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DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University alumna Anni Liu returns to her alma mater Nov. 29 to read from her award-winning book of poetry, “Border Vista.” Liu will answer questions and sign books after the free reading.
A member of OWU’s Class of 2013, Liu will speak at 4:10 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.
Her first book of poetry, “Border Vista,” was published in April and won the 2021 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize from Persea Books in advance of its release.
“My work explores distance and intimacy in my relationships with my family, with bureaucracy and state-sanctioned violence, racism and whiteness, the land, intimate partner violence, and the ‘minor feelings’ and major joys of being an alien and finding home,” explains Liu, who was born and raised in Western China.
Of Liu’s poetry, Donna Seaman of Booklist said, “[E]ach line, vivid and visceral in its imagery and emotion, is meticulously composed, the internal rhythms and rhymes exquisitely expressive, the range of implication extending as the story moves into the shadows and light of the narrator’s adulthood.”
Poet and Oklahoma State University professor Janine Joseph adds, “Anni Liu’s vision never wavers as we are threaded through the complexities of memory, status, and country. This is a masterful, singular debut.”
Liu earned her Bachelor of Arts in English (Creative Writing concentration) with honors from Ohio Wesleyan and her Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University, where she served as poetry editor of the Indiana Review. In addition to winning the Rudnitsky prize, Liu’s work has been featured in Poetry magazine, Ploughshares, Ecotone, and Two Lines.
Copies of “Border Vista” will be available for purchase at the event. Learn more about Liu at https://anniliuwrites.wordpress.com and more about OWU’s Department of English, including its Creative Writing concentration, at owu.edu/English.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “Best Colleges” lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.