Kestrel: A Journal of Literature and Art, the Fairmont State University Department of Language and Literature and the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center will host a two-day Celebration of Issue 41. 

Six contributors to Kestrel will be on campus to participate in class visits, panel discussions, readings from their own works, and book signings. Visiting poets and writers include Ace Boggess, K. Uwe Dunn, Bob Kunzinger, Devon Miller-Duggan, Jim Ross, and Jane Wells.

On Friday, September 20, from 12-12:50 pm in Jaynes Hall 307, Dr. Donna Long will moderate a panel discussion on “Yesterday in Prose and Poetry.” Panelists will discuss how history and current events intersect with their work. Admission to the panel discussion is free and open to the public. 

On Friday from 2-2:50 p.m. in Jaynes Hall 304, visiting writers will share tips and techniques for good writing in a discussion with Dr. Long’s Narrative & Descriptive Writing class. This event is open to any interested students, staff, and faculty.

On Friday evening, Kestrel will host a reception and readings at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Featured writers include K. Uwe Dunn, a Certified Nurse’s Aide and essayist; Devon Miller-Duggan, a Delaware poet whose most recent collection is Alphabet Year; and Jim Ross, a writer and photographer. Admission to this event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, September 22, readings and book-signings will take place at the Joe N’ Throw in downtown Fairmont from 2 to 4 pm. Featured writers include Ace Boggess, a Charleston writer whose most recent collection is I Have Lost the Art of Dreaming It So; Bob Kunzinger, author of seven books of essays; and Jane Wells, a fiction writer and Shakespeare scholar. Light fare will be served. Admission to this event is free and open to the public.

For more information about events or visiting writers, contact Dr. Donna Long at donna.long@fairmontstate.edu.