The Open Door Readings: January

The Open Door series presents work from Chicago’s new and emerging poets and highlights the area’s outstanding writing programs. Each hour-long event features readings by two area writing program instructors and two of their current or recent students. January's Open Door Reading presents Columbia College’s Jenny Boully and her student Naomi Washer along with Oklahoma City University's Quraysh Ali Lansana and his student David R. Bublitz.

Jenny Boully is the author of of the mismatched teacups: of the single-serving spoon: a book of failures. Her other books include The Book of Beginnings and Endings, The Body: An Essay, not merely because of the unknown that was stalking toward them, and [one love affair]*. She teaches nonfiction and poetry at Columbia College Chicago.

Naomi Washer is an MFA Candidate in Nonfiction at Columbia College Chicago. Her essays, poems and Cambodian translations have appeared in journals including South Loop Review, Ampersand Review, and Poor Claudia. She is an assistant editor of Hotel Amerika and editor-in-chief of Ghost Proposal.

Quraysh Ali Lansana is author of eight poetry books, three textbooks, a children's book, editor of eight anthologies, and coauthor of a book of pedagogy. His most recent books include The Walmart Republic with Christopher Stewart and reluctant minivan. He is a faculty member of the Creative Writing Program of the School of the Art Institute and the Red Earth MFA Creative Writing Program at Oklahoma City University.

David R. Bublitz is an MFA graduate from the Oklahoma City University Red Earth program. He teaches journalism courses at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma while advising for the student-run CU Collegian newspaper.

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