FOREST CITY, IOWA, March 13, 2023 –Clear Lake Arts Center to host authors Oscar Oswald, Ryan Clark, and Lydia Knudtson. The event will be held at the Clear Lake Arts Center located at 17 S. Fourth St., Clear Lake, Iowa, 50428 on April 12, 2023. Reception with light refreshments stars at 6 p.m. and readings beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Q&A to follow.

Oscar Oswald is a poet and teacher at the University of Idaho, spending the entirety of his life in the west you will find his poetry is engaged with wester myths and their realities. Oswald’s poetry has appeared in “The Antioch Review,” “Colorado Review,” “Denver Quarterly,” “Seneca Review,” “New England Review” and “Fence,” among other journals, and he has published prose and criticism on “LitHub” and “The Offending Adam.” Oscar has a doctorate in English and creative writing from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he was a Black Mountain Fellow. He served as an assistant editor for “Noemi Press” and as the poetry editor for “Witness.” His first book of poems, “Irredenta,” was an Editor’s Choice manuscript from Nightboat Books, published in 2021.

Ryan Clark writes poetry through a unique method of homophonic translation. He is the author of the books “Arizona SB 1070: An Act” and “How I Pitched the First Curve,” and his poems have appeared in such journals as “DIAGRAM,” “Painted Bride Quarterly” and “Yemassee.” He teaches at Waldorf University as an associate professor of English and creative writing.

Lydia Knudtson is a soon-to-be college graduate from Waldorf University with a major in creative writing and a minor in communications. Born in Minnesota and moving often throughout her childhood, she doesn’t often fear change or uncertainty. These complicated aspects and abstracts of life are often depicted within Lydia’s writing; three of her pieces can be found in two issues of the Waldorf Literary Review. When she isn’t working, writing, or doing other schoolwork, she enjoys being an unprofessional botanist, weightlifter, yogi, and explorative nomad.

Jessi Myers, executive director at Clear Lake Arts Center said "We are thrilled to be hosting Oscar Oswald at Clear Lake Arts Center. Literary Arts is a pillar of our mission. Working with Waldorf to bring more opportunities to enjoy and contemplate poetry in our community is the type of partnership we strive to foster, now and in the future." 

For more information, please contact Joe Milan at joe.milan@waldorf.edu or Jessi Myers at 641-357-1993.