Doug Van Gundy Reading

Poet, musician, teacher and Pushcart Prize nominee Doug Van Gundy will be featured with Morgantown Poets at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.

The reading at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC) is free and open to the public. The MAC is at 107 High Street, downtown Morgantown (beside Hotel Morgan).

Van Gundy's poems, “Engineers” and “The Return of the Almighty,” were nominated for Pushcart Prizes this year. His first book of poems, "A Life Above Water," was published in 2007 by Red Hen Press.

The author's poems and essays have appeared in many journals including The Oxford American, Ecotone, Waccamaw, The Louisville Review and The Fretboard Journal.

A graduate of the Goddard College Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, Van Gundy has been a visiting poet at Randolph-Macon College, Barton College, Coastal Carolina University and Davis & Elkins College. The author was recently an associate artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. He has been a panelist at The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) and South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) conferences, and has read at various venues across the United States.

In addition to being a writer and teacher, Van Gundy is a well-known traditional musician. He plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo in the old-time music duo, Born Old.

Van Gundy teaches writing at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon.

Public parking is available near the MAC in the parking garage at the corner of Pleasant and Chestnut streets and at the city lot behind 142 High Street (enter off Spruce). The MAC is accessible to individuals with special mobility requirements. Please schedule ahead at least seven days prior to the event by calling 30... , or write to info@monartscenter.com.

Morgantown Poets is an informal community group that meets from 7-9 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at MAC, providing literary enthusiasts in north-central West Virginia the opportunity to express themselves, share their work, network and to connect up-and-coming writers with more established authors. New writers are welcome. Meetings usually begin with a spoken reading by a featured author followed by readings from attendees.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Morgantown Poets wants people to be aware we are now in winter driving season and encourages everyone to exercise caution. Please do not to attempt to drive to an event if road conditions are (or may become) hazardous. Remember, Morgantown Poets hosts an event every month. Thus, no one should feel any pressure to attempt to drive to any particular event if road conditions are hazardous. Safety first!

Join the group on Facebook by entering “Morgantown Poets” in Facebook’s search. Or join Morgantown Poets mailing list by writing to morgantownpoets@yahoo.com or the listserve at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/motownpoetry.

Doug Van Gundy on the Web: http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/doug_van_gundy/index.shtml