The MFA in Creative Writing at Boise State University will present acclaimed author Chris Offutt at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in the Morrison Center Recital Hall. This reading is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. No tickets are required.
Offutt is the author of one novel, two short story collections, and two memoirs, including his most recent book, “My Father, the Pornographer.” His works of fiction include “Out of the Woods,” “The Good Brother,” and “Kentucky Straight.” Honors for his work include Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, as well as a Whiting Award. Offutt is also a screenwriter, and has worked on the HBO drama “True Blood” and the Showtime Series “Weeds.” His writing has appeared in The Best American Essays, The Best American Short Stories, and many other anthologies.
Offutt grew up in Haldeman, Kentucky, a former mining community of 200 people. At the age of seventeen, he dropped out of school with the intention of joining the army, but then failed the physical. He went on to attend college near his hometown, at Morehead State University, and later earned his MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he has taught as a visiting faculty member. He now lives near Oxford, Mississippi, and teaches at The University of Mississippi. Tobias Wolff has called Offutt “one of the best writers of short fiction in his – or any – generation.”
The MFA Program in Creative Writing at Boise State University offers degree tracks in fiction and poetry, emphasizing the art and craft of literary writing and concentrating on the student’s written work. Two of the MFA’s publishing entities — The Idaho Review and Ahsahta Press — are widely regarded as leading national publications that consistently feature the top writers in the country. Vice President of Research Mark Rudin has labeled the MFA in Creative Writing a top five research strength at Boise State. The program runs out of the Department of Theatre Arts and each year brings distinguished writers to campus through its reading series and its Visiting Distinguished Writer professorship. Past Visiting Distinguished Writers include Joy Williams, Denis Johnson and Pierre Joris.
BY: SHERRY SQUIRES PUBLISHED 6:51 AM / NOVEMBER 9, 2017