Spring 2023 Dr. Carl Calendar Visiting Writers Series
All readings are free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.
Patrick Roche
Award-Winning Poet & Mental Health Advocate
Wednesday, March 22 at 7 pm
In-Person at the Student Life Center (SLC),Twin Lights Room
Patrick Roche (he/him) is an award-winning poet, performer, NJ local, Princeton grad, and mental health advocate. Aa award-winning performer, videos of Patrick’s work have amassed over 9.5 million views on YouTube, making him one of the most popular spoken word artists. Patrick is the author of the full-length poetry collection, A Socially Acceptable Breakdown, which was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing. He has also written two chapbooks: Wait 30 Minutes and An Exercise in Necromancy, winner of Bowery Poetry Club’s inaugural chapbook competition. His solo Off-Broadway show debuted in 2020 and was featured on Broadway World. Patrick serves nationally as an ambassador for the JED Foundation, promoting mental and emotional health, suicide prevention, and substance abuse awareness.
Hala Alyan
Award-Winning Novelist, Poet, and Actress
Tuesday, April 11 at 7 pm
In-Person at the Student Life Center (SLC), Navesink Room
Hala Alyan (she/her) is a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and clinical psychologist She is the author of the novels The Arsonists’ City and Salt Houses, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award and a finalist for the Chautauqua Prize. She has also published four award-winning collections of poetry, most recently The Twenty-Ninth Year. Her work has been published by the New Yorker, Lit Hub, The New York Times Book Review, and Guernica. Her writing covers aspects of identity and the effects of displacement, particularly within the Palestinian diaspora. She is also known for acting in the short films I Say Dust and Tallahassee.
For more information on the Dr. Carl Calendar Visiting Writers Series, please contact Professor Suzanne Parker, Director of the Creative Writing Program, at sparker@brookdalecc.edu.