Nov. 9: CLC faculty present original poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction

Seven members of the College of Lake County creative writing faculty will read from their original poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 in Room A013 at the Grayslake Campus. The reading will feature faculty members Elizabeth Aiossa, James Crizer, Robin Kacel, Michael F. Latza, Esley Stahl, Kathryn Starzec and Larry Starzec. The event is free and open to the community.

Elizabeth Aiossa has published poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews and scholarly essays in print and online journals (including Oyez Review, LUVAH, Penumbra and Teaching English in the Two-Year College). Her screenplay "Swell" received an honorable mention at the latest Vegas Cine Fest. At conferences, she presents on radical representations of gender and monstrosity in zombie films. She is the Coordinator of CLC's Graduate Student Internship Program (GSIP) and earned a B.A. in English and M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from Roosevelt University and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute.

James Crizer serves as associate dean of the Communication Arts, Humanities and Fine Arts division and teaches writing. He was formerly an instructor and administrator in the general studies writing program at Bowling Green University and assistant editor for the Mid-American Review. Crizer has published more than 20 poems in The Portland Review, Cimarron Review, New Orleans Review, Sonora Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Washington Square, The Canary and Pearl. He earned a B.F.A. in theatre from the University of Mississippi and an M.F.A. in poetry from Bowling Green State University.

Robin Kacel has published articles in English Journal, Writing! Magazine, the Chicago Tribune and Those Who Can, Teach, and interviews with poet Nikki Giovanni and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel. Kacel has written scripts and lyrics for the WBBM-TV show The Magic Door. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in English from the University of Chicago and an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Michael F. Latza is editor of CLC's award-winning creative writing journal, Willow Review. Latza has been published in The Solitary Plover, Red River Review, Bear River Review, Appalachian Journal and the Prairie Home Companion website. His collection of poetry, Rip This Poem Out, is available on Amazon.com. Before becoming a writing instructor, Latza had a 25-year career as a mailman.

Esley Stahl has published work in Stymie Magazine, Knee-Jerk Magazine and the Chicago Sun Times. She holds a B.A. in criminal justice from UIC and an M.F.A. from Roosevelt University.

Kathryn Starzec wrote the screenplay for "The Woman Behind the Wall," a film produced by Studiobema. She earned an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from Vermont College.

Larry Starzec has published poems, short fiction and essays in Other Voices, Ascent, The Cream City Review, Kansas Quarterly, Alaska Quarterly Review and South Dakota Review. "In this neighborhood, of this Earth," was a notable selection in the anthology Best American Essays in 2005. Starzec earned B.A. in philosophy from Northern Illinois University, an M.F.A. from the Warren Wilson College Program for Writers and did a semester of post graduate study in M.F.A. Program for Writers at Vermont College.

For more information on the CLC Reading Series, contact Robin Kacel at (847) 543-2561 or rkacel@clcillinois.edu. The reading is being sponsored by the CLC Communication Arts, Humanities and Fine Arts division. Room A013 is located in the lower level A Wing at the college, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake.