2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 January 25, 2006 Austin Hummell and Timothy Liu Austin Hummell's books are The Fugitive Kind , (University of Georgia Press) and Poppy (Del Sol Press). He teaches at Northern Michigan University and is poetry editor of Passages North . Timothy Liu is the author of six books of poems, including  Of Thee I Sing , selected by Publishers Weekly as a 2004 Book of the Year, and  For Dust Thou Art , soon to be published by Southern Illinois University Press. Recent poems have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovene and Turkish. His journals and papers are archived in the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library. He is an Associate Professor of English at William Paterson University and on the Core Faculty in Bennington College's Writing Seminars. February 22, 2006 Geoffrey Wolff Geoffrey Wolff is the author of many books including - among them - the biographies,   The Art of Burning Bridges: A Life of John O'Hara and Black Sun: The Brief Transit and Violent Eclipse of Harry Crosby . His novels include Bad Debts, The Sightseer, The Age of Consent, Inklings and Providence . Among his other work is an autobiography, The Duke of Deception , and A Day at the Beach , a collection of essays. Most recently, he has published, The Edge of Maine , a work of nonfiction that explores coastal Maine. Wolff has received fellowships from Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1995, he has directed the graduate fiction program at University of California, Irvine. He divides his time between Maine and California. March 29, 2006 Aimee Bender and Victoria Chang Aimee Bender is the author of three books, the most recent being the story collection Willful Creatures. Her short fiction has been published in Granta, GQ, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and more, as well as heard on PRI's "This American Life." She teaches creative writing at USC. Victoria Chang’s first book of poetry, Circle, won the Crab Orchard Review Award Series in Poetry (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). Her poems have appeared in or are forthcoming in journals such as Best American Poetry 2005, The Nation, Poetry, Threepenny Review, Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Slate, New England Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Poetry Daily. She is the editor of an anthology titled: Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation (The University of Illinois Press, 2004). She has degrees from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Stanford. She has received a Bread Loaf Scholarship, a Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Writer’s Workshop, a Hopwood Award, as well as a Holden Minority Fellowship from the Warren Wilson College MFA Program. She resides in Los Angeles and is completing a Ph.D. in USC’s literature and creative writing program. April 26, 2006 Dean Bakopoulos Dean Bakopoulos was born in Michigan in 1975 and now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is executive director of the Wisconsin Humanities Council. His first novel, PLEASE DON'T COME BACK FROM THE MOON (Harcourt), was a 2005 New York Times Notable Book, and his short stories and essays have appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, and The Los Angeles Times. The recipient of a 2006 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, he is at work on a second novel, HARMONY, which will be published by Harcourt in 2007. April 28, 2006 An Evening of Poetry and Jazz Second Annual Benefit for the Casa Romantica Poetry Reading Series featuring Glyn Maxwell and Danny Seidenberg & the Unbande GLYN MAXWELL was born in 1962 in Hertfordshire, England. He studied English at Oxford and poetry at Boston University. Among the honors he has received are the E. M. Forster Prize from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and the Somerset Maugham Prize; his book The Nerve won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 2004. His poems have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, the New Republic, and many other periodicals. Maxwell serves as the poetry editor of the New Republic. The UnBande is a brand new collaboration from Hollywood, CA (an exotic galactic outpost) whose unlikely instrumentation and unexpected stylistic forays make it undeniably unique in the string playing universe. Two violas and the Chapman Stick...un-violins and the un-guitar/un-bass Crazy classical crossover, rockin’ pop, swingin’ jazz, original compositions, and wild improvisation. A delicious light-hearted concoction that explores in depth the concept of “What If?”and “Why Not” Fun for the whole family.... Featuring Danny Seidenberg, 11 year veteran of the Turtle Island String Quartet, Novi Novog of Doobie Brothers and Prince fame, and the incomparable Larry Tuttle (Freeway Philharmonic, String Planet) wielding the amazing Chapman Stick. May 31, 2006 Chad Oness and Gary Young C. Mikal Oness is t founding editor and director of Sutton Hoo Press, a literary fine press producing hand-made limited editions of poetry and prose. SHP publishes both established an emerging writers, including: Philip Levine, Gerald Stern, Charles Wright, Maurya Simon, Lynee McMahon, Anthony Butts, Pamela McClure, Mark Jarman, Gary Young, Valerie Martinez, and Mark Doty. