EWU Visiting Writer Markus reads at Auntie’s tonight

Above : Peter Markus will read from his poetry collection tonight at Auntie’s Bookstore. (Photo/auntiesbooks.com)

Every once in a while we’re reminded that a first-rate writing program sits a little more than 16 miles away from downtown Spokane.

Which is surprising because the MFA program in creative writing at Eastern Washington University has been around since 1978. Some of the past instructors include Ursula Hegi , John Keeble and James Macauley.

And the current crops of instructors, from Natalie Kusz to Samuel Ligon , enjoy their own measure of fame.

But it’s usually when one of the program’s visiting writers holds a public event that it again draws attention. Which is what’s happening tonight.

That’s when Peter Markus , a professor at Michigan’s Oakland University, will read from his first poetry collection, titled “When Our Fathers Return to Us As Birds.” The reading, which is part of EWU’s Visiting Writer series, will begin at 7 at Auntie’s Bookstore .

Of the poetry collection, reviewer Jeff Fearnside wrote, “(T)his book is an anatomy of a relationship between father and son. It is a treatise on familial bonds and obligations. It is both a lament for a life gone and a celebration of what might, as the collection’s title suggests, live on.”

Fearnside added, that the collection “is openhearted in its exploration of grief, bold in its hope that there may be some form of living after death, and realistic in admitting that “no one can prepare / you for how we leave the world.”

Space at Auntie’s is usually limited. It’s probably best to click here , go to the bottom of the page, and make a reservation.