Beck Series

The Beck Series provides students the opportunity to hear, study with, and engage some of this country’s finest writers.

Beck Series Coordinator:
Margot Singer

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Jacqueline Osherow

Beck Literary Festival event: Poet Jacqueline Osherow reading and book signing

Museum

Jacqueline Osherow’s ninth collection of poems, "Divine Ratios," was published by LSU Press in 2023. She has received grants from the John Simon Guggenheim and Ingram Merrill Foundations, the NEA, and the Witter Bynner Prize. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Paris Review, American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry, The Norton Anthology of Jewish-American Literature, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet and many other anthologies and journals. She is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Utah.

Kevin Wilson

Beck Literary Festival event: Novelist Kevin Wilson reading and book signing

Museum

Kevin Wilson is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestsellers "The Family Fang" and "Nothing to See Here," a Read with Jenna book club selection, and "Run for the Hills." His fiction has appeared in multiple journals, as well as Best American Short Stories 2020 and 2021 and the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2012. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with his family, where he is an associate professor in the English & Creative Writing Department at the University of the South.

Adrian Matejka

Beck Literary Festival event: Poet Adrian Matejka reading and book signing

Museum

Adrian Matejka is the author of six poetry collections and the graphic novel "Last on His Feet." He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, served as the poet laureate of Indiana from 2018 to 2019, and is editor-in-chief of Poetry magazine. He lives in Chicago, and his latest collection of poetry, "Be Easy: New & Selected Poems," was released by Liveright in the Spring of 2026.

Composite image showing three people: a woman with long dark hair on the left, a woman with short hair in the top right, and a man with short dark hair in the bottom right.

Beck Literary Festival event: Maggie Smith in Conversation with Emily St. John Mandel and Kevin Wilson

Swasey Chapel

Join us for the inaugural Beck Literary Festival with celebrated authors Emily St. John Mandel and Kevin Wilson in conversation with acclaimed poet Maggie Smith. 

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About the Beck Series

For more than sixty years, the Beck Series, funded by the Harriet Ewens Beck Endowment for English, has been a mainstay of creative writing studies at Denison University. The series provides students the opportunity to meet and engage with some of the world’s finest poets and writers.

Here are just a few notable speakers from past years:

  • Percival Everett – Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Winner
  • Joy Harjo – United States Poet Laureate
  • Piper Kerman – Author of Orange is the New Black
  • Viet Than Nguyen – Pulitzer Prize Winner for The Sympathizer
Beck Series guest, GLCA fiction award winner Lesley Nneka Arimah speaks
Beck Series guest, GLCA fiction award winner Lesley Nneka Arimah
Beck Series guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine
Beck Series guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine
Beck Series guests, prize-winning poets Maggie Glover '05 and Page Starzinger
Beck Series guests, prize-winning poets Maggie Glover '05 and Page Starzinger

Harriet Ewens Beck, class of 1910, developed a lifelong love of poetry after studying high school English with Willa Cather in Pittsburgh. Upon her passing, her husband Gordon C. Beck (class of 1906), arrived on campus in 1960 and announced to Paul Bennett of the English Department, “I want to establish an enduring monument to Harriet, something that will honor her interest in writing.” Beck pledged to fund the endowment and then, over a lunch of peanut butter crackers and chocolate chip cookies in the Student Union, the two men outlined the plans of what would become one of most vibrant and dynamic reading series on any campus in this country.

The Beck Series first visitor was Eudora Welty, whose four-day visit came in April of 1964. She met with faculty, visited classes, and conferenced with students about their manuscripts. That first visit set the tone and template that defines the Beck Series. Visitors to Denison’s campus continue to share their work in public readings, meet with creative writing classes and the campus community, and work with students in one-on-one manuscript consultations or lead workshops. 

The generous gift from the Beck family has brought to Denison more than twenty United States’ Poet Laureate and more than twenty-five winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, including Robert Olen Butler, Louise Erdrich, Richard Ford, Aleksander Hemon, Steven Millhauser, Joyce Carol Oates, Mark Strand, Derek Walcott, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, and many more.

 

Beck Series
Archives

2019 - 2020

Camille T. Dungy
Beck Series presents Camille T. Dungy

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes Camille T. Dungy

Nicole Walker
Beck Series presents Nicole Walker

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author Nicole Walker.

Hanif Abdurraqib
Beck Series presents Hanif Abdurraqib

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib.

David Lynn
Beck Series presents Author David Lynn

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author David Lynn.

2018 - 2019

ETHEL
Beck Series presents Ann Townsend and David Baker with ETHEL

Denison University's Beck Series presents poets Ann Townsend and David Baker, with special guest ETHEL, in an Evening of Poetry and Music.

Dave Lucas
Beck Series presents Poet Dave Lucas

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes Poet Laureate of Ohio Dave Lucas

Photo of Min Jin Lee
Beck Series presents Author Min Jin Lee

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes award winning author Min Jin Lee

Barney-Davis
Beck Lecture with Becky Thompson and Sara Abou Rashed

Denison University welcomes Becky Thompson and Sara Abou Rashed (DU ’21) presenting a Beck Lecture and poetry reading

Emily Fridlund and Hilary Plum
Beck Series presents Emily Fridlund and Hilary Plum, GLCA Prize Winners

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes Emily Fridlund and Hilary Plum, GLCA Prize Winners

Photo of Victoria Chang
Beck Series presents Victoria Chang

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes poet Victoria Chang

Photo of Emily Bernard
Emily Bernard presents a lecture

Emily Bernard presents lecture, ”My Own People: Identity, Intersectionality, and the Saving Grace of Friendship.”

