Northwest Missouri State University’s Department of Language, Literature and Writing will host author Richard Robbins during its next installment of the 2017-18 Visiting Writers Series at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Living Room.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will include a reading and question-answer session. Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corporation, Green Tower Press, and the Department of Language, Literature and Writing are sponsors of the series.

Robbins grew up in southern California and Montana and studied with Richard Hugo and Madeline DeFrees at the University of Montana, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. He has published five books of poems, most recently “Radioactive City” (Bellday Books, 2009) and “Other Americas” (Blueroad Press, 2010). Robbins’ “Body Turn to Rain: New and Selected Poems” (Lynx House Press) was published in May.

He has received recognition for his work from The Loft, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Society of America.

From 1986 to 2014, Robbins directed the Good Thunder Reading Series at Minnesota State University Mankato, where he continues to direct the creative writing program.

The Visiting Writers Series is designed to promote creativity, diversity, and literature as a living and meaningful art form that enriches lives and helps to build and strengthen communities. 

The remainder of the series features poets E.J. Koh and Amy Meng on Feb. 8 and Peter Conners, a publisher and writer of nonfiction and poetry, on April 5.

For more information, contact Daniel Biegelson, director of the Visiting Writers Series and an instructor of English, at dbiegel@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1266.