WEEKENDER BLOG

Final Thursday Reading Series has returned at the Hearst Center for the Arts for its Fall season. The series features regional authors and provides a forum for local writers and songwriters to share their own original work. A grand piano is provided by the Hearst Center if desired. Local writers/songwriters may sign up for open mic at 7 p.m. and it begins at 7:15 p.m. Share your best five minutes of your own poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or songwriting. Guests are also encouraged to enjoy the Hearst Center's art galleries. The guest author takes the stage at 8 p.m. Upcoming guest authors include:

Thursday, October 24, Patrick Irelan **one week early due to Halloween**

Patrick Irelan is an author from Iowa City who attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and graduated high school in Bloomfield, Iowa. He received his BA and MA from the University of Iowa. Irelan has written and edited books of instructional materials before diving in to the world of creative nonfiction. He's currently working on his latest book, The Miracle Boy (Ice Cube Press), a collection of short stories. He is also the author of Reruns, Central Standard: A Time, a Place, a Family, and A Firefly in the Night.

Thursday, November 21, Laura Farmer ** one week early due to Thanksgiving**

Laura Farmer is an author and the director of Cornell College's Writing Studio. In the Writing Studio, students are offered tutoring services to aid in college success on such things as writing, test-taking, reading, studying, note-taking, and time management.

Farmer's works have been published in The Iowa Review and The Summerset Review. She also has a weekly book review in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Farmer-poet James Hearst bequeathed his home to the City of Cedar Falls in 1983 and asked that it be used as an arts center for the community. In 1986, as a result of this gift, the Cedar Falls Art & Culture Board was established by the City of Cedar Falls to oversee the operation of the City’s Cultural Division, which includes the James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts. The Art & Culture Board raised funds and in 1988-1989, the poet's home was reconstructed into what is now the community's own 12,000 square-foot arts center, complete with two galleries, three classrooms, a sculpture garden, two meeting rooms, and a performing arts facility. More than a million visitors have walked through the doors of the Hearst Center for the Arts since they were opened on May 13, 1989.

Guest Blogger Vicki Simpson
Hearst Center for the Arts
(319) 268-5501 vicki.simpson@cedarfalls.com

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