Dr. Laura Long, assistant professor of English, will read from her first book, Imagine a Door: Poems, at Riverviews Artspace, 901 Jefferson St., at 7:30 p.m. April 16, as part of the Third Thursday Readings Series.
The publisher, Turning Point Books/WordTech, says, "Imagine a Dooropens a door into a rich world, depicted in gritty narratives and tender lyrics. Longsong's skillful evocation of this world, remembered but as vivid as the present, is compelling."
Long, who writes under the name Laura Longsong, has been published in Southern Review, North American Review, and many other magazines. She has had a James Michener Fellowship, Donald Barthelme Fellowship, VCCA residency Fellowship, and Pushcart Prize nominations.
Many of her poems are set in Appalachia, based on her youth in West Virginia and living as an adult in Virginia; other poems are set in far west Texas, where she taught for four years.
"I write narrative poems that tell stories about people - myself and others - and that richly describe the natural world," Long said. "My writing is intertwined with my teaching, and I've taught creative writing to cancer patients, children in inner-city schools, and children on the Texas-Mexico border."
A sampling of reviews and Long's poems can be found at: www.turningpointbooks.com/longsong.html.