The Visiting Writers Series will continue with three events featuring queer authors and poets.
Author and poet Addie Tsai (any/all) will be reading from their book “Unwieldy Creatures,” a queer biracial retelling of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” and hosting a Q-and-A at 6 p.m. Tuesday via a live stream from the Visiting Writer’s Series WSU’s YouTube.
Gabrielle Calvocoressi, poet, author and editor, will host an in-person reading and Q-and-A at 5 p.m. April 2 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
Authors Steven Dunn and Katie Jean Shinkle will also host a reading and Q-and-A at 6 p.m. April 16 via the Visiting Writer’s Series WSU’s YouTube livestream.
“I wrote [‘Unwieldy Creatures’] for people who are biracial, people who are marginalized in some way, and people who have not felt centered in the stories that they’ve read throughout their reading experience,” Tsai said. “I hope that those people feel centered and connected to it when I share my work.”
The Shirley Jackson Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in the literary genres of horror, dark fantasy and psychological suspense, nominated Tsai’s “Unwieldy Creatures” for Best Novel in 2022.
Tsai is also the author of the book “Dear Twin,” a story that follows the complex life of a queer college student with a missing twin, and explores themes of biracial identity, queer love and childhood trauma.
The Visiting Writers Series aims to include as many people in the events as they can, and always tries to invite community members, series co-director Julian Ankney said.
Presenting different kinds of work from people from different backgrounds can help change biases and shift people’s perspectives for the better, Ankney said.
Ankney got to know Tsai through social media before selecting them for the Visiting Writers Series, stating that she was drawn by Tsai’s writing and representation of minority communities within their work.
“One of the ways I can make the most difference in my field is by bringing writers of color to WSU and share their amazing poetry,” Ankney said.
