The Dixie State University English Department will host a reading by poet Gary Dop as part of DSU’s Visiting Reader Series. Dop, who is also a performer and playwright, will share and discuss his first collection of poetry, “Father, Child, Water,” at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, in room 457 of the Holland Centennial Commons on the DSU campus.
Just published this past spring, “Father, Child, Water” comprises poems that explore the playful and pained pathways of everyday life by examining a variety of characters and voices. The collection’s poems were written to make readers laugh, surprise them with sorrow, and remind them that they are alive.
In addition to writing poetry, Dop teaches English at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va. He earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Nebraska, and his writing has been published throughout the country in journals such as Sugar House Review, Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, Agni, and New Letters. He has been awarded the Pushcart Prize Special Mention and the 2013 Great Plains Emerging Writer Prize.
Sponsored by the university’s Creative Writing Emphasis, the Visiting Reader Series will feature different writers throughout the year. The Creative Writing Emphasis enables students to develop and hone skills in three primary areas of creative literary production: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. To learn more about the program, visit dixie.edu/english.