For immediate release March 31, 2008

Media contact: Jacquie Lucy 410-869-7168

MEDIA ALERT

Poet, essayist and novelist Andrei Codrescu headlines CCBC Creative Writing Forum
7 p.m. Friday, April 11 in J-137 at CCBC Essex

Baltimore County, Md. – The English Department in the Community College of Baltimore County’s School of Liberal Arts hosts its 22nd Annual Creative Writing Forum 7 p.m. Friday, April 11 in the J Building Lecture Hall (J-137) on the Essex campus at 7201 Rossville Blvd. Noted poet, essayist and novelist Andrei Codrescu will be the featured speaker.

Codrescu, a native of Romania, lives in New Orleans and lectures extensively on his writings. A poet, essayist and novelist, he has been contributing commentaries to NPR's award-winning newsmagazine, All Things Considered, since 1983. Codrescu taught briefly at CCBC Essex in the late ‘70s.

Codrescu's poetry, short stories, and novels have been widely translated. His recent books include: New Orleans Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writing from the City and It was Today: New Poems.

Codrescu, who is currently the Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University, writes a newspaper column and edits Exquisite Corpse (corpse.org), a monthly book review.

Among his honors are the George Foster Peabody Award, the ACLU Freedom of Speech Award, Big Table Poetry Award, the Towson State University Literature Prize, and the General Electric Foundation Poetry Prize. He has also been awarded National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships for poetry, editing, and radio.

For information, contact Assistant Professor Brooke Bognanni at 410-780-6531. The event is free and open to the public.

Also, the CCBC English Department will host a reception for five CCBC faculty authors – Evan Balkan, Brooke Bognanni, Jo Darden-Obi, Kim Jensen and Monica Windley-Walker – 2 p.m. Friday, April 11 in the second floor lounge in the B Building at CCBC Essex. The event is free and open to the public.

The 22nd Annual Creative Writing Seminar presented in partnership with the Baltimore County Public Schools is feature student writing workshops, dinner and open microphone for selected BCPS students.