Newly published poets De Luna, Turner will read March 23 at Fresno State

Two former creative writing students from California State University, Fresno, whose first published collections are attracting national attention, will return to campus to read from their works at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 23.

Blas Manuel De Luna and Brian Turner will read as part of the Visiting Writer Series sponsored by the Department of English. The event, free and open to the public, will be at the Concert Hall in the Music Building. A reception and book signing will follow.

De Luna's first poetry collection, Bent To The Earth (Carnegie Mellon University Press), was a 2005 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, and reared in Madera, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Fresno State and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in creative writing from the University of Washington. De Luna, 36, teaches high school English in Firebaugh.

Turner's first poetry collection, Here, Bullet, published by Alice James Books, details his year leading an Army infantry team in Iraq. The book has received praise in The New Yorker and on National Public Radio. The Fresno native earned his bachelor's degree in English from Fresno State and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in creative writing from the University of Oregon. Turner, 39, teaches English part-time at Fresno City College.

The reading will be co-hosted by the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing and the student-run San Joaquin Literary Association. Additional support is provided by the College of Arts and Humanities, the English Department and Associated Students.

For details, contact the English Department at 559.278.2553.