Indiana State University Newsroom

A new program at Indiana State University is bringing two alumni back to campus.

Indiana State's English department has established the Theodore Dreiser Visiting Writers Series and for the first two years alumni will read from their published works and sign their books.

"This is a venue for their works," said Mark Lewandowski, associate professor of English. "There are quite a few who are publishing."

Josh Green, a 2003 graduate who majored in journalism and minored in creative writing, will kick off the series with his collection of short stories titled "Dirtyville Rhapsodies." Green's reading, signing and reception will start at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Schick Lecture Room of Root Hall (A-264). It is free and open to the public.

Released in May, "Dirtyville Rhapsodies" received praise from critics and landed on Men's Health Magazine's "Best Books for the Beach" shortlist, alongside works from Stephen King and Dan Brown.

Green said he was eager to return to Indiana State.

"What I learned in the English department was invaluable," he said. "It directly informs my work on a day-to-day basis, all these years later." Green said he set some of his stories in Indiana locales - including a Terre Haute factory - although, most of the stories grew from life in Atlanta, where Green has lived since 2007.

The book jacket describes the stories within as a "darkly comic short story collection [that] focuses on ordinary people caught in all manner of conundrums, fiascoes and legal dilemmas, much of it their own stinking fault. Set mostly in Atlanta (capital of the "Dirty South"), ‘Dirtyville Rhapsodies' features everyday folks who overcome vice and personal tragedy, scoundrels so foul they attract news headlines and the wayward souls who find salvation in society's crevasses. Some of them will weave meaning from pratfalls, devastating loss and downright stupidity. And some won't."

Dave Malone will be the second Indiana State graduate in the series when he returns to read from his latest work on Oct. 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the Schick Lecture Room of Root Hall (A-264). Malone, who graduated in 1994 with his master's degree in English - creative writing, will be reading from his poetry collection titled, "View from the North Ten: Poems after Mark Rothko's No. 15."

His book is described as, "Inspired by the primary colors of Mark Rothko's vibrant No. 15 painting, these poems give life to the canvas of the rural Ozarks. Chiefly love poems, the book explores the rugged Ozark and Rothko landscape, as well as romantic yearnings, relationship, despair and togetherness."

Malone described it as a pleasure to return to Indiana State and to Terre Haute.

"The mentoring relationships with several professors have blossomed into genuine friendships over the years, so that makes the journey back to the Haute even sweeter," he said. "The campus has changed a bit since my graduate school days in the early 90s, and it's exciting to see those exciting changes."

Malone was born in Rolla, Mo., and grew up in both Missouri and Kansas. He attended Ottawa University before studying creative writing at Indiana State. Malone is the author of four previous collections: "Seasons in Love," "Under the Sycamore," "23 Sonnets," and "Poems to Love and the Body." In addition to his involvement in several small business ventures, Malone teaches film courses at Missouri State University- West Plains.

Contact: Mark Lewandowski, Indiana State University, associate professor of English, at mark.lewandowski@indstate.edu or 812-237-8552

Writer: Jennifer Sicking, Indiana State University, associate director of media relations, at jennifer.sicking@indstate.edu or 812-237-7972