This past week we welcomed Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui as our first Eminent Writer-in-Residence for the 2013-14 school year. The photo above is from an afternoon Q&A session we held with him last Wednesday (he’s on the left with MFA poets Ginger Ko and Dan Frieje) . Pizza was served, literature was discussed, and the Navajo language was (beautifully) spoken.

Mr. Bitsui will be with us for an extended stay—two  months—during which time he’ll be teaching a class on Navajo poetics, giving a public reading at the UW Senate Chambers (9/13, 7pm), visiting various UW classes (in the MFA and the American Indian Studies programs) and being an all-around resource for and warm presence within our creative writing and academic community.

Thanks for coming to stay with us, Sherwin!  Welcome.