Carnegie Mellon University
November 01, 2013

News Brief: Carnegie Mellon's Creative Writing Program Introduces New Faculty Members With Special Reading

Contact: Shilo Rea / 412-268-6094 / shilo@cmu.edu

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Creative Writing Program will introduce new faculty members Kevin González and Lauren Shapiro to the campus and Pittsburgh communities with a special reading at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12 in the University Center's Danforth Lounge.

González, who received his bachelor's degree in creative writing and international relations from Carnegie Mellon, and Shapiro join an award-winning faculty of poets and prose writers in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences' Department of English.

"Kevin and Lauren bring energy and exuberance to our program," said Sharon Dilworth, associate professor of English who directs the Creative Writing Program. "They also bring a knowledge, not only of an expertise in their fields but of contemporary, extremely contemporary writing. They have the uncanny ability to size up where the Creative Writing Program is and what they can do to move it forward in exciting new ways. It's exactly what we want right now — we're very happy to welcome them both."

González, assistant professor of English, currently teaches the Beginning Fiction Workshop and Beginning Poetry Workshop. In his 2009 poetry collection "Cultural Studies," he takes readers from the back streets of Pittsburgh to the bars and byways of Puerto Rico to explore resistance to the trappings of culture and embracing its idiosyncrasies. He is currently working on a novel and excerpts have been published in "Playboy," "Narrative Magazine," "Best New American Voices" and "Best American Nonrequired Reading." Prior to returning to CMU, he was an assistant professor at Trinity College in Connecticut.

"I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to return to CMU's Creative Writing Program as a faculty member," González said. "My experience as an undergrad here undoubtedly shaped me in many ways, as a writer, an editor and even as a teacher. Although writing itself is a solitary act, I find that I, and most writers that I know, work best when part of a thriving literary community. The program at CMU is unparalleled, as far as undergraduate creative writing programs go, in building a strong sense of community between students and faculty."

Shapiro, adjunct professor of English, holds degrees from Brown University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop and teaches creative writing and poetry courses. Her first book, "Easy Math," won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and was published by Sarabande Books. In addition to creative writing, Shapiro also has experience in book editing and publishing and literary translation.

For more information on Carnegie Mellon's Creative Writing Program, visit http://www.cmu.edu/hss/english/undergraduate/ba-cw/index.html.

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