On Thursday, March 8, the University of Houston-Victoria will welcome distinguished writer Angela Ball to campus as the next speaker in the American Book Review reading series. The first poet to be featured in the series, Ball follows successful appearances by authors Justin Cronin, Eric Miles Williamson and Graciela Limón. While visiting UHV, Ball will appear in the Alcorn Auditorium from 12 to 1:30 to deliver a talk on “The Language of Poetry” and answer audience questions. The event will be free and open to the public. Afterwards, Ball will be available to sign copies of her books, some of which can be purchased at the event. Light refreshments will be served. Ball is a recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her poetry. Her most recent book, Night Clerk at the Hotel of Both Worlds, won the 2006 Association of Writers and Writing Program’s Donald Hall Prize in Poetry, one of the nation’s most sought-after literary awards. She has also won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission. “In Angela Ball we have a writer who works from both the head and heart. Her work is deeply intelligent, often re-envisioning the lives of famous historical figures such as Anton Chekhov or Edgar Allan Poe. But it is also sensitively crafted, full of moments of remarkable tenderness,” noted ABR editor Dr. Jeffrey Di Leo. Frequently described in contradictory terms—“delicate and forthright,” “enigmatic and lucid,” “exuberant and wounded.”—Ball’s poetry is notable in its ability to balance these qualities. In describing her own work, Ball has emphasized poetry’s connective abilities, characterizing it as an effort to connect “how we feel with how everyone else feels.” Ball’s other collections of poetry include Kneeling Between Parked Cars, Quartet, Possession, and The Museum of the Revolution. A graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, Ball earned her Ph.D. at the University of Denver. Currently, she teaches in the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. Ball is also an editor for the Mississippi Review. “I am very much looking forward to Angela Ball’s visit to UHV,” said President Tim Hudson. “During my time at the University of Southern Mississippi, I had many opportunities to work with her and we taught together in Jamaica, London, and a number of other venues. She is a remarkably talented writer and completely approachable.” The American Book Review is an award-winning literary journal that moved to UHV in 2006. It publishes six issues a year and internationally distributed. Friends of ABR, an organization formed since the journal’s relocation to UHV, is currently seeking members and undertaking fundraising efforts to secure the journal’s future and ensure the continuation of the reading series. For more information on Ball or the ABR reading series, contact Managing Editor Dr. Charles Alcorn at (361) 570-4100.