front of a wooden board fence

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author Patricia Smith

Photo of Holly Goddard Jones

必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University's Beck Series welcomes author Holly Goddard Jones.

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