Santa Monica College will present the Spring 2015 Literary Series, featuring a line-up of distinguished authors discussing and reading from their works. The series starts on Feb. 26.
All lectures in the series are free and are held on the main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. The series is sponsored by the SMC Associates (www.smc.edu/associates) — a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on the Santa Monica College campus — and the SMC English Department. Seating is on a first-arrival basis.
The Spring 2015 series line-up is:
Thursday, Feb. 26: Dr. Benjamin Bowser: "It Is Bigger Than Ferguson" at 11:15 a.m. in Art Lecture Hall 214. Renowned sociologist and CSU East Bay Professor Emeritus will provide a historical context to the nationwide outrage about the racial profiling of African American men. This lecture is also a Black History Month event cosponsored by SMC's Black Collegians Program, and part of the SMC Global Connections Series.
Tuesday, March 3: Natalie Baszile: "The Taste of Second Chances: Natalie Baszile Reads from Queen Sugar" at 11:15 a.m. in Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165. Member of the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, author of nonfiction pieces for numerous publications, and a former Holden Minority Scholar at Warren Wilson College will read excerpts from her debut novel.
Tuesday, March 24: Jeri Westerson: "Knights, Templars, and the Grail Myth: Jeri Westerson Reads from Cup of Blood" at 6:30 p.m. in Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165. President of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and former VP for Sisters in Crime Los Angeles will read from her latest 'medieval noir' novel featuring Crispin Guest, a disgraced knight turned detective on the mean streets of 14th-century London.
Thursday, April 23: Kem Nunn: "Kem Nunn Reads from His Work" at 11:15 a.m. in Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165. Longtime surfer who is an award-winning author of six novels, as well as film and TV screenplays that include "Deadwood" and "Sons of Anarchy," will read selections from his writings.
Now in its 12th year, the SMC Literary Series has brought to campus such acclaimed writers as Khaled Hosseini (author of the bestselling "The Kite Runner"), Audrey Niffenegger (author of the bestselling "Time Traveler's Wife"), and Jonathan Safran Foer (author of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close").