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the University of Missouri, Oness has received the Toi Shan Fellowship from the Taoist Center in Washington D.C. His work has appeared in The Iowa Review, Shenandoah, The Colorado Review, Third Coast, The Bloomsbury Review, Cutbank, Stand, The Green Mountains Review, and many others. His work has been awarded the Mahan Poetry Prize, an Academy of American Poets Prize, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award from George Mason University, and a Wisconsin Arts Board grant. His boot Water Becomes Bones published by New Issues Press in 2000 and was awarded the Posner Prize in poetry. He has a limited edition chapbook, Runian, from Bergamot Press, another limited edition, Privilege, from Cut Away Books. Gary Young is a poet and artist whose books include Hands, The Dream of a Moral Life, which won the James D. Phelan Award, Days, Braver Deeds, winner of the Peregrine Smith Poetry Prize, and No Other Life, which won the William Carlos Williams Award of the Poetry Society of America. A new book, Pleasure, has just been released. He is the co-editor of The Geography of Home: California’s Poetry of Place, and has produced a series of artist’s books, most notably Nine Days: New York, A Throw of the Dice and My Place Here Below. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Vogelstein Foundation and the California Arts Council. He has received a Pushcart Prize, and has twice received fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. His poems have appeared in such magazines as Poetry, Antaeus, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Nation. Since 1975 he has designed, illustrated, and printed limited edition books and broadsides at his Greenhouse Review Press. His print work is represented in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Getty Center for the Arts, and special collection libraries throughout the country. He lives with his wife and sons in the mountains north of Santa Cruz, California. June 28, 2006 Mark and Michael Polish Mark and Michael Polish have written, produced, and directed three feature films: TWIN FALLS IDAHO, JACKPOT, and NORTHFORK. Their filmmaking awards and citations include the John Cassavetes Award at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards and a 2001 Seattle International Film Festival New American Cinema Award. Their films have collectively been nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards. Jonathan Sheldon was an associate producer on NORTHFORK and was named the head of development for the Polish Brothers' production company. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING Less than a decade since they began working in the movies, Mark and Michael Polish have established themselves as critically acclaimed, award-winning independent filmmakers. Their innovative approach to art direction, use of digital photography, and ability to attract stellar talent to their modestly budgeted films sprang from necessity; now these aesthetics have become admired trademarks of their work. Infused with this same balance of artistic integrity and popular appeal, The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking is a practical guide to writing, shooting, editing, scoring, promoting, and distributing short and feature films. Mark and Michael, along with co-author Jonathan Sheldon, have packed this book with star-studded, often hilarious tales from their own experiences--as well as helpful insider photos. This is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in filmmaking, whether a high school student with a $500 budget or a serious filmmaker looking for a fresh approach. July 26, 2006 Susan Gubernat and Mariano Zaro SUSAN GUBERNAT's first book of poems, *Flesh* won the Marianne Moore Prize and was published by Helicon Nine Editions in 1999. Her second book, *Shaggy Parasol,*was a finalist in the National Poetry Series last year. She is an opera librettist whose work was recently showcased by the New York City Opera. Her awards include fellowships from the New York and New Jersey State Arts Councils as well as residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, and Millay art colonies. She is an associate professor in the English Department at California State University, East Bay. Mariano Zaro is a poet and fiction writer. Originally from Spain he moved to California in 1991. He has published two poetry books Desde Donde/Where From and Poems of Erosion/Poemas de la Erosión. Both in English and Spanish. His poems have included in anthologies in Mexico, Spain and the US. His short fiction has appeared, among others, in the Baltimore Review, Caracola, El Signo del Gorrión and the Louisville Review. He has translated American poets Philomene Long, Alicia Vogl-Sáenz and Sarah Maclay. He is the winner of the 2004 Roanoke Review Short Fiction Contest. He teaches Spanish and Creative Writing at Whittier College. August 30, 2006 Lisa Glatt and David Hernandez Lisa Glatt is the author of the novel A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That and the short story collection The Apple's Bruise, both published by Simon & Schuster. Her poetry collections include Shelter and Monsters & Other Lovers. Lisa's work has appeared in such magazines as Zoetrope, Mississippi Review, Columbia, Indiana Review, Pearl, and The Sun. She was recently awarded a fellowship to the Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy. Lisa currently teaches at California State University, Long Beach and private workshops. Glatt is married to poet and visual artist David Hernandez. David Hernandez's poetry collection include Always Danger (Southern Illinois University Press, 2006), winner of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry, and