Nicole Cooley reads Tuesday the 13th!

This upcoming Tuesday the 13th, Nicole Cooley will read from her newly published collection of poems Breach at the Columns Hotel. Cooley is a New Orleans native who received her B.A. from Brown University, her M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, her PhD from Emory University and is the daughter of New Orleans poet Peter Cooley. Her first book of poetry, Resurrection, won the Walt Whitman Award and her book The Afflicted Girls was chosen as one of the year’s best poetry books by Library Journal. She has also published a novel entitled Judy Garland, Ginger Love and will publish a fourth book of poetry this November entitled Milk Dress. She has received a Discovery/The Nation Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Grant and even the Emily Dickinson Award from the Poetry Society of America. Her poems have appeared in magazines such as The Nation and Poetry. She has published fiction in many journals including The Paris Review and The Southwest Review. She is a member of the Academy of American Poets and has published scholarly work on women’s writing and experimental poetics.

Cooley is visiting 1718 from New York, where she is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Queens College—City University of New York where she directs the MFA program in Creative Writing and Literary Translation.

Please arrive early to enjoy the Columns generous happy hour and grab a seat for 7pm. Student readers to follow.

Rikki Ducornet reads March 2nd!

This upcoming Tuesday, March 2nd, Rikki Ducornet will be reading at the Columns Hotel. Ducornet is a renowned novelist, poet, and artist. She has published seven novels, two short-story collections, five books of poetry, illustrated Jorge Luis Borge’s “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,” and has lived in four different continents. Her paintings, illustrations and lithographs are exhibited internationally. She received the Lannan Literary Award in Fiction in 1993. Her novel The Fan Maker’s Inquisition won L.A. Time’s book of the year and The Jade Cabinet was a finalist for the National Book Critics’ Circle Award. She is even allegedly the inspiration for the Steely Dan song “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number” and is guaranteed to brighten your evening.

Please arrive early to enjoy happy hour at the Columns. The reading will start at 7pm, with student readers Nicola Wolf and Chris Jennings to follow Ducornet after a brief intermission.

“It is the work of the writer to move beyond the simple definitions or descriptions of things– which is of limited interest after all– and to bring a dream to life through the alchemy of language; to move from the street– the place of received ideas– into the forest, the place of the unknown.” – Rikki Ducornet, on the subject of writing (Lannan)

Laura Glenum wrap up!

February has been a great month for New Orleans, but let’s not forget the great 1718 reading that happened on February 2nd!

Although the room was not quite as packed as it normally is, the reading went very well; Lara Glenum has a great stage presence. Her poetry really came to life through the careful rhythm of her melodic voice. She brought a new perspective on life and organisms, relishing in the grotesque. She read from two of her books, The Hounds of No and Maximum Gaga, to the enjoyment of all.

After the intermission, we enjoyed listening to the fictional works of Tulane sophomore Sophie Untermann, followed by the fiction of Loyola senior Michael Truran. It was a great night, and if you missed it, then you should put 1718’s March 2nd reading on your calendar right now!

Lara Glenum reads February 2nd!

On the 2nd day of February (Tuesday), featured reader Lara Glenum will read from her poetry at 7pm at the Columns Hotel. In addition to having published two books of poetry, The Hounds of No and Maximum Gaga, Glenum is also the co-editor of Gurlesque. She is a translator of the Czech language, received a Fulbright Fellowship to Prague and her translation of Vladmir Holan has received an NEA translation fellowship. Additionally, Glenum’s critical research includes women Modernists, the historical avant-garde, gender and the grotesque, and the gothic. Glenum teaches creative writing in LSU’s MFA program and holds the chair of Writing Advisory Board on WILA (Women in the Literary Arts, also co-directed by past featured reader Cate Marvin).

Arrive early to get a seat and enjoy the Columns’ happy hour. Student readers to follow.