Central Michigan University professors come together for faculty reading series
Audience members listen to the conversation about mental health and stigma during the Griffin Forum March 14 in the Opperman Auditorium. (Courtesy photo | Sarita Puri)
Sponsored by the Department of English Language and Literature, Central Michigan University Creative Writing Professors Matthew Roberson and Darrin Doyle will be doing a reading from 7 to 8 p.m. on March 23 at the Opperman Auditorium.
This event is on behalf of the faculty reading series, which is an opportunity for professors that are authors to read and present their own short fiction stories.
Roberson said he plans on reading two new pieces of his short literacy fiction that are coming out for publication in the future.
Doyle said he plans on reading an excerpt of his first draft The Disappearing Nephew.
“It’s adult literary fiction, and it’s got elements of horror and suspense,” Doyle said. “There’s a dark mystery at the heart of the story.”
According to CMU’s website, Roberson has written many novels over the years, four of which include “1998.6”, “Impotent”, “List” and “Interim”, a recently published campus novel. He also assisted in editing the collection Musing the Mosaic: Approaches to Ronald Sukenick. His short fiction has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Fiction International, Clackamas Literary Review, Western Humanities Review, Notre Dame Review and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.
“I’m very much looking forward to sharing short stories, which I haven't had a chance to write or present in a while,” Roberson said.
Doyle has an MFA in creative writing from Western Michigan University and a PhD in Comparison Literature with a Creative Dissertation from the University of Cincinnati, CMU’s website said. He has received fellowships from the Sewanee Writers' Conference and the NY State Summer Writers Institute.
“I’m excited to share my new work that I’ve never read for anyone before,” Doyle said. “Our creative writing students are always being asked to share their new stories with professors and classmates, so it’s nice to show the students that [professors] are also willing to be vulnerable and share our recently drafted stories. I’m also excited to hear my colleague Matt Roberson’s latest fiction.”
“I hope the audience enjoys hearing fiction come alive off the page, in the writer's voice,” Roberson said.