Wil Haygood
Author and Journalist Wil Haygood

Journalist Wil Haygood talks about his book "Tigerland"

Photo of Chen Chen
Beck Series presents Chen Chen

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author Chen Chen

Patrica Smith stands outside in front of a wooden board fence
The Beck Series presents acclaimed poet Patricia Smith

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author Patricia Smith

Photo of Holly Goddard Jones
Beck Series presents Holly Goddard Jones

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author Holly Goddard Jones.

A photo portrait of Silas House
Beck Series presents Silas House

Denison University's Beck Series welcomes author Silas House

2017 - 2018

Photo of Denison campus building
The Beck Series: ‘Poetry in Ohio’

Denison's Beck Series welcomes poets Kathy Fagan, Michael Rosen and Maggie Smith as part of the Ohio Poetry Series.

Black and white photo of people from a screening of the 2016 film “The Draft and the Vietnam Generation.”
‘The Draft and the Vietnam Generation’

Denison University presents a screening of the 2016 film "The Draft and the Vietnam Generation."

Photo of a red notebook that says "The Story Collider" on it
The Story Collider: True, personal stories about science

Denison's Beck Series, Journalism program and Geosciences program present The Story Collider.

Photo of Great Lake’s College Association (GLCA) prize winners Charles Boyer and Randall Horton
Writers Charles Boyer and Randall Horton

Denison's Beck Series welcomes GLCA prize winners Charles Boyer and Randall Horton.

Photo of author and GLCA poetry prize winner Nate Marshall
Poet Nate Marshall

Denison's Beck Series welcomes GLCA poetry prize winner Nate Marshall.

Photo of Carl F. Cranor
‘The King’s Three Bodies: Moby-Dick, with Hobbes’

Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Bonnie Honig, professor at Brown University, presents a lecture, "The King’s Three Bodies: Moby-Dick, with Hobbes."

Photo of authors Daniel and Peter Grandbois
Authors Daniel and Peter Grandbois

Denison's Beck Series welcomes authors Daniel and Peter Grandbois for a poetry and fiction reading.

Photo of a child size dress against a black background
Author Kim Edwards

Denison's Beck Series welcomes the author of the best-selling novel "The Memory Keepers Daughter."

Photo of poet, translator and scholar Phil Metres
Poet Phil Metres

Denison's Beck Series welcomes Phil Metres, award-winning poet, translator and scholar.

Photo of author Ted Genoways
Author Ted Genoways

Denison's Beck Series welcomes Ted Genoways, author of "This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Farm."

2016 - 2017

Photo of Margot Singer, associate professor of English at Denison University
Beck Series features Denison professor Margot Singer

The Beck Series "Home Series" welcomes Denison professor and author Margot Singer.

Nonfiction Writer Rachel Aviv

Denison's Beck Series and Journalism Concentration welcome nonfiction writer Rachel Aviv.

Photo of poet Joanna Klink
Poet Joanna Klink – Rescheduled

Denison's Beck Series welcomes poet Joanna Klink.

Photo of Viet Thanh Nguyen
Pulitzer Prize Winner Viet Thanh Nguyen

Denison's Beck Series welcomes author Viet Thanh Nguyen.

Photo of poet Solmaz Sharif
Poet Solmaz Sharif

Denison's Beck Series welcomes poet Solmaz Sharif.

Photo of Lauren Acampora and Shulem Deen
Writers Lauren Acampora and Shulem Deen

Denison's Beck Series welcomes GLCA prize winners Lauren Acampora and Shulem Deen.

Photo of poet and memoirist Reginald Dwayne Betts
Poet and memoirist Reginald Dwayne Betts

Denison's Beck Series welcomes poet Reginald Dwayne Betts.

Fiction Writer Sayed Kashua

Denison's Beck Series, International Studies and the Great Lakes College Association Grand Challenge welcome author Sayed Kashua.

Author Richard Bausch

Denison's Beck Series welcomes American novelist and short story writer Richard Bausch.

Jon Fine: Editor, Journalist, Memoirist

The Narrative Journalism Concentration in conjunction with the Beck Series welcomes Jon Fine, executive editor of Inc. Magazine.

Poet Marilyn Hacker

Denison's Beck Series welcomes award-winning poet Marilyn Hacker.

2015 - 2016

Author Tarfia Faizullah

Denison's Beck Series welcomes award-winning author Tarfia Faizullah.

Author Lee Bebout

The Black Studies Program in co-sponsorship with the Beck Series welcomes author Lee Bebout.

Poet Laureate Robert Hass

The Beck Writers Series in partnership with the Vail Series welcomes Pulitzer Prize winner and Poet Laureate Robert Hass.

An interview with poet Laureate Robert Hass

The Beck Writers Series welcomes Pulitzer Prize winner and Poet Laureate Robert Hass.

Author Brad Watson

The Beck Series welcomes author Brad Watson.

Author Angela Pelster

The Beck Writers Series welcomes GLCA nonfiction winner Angela Pelster.

Author Piper Kerman

Denison's Beck Series welcomes "Orange Is the New Black" author Piper Kerman.

Beck Series features Denison professors

Beck Writers "Home Series" with Denison professors Michael Croley, Jack Shuler and Ann Townsend '85.

Author Daniel Torday

The Beck Series welcomes author Daniel Torday.

Biographer Rosamund Bartlett

The Beck Series welcomes biographer Rosamund Bartlett.

The Beck Series welcomes poet Kevin Prufer

The Beck Series welcomes award winning poet and editor Kevin Prufer

Peter Slevin
Discussing 'The Rise of Michelle Obama'

The Laura C. Harris Series and Beck Series welcome author Peter Slevin as he discusses his book, "Unstacking the Deck: The Rise of Michelle Obama."

2014 - 2015

Photo of author Laura Kasischke
Author Laura Kasischke

The Beck Series welcomes author Laura Kasischke.

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