David Whyte

Poet

October 23, 2008

West Campus

Library, 1st Floor

Reading: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Book Signing/Q&A: 2:00 p.m.

Poet David Whyte grew up among the hills and valleys of Yorkshire, England. An Associate Fellow at Templeton College and Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many American and international companies. The author of five books of poetry, he holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including working as a naturalist guide and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions. He brings this wealth of experiences to his poetry, lectures and workshops.

In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today's call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change.

In addition to his five volumes of poetry, David Whyte is the author of The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America , published by Doubleday/Currency, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity, published by Riverhead Books, an audio lecture series and an album of poetry and music.

Susan Werner

American singer/songwriter

February 5, 2009

East Campus

Performing Arts Center

Performance: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

C.D. Signing/Q&A: 2:15 p.m.

Susan Werner made her first public performance at age five, playing guitar and singing at church. She began playing piano when she was 11, and after earning a degree in voice from the University of Iowa, she completed her graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she performed in recitals and operas.

Werner launched her recording career with the self-released Midwestern Saturday Night in 1992, which was followed by Live At Tin Angel in 1993. The second album impressed executives at Private Music/BMG, which released her major label debut Last Of The Good Straight Girls in 1995. She also received critical accolades for her subsequent recordings Time Between Trains (VelVel, 1998) and New Non-Fiction (Indie, 2001). She has toured the nation with acts such as Richard Thomson, Keb Mo and Joan Armatrading, and was featured in a 1998 Peter, Paul and Mary PBS television special as one of the best of the next generation of folk songwriters.

From her folk/pop beginnings, to the songbook flavored I Can't Be New and now The Gospel Truth , Werner relishes the challenges of being a creative free spirit and says she's in an exciting new phase of doing themed projects.

Barry Lopez

Author

March 5, 2009

Osceola Campus

Building 2 Auditorium (101)

Reading: 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.

Book Signing/Q&A: 2:15 p.m.

Barry Lopez is best known as the author of Arctic Dreams , for which he received the National Book Award. Among his other nonfiction books are About This Life , and Of Wolves and Men , which was a National Book Award finalist. He is also the author of several award-winning works of fiction, including Field Notes, Winter Count , and a novella-length fable, Crow and Weasel . His recent work includes Light Action in the Caribbean , a collection of stories, and Resistance (2004), a book of interrelated stories—Lopez's eloquent response to the recent ideological changes in American society. He selected and introduced a collection of essays, The Future of Nature , and he is the co-editor with Debra Gwartney of Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape , a landmark work of language, geography, and folklore. He is currently working on a new book, tentatively titled Horizon .

Barry Lopez has received numerous awards and prizes, among them the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the John Burroughs Medal, Guggenheim, National Science Foundation, and Lannan Fellowships, and the John Hay Medal, as well as Pushcart Prizes in fiction and non fiction. He is a regular contributor to Granta , The Paris Review , Orion , Manoa , Outside , The Georgia Review , Harper's , and other periodicals; he has also just been named as one of four “contributing writers” to National Geographic magazine.