Anders Carlson-Wee at Augustana College -- April 23.
Tuesday, April 23, 5 p.m.
Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall, 3720 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
The latest guest in the college's River Readings at Augustana series, renowned author and poet Anders Carlson-Wee will deliver examples of his lauded works at Augustana's Wallenberg Hall on April 23, his 2023 poetry collection Disease of Kings lauded by The Los Angeles Review as a work in which "readers are presented with readable poetry that resonates with the heart of humanity," adding that the work "reveals our deepest secrets and failings with complex sympathy."
Born in Minneapolis in 1985, Carlson-Wee grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota, is a former professional rollerblader, and has written extensively about dumpster diving, as well as hopping freight trains and traveling the country. He received his MFA from Vanderbilt University and has published three compelling poetry collections, including the debut award-winning chapbook Dynamite and The Low Passions in 2019, in addition to last year's Disease of Kings with W.W. Norton. His work delves into complexities of American excess, as well as the power of human connection. In response to his newest collection, fellow author Luis Alberto Urrea writes that Carlson-Wee, in Disease of Kings, "travels in and out of utter-noir midnight to lightening-dawn hues with such aplomb, his poems seem effortless."
Carlson-Wee’s work has been featured in The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Harvard Review, American Poetry Review, The Sun, and and additional outlets. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Poets & Writers, and the Camargo Foundation, and is also the winner of the Poetry International Prize. In addition to writing poetry, Carlson-Wee served as co-director for the 2015 short film Riding the Highline, which has won awards at the Napa Valley Film Festival, Rochester International Film Festival, and the Arizona International Film Festival.
Anders Carlson-Wee's River Readings at Augustana program takes place in the college's Wallenberg Hall on April 23, participation in the 5 p.m. event is free, and more information is available by calling (309)794-7242 and visiting Augustana.edu/arts/river-readings.
