Etruscan Press Hosts Poet and Translator Aaron Poochigian In Reading at Wilkes University March 27

Wilkes-Barre, PA (03/14/2018) — Etruscan Press will host poet and translator Aaron Poochigian at Wilkes University on March 27 in a reading from his debut novel-in-verse, Mr. Either/Or. The reading will take place in the Kirby Salon at 4:30 p.m., 202 S. River St. The event is free and open to the public. A reception and a book signing, sponsored by the Barnes & Noble Bookstore, will follow the reading. Mr. Either/Or is a verse novel melding American mythology, noir thriller and classical epic in language. Etruscan Press is a partner of the Maslow Family Graduate Creative Writing Program at Wilkes University, where the press is housed. The creative program and Etruscan formalized the on-campus affiliation in 2005.

Etruscan Press released Poochigian's, Mr. Either/Or, in October 2017. His book of translations from Sappho, Stung With Love, was published by Penguin Classics in 2009, and his translation of Apollonius' Jason and the Argonauts was released October 2014.

For his work in translation, Poochigian was awarded a 2010-2011 grant by the National Endowment for the Arts. His first book of original poetry, The Cosmic Purr, was published in 2012 by Able Muse Press, and several of the poems in it collectively won the New England Poetry Club's Daniel Varoujan Prize. His work has appeared in such journals as The Guardian, Poems Out Loud and Poetry.

Poochigian earned a doctorate in classics from the University of Minnesota in 2006 and a master of fine arts in poetry from Columbia University in 2016.

About Wilkes University:

Wilkes University is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences and professional programs. Founded in 1933, the university is on a mission to create one of the great small universities, offering all of the programs, activities and opportunities of a large, research university in the intimate, caring and mentoring environment of a small, liberal arts college, at a cost that is increasingly competitive with public universities. The Economist named Wilkes 25th in the nation for the value of its education for graduates. In addition to 43 bachelor's degree programs, Wilkes offers 25 master's degree programs and five doctoral/terminal degree programs, including the doctor of philosophy in nursing, doctor of nursing practice, doctor of education, doctor of pharmacy, and master of fine arts in creative writing. Learn more at www.wilkes.edu.

About Etruscan Press:

Housed at Wilkes University and partnering with Youngstown State University, Etruscan is a non-profit literary press working to produce and promote books that nurture the dialogue among genres, cultures, and voices. Etruscan publishes books of poems, novels, short stories, creative non-fiction, criticism, translation, and anthologies.

Etruscan was one of five finalists for the 2015 AWP Small Press Publisher Award. Three works from Etruscan's collection of poetry were named finalists for the National Book Award and another was named to the Longlist (the NBA's "Top Ten" in poetry). Other titles are recipients of the Poetry Society of America's "First Book Award," the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award, and PEN Oakland's "Josephine Miles Award." Three poems published by Etruscan were selected for Best American Poetry. Most recently, titles published by Etruscan Press were awarded the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize, nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry, the Poet's Prize, named a finalist for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award, Housatonic Book Award, Helen Smith Memorial Prize for Best Book of Poetry, and longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.

In addition to support from Wilkes University and Youngstown State University, Etruscan is proud to have received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Oristaglio Foundation, the Andrews Foundation, The Wean Foundation, the Rayen Foundation, the Drs. Brothers & Murphy Endowment, and the Ohio Arts Council.

#####

Media Attachments