Reading by visiting writer Sandra Beasley Nov. 15

Distinguished Visiting Writer Sandra Beasley will read from her poetry and prose on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in Van Etten-Lacey House. The event is sponsored by Cornell’s Center for the Literary Arts.

During  Block 3, Beasley is on campus to teach an advanced creative writing course, Stranger Than Fiction: Creative Writing about the Sciences. The course is focusing on contemporary nonfiction writing that incorporates the natural sciences—particularly medicine, chemistry, biology, and ecology.

Sandra Beasley is the author of three books, including the memoir “Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales From an Allergic Life.” Her second collection of poetry, “I Was the Jukebox,” was selected by Joy Harjo as winner of the 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize. Her debut collection, “Theories of Falling,” won the 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize judged by Marie Howe. Her poetry has also appeared in such magazines as Poetry and The Believer, as well as The Best American Poetry 2010.

Beasley lives in Washington, D.C., freelancing for such publications as the Washington Post Magazine and leading workshops at the Writer’s Center. She holds an MFA in creative writing  from The American University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia.