Valpo Alumni Invited to ‘Read a Book’

Every year, the Department of English brings noted writers to campus through Wordfest, the University’s annual reading series. Writers read from their work and meet with students in the classroom, often additionally being interviewed by “The Lighter,” Valpo’s undergraduate literary journal. This year, for the first time, a special invitation is extended to alumni to join in reading a book by one of the visiting writers.

The selection is Dinty W. Moore’s “Between Panic and Desire,” a not quite conventional memoir of fatherhood, television, and U.S. politics in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Both personal and cultural, Moore’s memoir “documents the disorienting experience of growing up in a postmodern world” through a variety of forms and not without a healthy dose of humor.

In addition, alumni are invited you to visit campus Monday, April 1, for Moore’s visit. Starting at 6:30 p.m., Associate Professor of English Allison Schuette and two creative writing students will introduce Moore through a roundtable discussion of his work and life as a writer. At 6:50 p.m., Moore will give a 40-minute reading from “Between Panic and Desire.” A book signing and reception will follow the reading.

Anyone wanting to submit questions for the roundtable may email them to Allison.Schuette@valpo.edu.