Woodrow Wilson Fellow to Visit OBU Campus

October 25, 2001

Oklahoma Baptist University will host Woodrow Wilson visiting fellow and poet Karen Swenson the week of Nov. 5-9 as part of the nationally recognized program that sends professionals to private liberal arts campuses for a week of residency.

The visits are made possible by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. They are intended to give college students an opportunity to see the work of contemporary authors.

On Monday, Nov. 5, Swenson will give a public reading of some of her poems in the Bailey Business Center Auditorium. Throughout the week, she will meet with classes in creative writing, comparative civilization, poetry, journalism, history, and religion.

The Nov. 5 reading is free and open to the public. The public can make arrangements to attend other discussions by contacting Dr. Doug Watson, professor of English, at 878-2202.

Swenson also is recognized as a journalist and travel writer. Her area of expertise is southeast Asia. Recently, she traveled to Pakistan, Thailand and northwest and central China. Swenson's travel writings have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Leader.

Swenson has taught creative writing at City College of New York, Fordham College, Lincoln Center and Scripps College. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize several times and has won the National Poetry Series Award for The Landlady of Bangkok.

She served as poet-in-residence at University of Denver, the University of Idaho, Skidmore College and Clark University. Her work, A Daughter's Latitude, a collection of new and selected poems was published this year by Cooper Canyon Press. Her other works include A Sense of Direction, East-West and An Attic of Ideals.

She received a bachelor's degree from Barnard College and a master's degree from New York University.