A House Waiting for Music (Tupelo Press, 2003). His poems have appeared in The Missouri Review, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, AGNI, The Southern Review, Iowa Review, and FIELD. His drawings have also appeared in literary magazines, including a feature in Indiana Review. David lives in Long Beach, California and is married to writer Lisa Glatt. September 27, 2006 Corey Marks and Stephen Yenser Corey Marks first collection of poems, Renunciation, was selected by Philip Levine for the 1999 National Poetry Series Open Competition and published by University of Illinois Press in 2000. His poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Black Warrior Review, New England Review, Orion, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly and The Virginia Quarterly Review. ?His work has also received an NEA Fellowship and the Bernard F. Conners Prize from The Paris Review. He teaches at the University of North Texas. Stephen Yenser was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1941. He is the author of The Fire in All Things (Louisiana State University Press, 1993), which was selected by Richard Howard to receive the 1992 Walt Whitman Award; The Consuming Myth: The Work of James Merrill (1987), and Circle to Circle: The Poetry of Robert Lowell (1975). His poems and essays have appeared in The Nation, The New Yorker, Paris Review, Partisan Review, Poetry, The Yale Review, and other magazines. His honors include a "Discovery"/The Nation Award, two Fulbright teaching fellowships, and an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award in Poetry, and the B. F. Connors Prize for Poetry from the Paris Review. With J. D. McClatchy, he is editing James Merrill's Collected Poems and Selected Letters. He is a professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at the University of California in Los Angeles. October 25, 2006 Richard Goodman Richard Goodman is the author of French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France. He has written on a variety of subjects for many national publications, including The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, Commonweal, Vanity Fair, Garden Design, Grand Tour, The Writer’s Chronicle, salon.com, Saveur, Ascent and The Michigan Quarterly Review. He has twice been awarded a fellowship at the MacDowell Colony and twice been awarded a fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He is a winner of a Hopwood Award for his fiction. He wrote the introduction for Travelers’ Tales Provence. His essay, “In Search of the Exact Word,” is the lead essay in the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. He is the Fine Presses Editor for Fine Books & Collections. November 29, 2006 A Lorca Reading with Ralph Angel and Antonieta Villamil Ralph Angel was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1951. He is the author of Twice Removed (Sarabande Books, 2001), Neither World, which received the 1995 James Laughlin Award, and Anxious Latitudes (1986). A fourth collection, Exceptions and Melancholies, as well as his translation of Federico García Lorca’s Poema del Cante Jondo, are forthcoming from Sarabande in 2006. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, The Antioch Review, The American Poetry Review, and many other magazines, and have been collected in numerous anthologies, including The Best American Poetry, New American Poets of the 90s, and Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature. His most recent honors include a Pushcart Prize, and awards from the Fulbright Foundation and Poetry magazine. Mr. Angel now lives in Los Angeles and is the Edith R. White Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Redlands, where he teaches creative writing. December 6, 2006 UC Irvine MFA Reading Lauren Johnson – Fiction Vernon Ng – Poetry Leila Mansouri – Fiction Justin Rigamonti – Poetry Lauren Johnson attends the graduate fiction program at the University of California, Irvine, where she teaches creative writing. As an undergraduate at UCI, she was published in the University of New Mexico journal, Scribendi, won first place in the UCI Bookstore short fiction contest, and received an award for her Honors Thesis, a collection of short stories. She also edited the undergraduate creative writing journal, New Forum. During her year abroad in St. Andrews, Scotland, she was awarded the Hemingway Prize for her short story, “Moth,” which will appear in an anthology of Hemingway prize-winners. Leila Mansouri was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied history and creative writing at Northwestern University, where, during her senior year, she was a recipient of the Edwin L. Shuman fiction award. She currently lives in Irvine, CA and is working towards an MFA in fiction at UC-Irvine. Vernon Ng is currently an M.F.A. candidate in poetry at UC Irvine and teaches beginning poetry there. He received his B.A. in English and Art History from the same school, and has been awarded two UCI Bookstore Poetry Prizes, a Brett Baldwin Memorial Prize, and a nomination for the Ina Coolbrith Prize. He is interested in the life of Elizabeth Bishop, and reads more contemporary French philosophy than is fashionable. Justin Rigamonti, poet, illustrator, and painter, was born and raised on the western outskirts of Portland, Oregon. He has had poetry published in The Cortland Review, and Ink Slinger, as well as writing and illustrating a children's book, published by Landmark Editions. He is now currently working towards a MFA degree in poetry at UC Irvine.