Merrimack’s Writers House is a space for students interested in writing and literature to gather, share and create. Located in the Academic Innovation Center, the Writers House is a multidisciplinary, collaborative initiative helping to bring the curriculum of the college’s schools to life.
The House plays host to student programming each day, including a writers circle, book club, slam poetry team, open writing hours and weekly student community events like open mics and book swaps. Additionally, the Visiting Writers Series brings writers and speakers to Merrimack from near and far.
“The Writers House is a really unique resource for our students,” said Emma Duffy-Comparone, assistant professor of English and director of the Writers House. “They have the opportunity to get exposed to literature and writing craft, to be in a supportive community of fellow writers, and to have access to writers and artists at all stages of their careers. More than that, it’s a space designed to welcome the entire Merrimack community, from faculty, staff and students, to surrounding neighbors and alumni.”
The Writers House Visiting Writers Series takes place each semester, offering readings and conversations that are free and open to the public.
Over the past year, the House has welcomed writers and poets like National Book Award finalists Lauren Groff, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Carmen Giménez Smith, and Danez Smith, Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco, Emmy-winning ESPN filmmaker Marquis Daisy, CNN Contributor Bakari Sellers, and last month, American Book Award winner Randall Horton, who also visited a class of incarcerated writers at the Essex County Correctional Facility.
Their forthcoming guest is the acclaimed author and Professor of English at Boston University, Ha Jin, who will give an in-person reading on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m., followed by Q&A.
Jin published his most recent novel, A Song Everlasting, in 2021.
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About the Writer
Ha Jin has published many books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction and has received the National Book Award, two PEN/Faulkner Awards, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His most recent novel is A SONG EVERLASTING, and his work has been translated into more than thirty languages. He teaches fiction writing and literature at Boston University.
