Wells Visiting Writers Series
Wells College's Visiting Writers Series was established in 1973. Under the auspices of the Series, which is supported by Wells College, the New York State Council on the Arts, and gifts from friends and alumnae, the college brings to campus each academic term an average of four writers who have distinguished themselves as writers in a broad range of genres. These writers not only give public readings of their work; they also conduct Master Classes and visit classes where their work is being studied.
Among the hundreds of writers Wells has hosted over the years, many have been top figures in their field who have won such prestigious awards as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Nobel Prize. The current U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, participated in our series right before her tenure as Laureate began. However, the Visiting Writers Series only invites writers who can bring something special to the close-knit community in and around Wells College.
The Wells College Book Arts Center often creates broadsides using poetry by visiting writers to celebrate their time on campus, and several poets have enjoyed participating in the creation of these unique objects.
The Visiting Writers Series has also collaborated recently with the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, the String Room Gallery, Ithaca College's Distinguished Visiting Writers Series, Cornell University's Zalaznick Reading Series, and other organizations within and beyond the Wells campus to bring writers whose work transcends disciplinary boundaries.
Recordings and Live Streams of Past Visiting Writers Series Events
