Quinnipiac U English professors to Host Book reading and discussion

Quinnipiac University English professors to host book reading and discussion on Sept. 26

HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac University English professors Jason Koo and Bessie Flores Zaldívar will host a book reading and discussion on Thursday, Sept. 26.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. in Room 120 of the Carl Hansen Student Center on the Mount Carmel Campus.

Koo, associate teaching professor of English, will read from his fourth full-length poetry collection titled “No Rest.”

"I'm so excited to share this book with the Quinnipiac community, which I have been working on for a very long time—since the start of 2016,” Koo said. “I'm also proud to be celebrating my new book alongside that of my new colleague Bessie Flores Zaldivar, for whom I have so much admiration and respect."

Published on May 24 by Diode Editions as the winner of its book contest, "No Rest" marks a significant achievement in Koo’s illustrious career as a poet and educator.

Koo is the author of three previous full-length collections of poetry: "More Than Mere Light," "America's Favorite Poem” and "Man on Extremely Small Island," which won the De Novo Poetry Prize and the Asian American Writers' Workshop Members' Choice Award for the best Asian American book of 2009. He is also the author of the chapbook "Sunset Park" and served as the coeditor of the “Brooklyn Poets Anthology.” His poems have appeared in esteemed publications such as the American Scholar, Best American Poetry, Missouri Review, Poetry Northwest, Village Voice and Yale Review, among others. Koo’s literary contributions have been recognized with fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Vermont Studio Center and New York State Writers Institute.

Named one of the "100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture" by Brooklyn Magazine, Koo is also the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Brooklyn Poets.

Zaldivar, assistant teaching professor of English, will read from their novel, “Libertad,” a queer, young adult, coming-of-age set during the rigged Honduran presidential election about a young poet discovering the courage it takes to speak her truth about the people and country she loves.

“I hope people achieve an understanding of how powerful the coming-of-age novel can be as a creative outlet and a form of activism,” Zaldivar said.

Zaldivar is a queer writer from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who received a master’s degree in fine arts from Virginia Tech. “Libertad” is their debut publication.