LITERATURE + LECTURES

Houstonians, however, have the benefit of hearing works straight from the writers' mouths during the monthly Gulf Coast Reading Series. During its 2010-2011 season, the series will introduce Houstonians to 21 talented students from UH's acclaimed Creative Writing Program. All readings are free and presented at Brazos Bookstore.

Gulf Coast, a biannual journal featuring innovative fiction for the literary-minded, presents this reading series, bringing writers from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program to the ears of our city. Through the University of Houston's literary journal Gulf Coast, audiences around the world can experience the poetry and fiction of emerging authors.

"The Gulf Coast Reading Series offers residents an opportunity to hear some of the best young writers read their work," said J. Kastely, director of the UH Creative Writing Program. "The series takes place in an intimate setting, and it is fun to be part of the audience. It epitomizes what a literary community can be."

All readings are free and open to the public and begin at 7 p.m. at Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005.  

January 21, 2011: Colin Garretson, Zachary Martin, Caitlin Plunkett

Born in Sydney, Colin Garretson grew up on the seacoast of New Hampshire. He graduated with a BA in History and English from The University of Pennsylvania in 2000. After teaching ESL in Germany for two and a half years, he moved to the Bay Area, where he earned master's degrees from Stanford in History and Humanities. He is currently an MFA student in fiction writing at the University of Houston.

Zachary Martin is a PhD candidate at the University of Houston and a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University. He is an assistant fiction editor for Narrative and teaches online creative writing classes for the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. His fiction, non-fiction, and humor have appeared in such outlets as Louisville Review, Fourth Genre, Southeast Review, Washington Square, and Lumina, and online at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and The Bygone Bureau.

Caitlin Plunkett is in her second year at the University of Houston’s MFA Program. She has been recently published on “Poets for Living Waters,” a response to the BP Gulf Coast oil disaster. Caitlin also writes for MyDailyDeals, creating ads for businesses like Bubbles Car Wash and Top Drawer Lingerie. She learned about poetry in Virginia and owes a lot to that one poetry class at Virginia Tech.