The Adelphi M.F.A. Book Club was started in 2010 with the goal of promoting and reading excellent literature on and off the Adelphi campus. Through live chats and online discussions via the Book Club blog, we seek to be a forum for readers to engage in entertaining, meaningful, and thoughtful discussions on literature as it relates to ourselves, our experiences, and the world. We welcome readers from diverse backgrounds who want to enrich their lives through books and who are open-minded about what they read. The Adelphi M.F.A. Book Club invites you to join us, and invites you to invite your friends, family, and co-workers to do the same.
Live online chats to discuss each month's book selection will be scheduled approximately every two weeks-dates will be posted to this page regularly. Subscribe to the Book Club blog's RSS feed so that you don't miss new posts and further discussion between scheduled chats
The Adelphi M.F.A. Book Club is moderated by Danielle Mebert. More about Danielle...
Book Selection for April 2010: Big Machine by Victor LaValle
Victor LaValle’s novel Big Machine is the story of Ricky Rice, a bathroom janitor and recovering junkie, and his induction into a secretive group called the Unlikely Scholars. Like Ricky, all of the scholars are ne'er-do-wells trying to move on from their past lives as drug addicts and criminals. Together, they research a higher power called The Voice. Ricky is chosen to embark on a quest to kill a rogue member of the group who is recruiting the homeless to carry out his violent plans. "Woven into the story of Ricky's adult life is the story of his childhood and the time he and his family spent as members of an urban cult in Queens. LaValle mixes fantasy with reality to create a novel that is unbelievable yet relatable and told by a very unique and intriguing everyman.
The M.F.A. Book Club will have its first live chat about Big Machine on Wednesday, May 5 at 9:00 p.m.
About Victor LaValle
Victor LaValle is the Adelphi MFA Program’s Spring 2010 visiting writer. He is the author of the short story collection Slapboxing with Jesus and two novels, The Ecstatic and Big Machine. His most recent work, Big Machine, was named one of Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Best Books of 2009.
Mr. LaValle has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Whiting Writers' Award, a United States Artists Ford Fellowship in Literature, and the key to Southeast Queens.
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About Danielle Mebert
Danielle Mebert is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in poetry and teaches "Introduction to Creative Writing" at Adelphi University where she previously earned her B.A. and M.A. She is a former middle school English teacher and has been published in Barefoot Muse and Gloom Cupboard. She is a nominee for the Iron Horse Literary Review Discovered Voices Award and was the winner of Adelphi University's first Donald Everett Axinn Award in the poetry category. In addition to her teaching duties and studies, Danielle is an assistant editor at Opium Magazine and maintains a blog for Adelphi’s Creative Writing Program.
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Contact
For additional information, please contact:
M.F.A. Program
Harvey Hall, Room 215
p - 516.877.4044
e - mfa@adelphi.edu
This page was last modified on August 15, 2011.
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