Joseph Epstein, born in Chicago, was educated at the University of Chicago, and has taught in the English Department at Northwestern University. He is the author of 14 books, the most recent of which are Narcissus Leaves the Pool, a collection of essays (1999), and Snobbery: The American Version (2002). He has recently completed a small book on Envy, for a series of books on the Seven Deadly Sins, to be published by Oxford University Press. A new collection of his stories, Fabulous Small Jews, will be published later this spring. His essays and stories appear in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, Commentary, Hudson Review, and the London Times Literary Supplement. He was the editor of The American Scholar between 1974 and 1997.

Reading: 17 March, 7pm, WU West Campus Conference Center. Seminar: 18 March, 4pm, McMillan Cafe, Old McMillan Hall, Hilltop Campus.

Katha Pollitt, born in New York City, was educated at Harvard and Columbia School of the Arts, and has taught at numerous colleges and universities, including Barnard and the graduate faculty of the New School. She is a poet, essayist, and a reviewer and columnist for the Nation, where her bimonthly column, "Subject to Debate," has appeared since 1994. Her poetry and prose have appeared in many magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The London Review of Books, and The Paris Review. She has won many grants and awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry, a National Magazine award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her daughter, Sophie.

Reading: 31 March, 7pm, WU West Campus Conference Center. Seminar: 1 April, 4pm, McMillan Cafe, Old McMillan Hall, Hilltop Campus.

The IWC will host the first in its Local Writers Series on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. with UMSL historian Charles Korr coming to speak about his new book, The End of Baseball As We Knew It: The Players Union, 1960-81. The talk will take place at the Women's Building and Professor Korr hopes to be accompanied by former St. Louis and Atlanta Braves star, Ted Simmons.

Reading: 11 March, 7:30pm, Women's Building Formal Lounge

Faculty and Graduate students are invited to attend the first monthly faculty luncheon feauturing Richard Watson from the department of philosophy. Watson's talk will be followed by a question and answer period. Join us for an excellent buffet and engaging conversation. Dr. Watson is a professor of philosophy at Washington University. His recent books include The Philosopher's Diet: How to Lose Weight and Change the World and Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of Rene Descartes.

Fabulation: Two or Three Examples of How to Make Up True Stories about Descarte’s Life.
20 February, Umrath Lounge, Umrath Hall, 12pm.

Garrett Duncan studies conditions that attribute to success and failure among black students in public schools, especially in competitive settings. He examines academic and social issues, with a special focus on high-stakes testing, education reform, violence, and racial disparities in achievements in public schools.

The Language We Cry In: Narrative and Resistance at an Urban High School.
20 March, Umrath Lounge, Umrath Hall, 12pm

Ken Botnick
14 April, 2003

Scenes from the third faculty luncheon, addressed by Prof. Ken Botnick.

Ken Botnick has been printing and publishing limited, first edition books for almost 25 years, including titles by Octavio Paz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Guy Davenport, and Charles Wright. His works are in collections around the world and the complete archive of his first press, Red Ozier, resides in the New York Public Library permanent collection. Botnick has designed trade and university press books for many years including several years as design and production manager for art books at Yale University Press.

Book as Verb: The Role of the Book in the Life of the University, the Student, and the Faculty (A Very Personal Perspective).
14 April, Umrath Lounge, Umrath Hall, 12pm