MFA Reading Series: Srikanth Reddy and Dan Beachy-Quick

The MFA Reading Series presents Srikanth Reddy, a celebrated poet, editor, and literary critic. Reddy authored four books of poetry, including “Voyager,” named a best book of poetry in 2011 by The New Yorker, The Believer, and National Public Radio. Vik Shirley, writing for Poetry London, says, “Reddy makes devastating, heavyweight lines of poetry sound so casual and throwaway, and it’s this deceptively light touch, this ability to cope with the horror of our condition through laughter, which makes [his work] so essential.”

Srikanth Reddy will give a reading on Friday, September 29 at 7:30 PM in The Hemingway Center, followed by a book signing. Free and open to the public, the MFA Reading Series brings renowned writers to the Boise State campus each year.

Srikanth Reddy grew up in Chicago. He earned a BA from Harvard College, an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in English literature from Harvard University. His poetry collection “Facts for Visitors” (2004) received the 2005 Asian American Literary Award for Poetry. “Voyager,” named one of the best books of poetry by The New Yorker, The Believer, and National Public Radio, appeared in 2011. His latest collection, “Underworld Lit” (2020) became a finalist for the Griffin International Poetry Prize, the T.S. Eliot Four Quartets Prize, and a 2020 Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year.

Reddy’s poetry and criticism appears in Harper’s, the Guardian (UK), the New Republic, the New York Times, and numerous other venues; in fall 2015, he delivered the Bagley Wright Lectures in Poetry. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Creative Capital Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Reddy works as Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Chicago, where he edits the Phoenix Poets book series at the University of Chicago Press. He currently serves as the Poetry Editor for The Paris Review.

You can read excerpts and reviews of “Underworld Lit,” “Voyager,” and “Facts for Visitors” on his website. 

You can view all upcoming Creative Writing MFA readings on the events page here.