Three distinguished authors will headline two conferences presented by Fresno State’s Department of English this spring.

The eighth annual Undergraduate Conference on Multiethnic Literatures of the Americas will take place March 10 and 11, featuring keynote addresses from scholar, critic and author Arturo Arias and poet, artist and anthropologist Wendy Rose. The conference will be dedicated to the memory of Fresno State graduate student Mireyda “Mia” Barraza Martinez, who died in a car accident in November 2016, and it will open with a tribute to her.

The 37th annual Young Writers’ Conference will take place March 29, featuring a keynote address from author and alumna Kristin FitzPatrick.

Undergraduate Conference on Multiethnic Literatures of the Americas

Rose, who founded and for 19 years coordinated the American Indian Studies Program at Fresno City College before her retirement, will deliver her keynote at the Undergraduate Conference on Multiethnic Literatures of the Americas at 2 p.m. Friday, March 10, in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business building, Room 191) inside the University Business Center. She will give a craft talk at noon Saturday, March 11, in the Peters Business building (Room 101).

Rose is of Hopi, Miwok and European descent. She holds both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, and she previously taught at Fresno State. She has published 13 volumes of poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated collection “Lost Copper,” and her most recent books are “Itch Like Crazy” and “Bone Dance.”

Arias, a professor in the Humanities at the University of California, Merced, will deliver his keynote address at 5 p.m. Friday, March 10, in the Peters Business building (Room 192) inside the University Business Center.

Arias, who is Guatemalan American, has published six novels in Spanish, two of which have been translated to English: “After the Bombs” and “Rattlesnake.” He co-wrote the film “El Norte,” and forthcoming this year is his latest scholarly book, “Recovering Lost Footprints: The Emergence of Contemporary Indigenous Narratives in Abya Yala.”

Both keynotes are free and open to the public. Parking costs $3 in suggested lots P5 and P6. For more information, call 559.278.1569.

Young Writers’ Conference

FitzPatrick will deliver her keynote address at the Young Writers’ Conference at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, at the Satellite Student Union.

FitzPatrick is the author of the story collection “My Pulse Is an Earthquake,” published in 2015 by West Virginia University Press and a semifinalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. While earning her Master of Fine Arts degree at Fresno State, FitzPatrick was named the Dean’s Medalist for the College of Arts and Humanities in 2009, and she taught youth workshops at the Young Writers’ Conference.

Admission to the keynote address is free and open to the public. Admission for conference participants is $15. Visit www.fresnostate.edu/youngwriters to register. Parking costs $3 in suggested lots P6 and P15. For more information, call 559.278.1569.

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