October 14 • An Evening Reading with RS Deeren
Date: Saturday, October 14
Time 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: At the Roethke House (1805 Gratiot Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan 48602) and online via Zoom.
Cost: Free, donations welcome
About the event:
From environmental devastation to the economic wreckage of the 21st Century, join us for the launch of RS Deeren's debut collection of linked stories, Enough to Lose. Deeren will read from the book and discuss how Michigan's rural working class inspired these stories. Deeren will also have books available for sale during the event.
Praise for Enough to Lose:
"This book is the best thing I’ve read lately, with its dead-on depictions of rural life, both beautiful and heart-wrenching. Some of Deeren's characters live so close to the edge that the failure of a freezer might mean going hungry, while others move closer to the edge to feel alive or to grieve fully. Deeren’s strong, sure, authentic voice sings the songs of Michigan, and you should listen."
– Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Mothers, Tell Your Daughters
"Enough to Lose is compulsively readable. Like Denis Johnson, Richard Russo, and Daniel Woodrell, Deeren’s stories reflect the often brutal reality of working-class, rural life, punctuated by moments of beauty and brilliance."
– Donald Quist, author of For Other Ghosts and To Those Bounded
About RS Deeren:
A native "Thumbody" from Caro, Michigan, RS Deeren is an assistant professor of creative writing at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. His research interests include contemporary fiction, US working-class studies, and rural-urban dynamics. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in periodicals including The Great Lakes Review, Joyland, Midwestern Gothic, and more. While a student at Saginaw Valley State University, he worked as a line cook, landscaper, lumberjack, and substitute teacher. He earned his MFA from Columbia College Chicago and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The last time he was in this house, he was a high school freshman in Mrs. Ransford's English class.
To register for the event:
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Once you’ve completed check out, you will receive two emails: a confirmation email and an email containing the Zoom link for the event. If you do not receive these emails, contact us at info@friendsofroethke.org.