The English Reading Series kicked off with a bang with readings from Patrick Madden and Kristen Eliason!

Pat Madden, a professor here at BYU, kept us laughing by reading from his personal essays. A master of hyperbole, Madden apologized to the reader for the few tiny factual errors in his personal essay collection (now, was it Helen who sang the alto part, or was it Mary?–we may never know). He discussed and read from some purposefully unfinished essays, complete with pictures of Kiss and music clips. To finish off, he read his own eBay listing for a writer’s unfinished bottle of water, surprising the audience by planting his own students in the audience to interrupt and ask questions. (I was one of those lucky students.)

Kristen Eliason read to us primarily from her book Picture Dictionary, an unusual work of creative non-fiction written in the form of a Japanese picture dictionary. In Picture Dictionary and in the haiku from her chapbook Yours, she enthralled us with her fascinating use of language and form. My favorite part, though, was hearing her poem about cuddling (which, as she pointed out, is perfect for students at BYU, who are preoccupied with cuddling), describing the predicament of having to figure out what to do with your arm when cuddling. When she described the out-of-place arm as a “chicken wing,” she spoke to my soul.

If you missed the readings by these fantastic authors, don’t make the same mistake again–the Reading Series takes place every Friday at noon in the library auditorium, with different authors each time! And you really don’t want to miss out this week–ROBERT PINSKY, former poet laureate, aka one of the very best poets currently living in the United States, is reading (this reading only will be in the JSB auditorium–after this week the Reading Series will return to the library auditorium). Be there or be square! (Or, I should say, miss out on an amazing opportunity that you may never have again!)