Nationally praised writer Don Stap to read at University of Central Florida as part of the English Department's "Writers in the Sun" series

ORLANDO, October 17 2004 -- Author Don Stap, featured on NPR's "Fresh Air" and profiled in the Orlando Sentinel, will be the second distinguished writer this year in UCF's "Writers in the Sun" series. Stap will read selections from his acclaimed new release Birdsong (Scribner) on 9 November, 2005, in the Art Gallery, Visual Arts Building, on UCF campus. UCF creative writing student Elizabeth Hastings will also read selections from her poetry.

In Birdsong, Stap explores the complex world of avian linguistic studies through a compelling profile of pioneering ornithologist Don Kroodsma. In documenting Kroodsma's meticulous research processes and findings, Stap not only draws a vivid portrait of the natural phenomena of birdsong but also of the painstaking and often controversial process of nature research itself. Publishers Weekly says of Birdsong: "A lucidly written combination of scientific lore and vivid reportage, the book is a thoughtful treatment of one of nature's most beguiling phenomena."

Don Stap has published a previous work of nonfiction, A Parrot Without a Name. He has read from his work on "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" on National Public Radio. His articles are featured frequently in Audubon magazine and have also appeared in Smithsonian, Travel & Leisure, and The New York Times. He currently resides in Orlando, FL, where he is a Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Central Florida.

Elizabeth Hastings is currently a student in the MFA creative writing program at UCF. In 2004, she was awarded the AWP Intro Journals Project Award for poetry. Her poem "Note to Self" was published in the Tampa Review.

The reading is free and open to the public.

"Writers in the Sun" is sponsored by the Cypress Dome Society and the Department of English, UCF.

DATE
May 17, 2004

CONTACT
Jocelyn Bartkevicius
Assoc. Prof. of English
407-823-6157

Terry Thaxton
Asst. Prof. of English
tthaxton@mail.ucf.edu

DOWNLOADS
(none)

LINKS
English Department