Eminent writer set to visit U., sit in on writing class

For the young aspiring writer, it is a dream come true: interaction with world-renown writers and poets in the comfort of a small house on Penn's campus. Today Grace Paley will be visiting the Writers House to discuss her writing and speak with a group of undergraduates. The Kelly Writers House Fellows Program, which is one of the projects incorporated under and organized by the Writers House, is designed for undergraduates interested in a writing career. English professor Al Filreis is in charge of the program and teaches the three hour seminar in Comtemporary American Writing associated with it. "The purpose of the program is to put young writers in intimate contact with very eminent writers," said Filreis. The program was started in the spring of '99 with Gay Talese inagurated as the first Writers House Fellow. Thirty students listened to a lecture on Literary Nonfiction at the Writers House. Students from last year's program seemed to have nothing but good things to say about the program. One of the students from last year's seminar is quoted on the program's web page. "Through the Writers House Fellows program, the Writers House became not only the center but the heart of my Penn education," said Taylor Drotman, Class of '99. "Once five minutes with a famous writer seemed great. The Fellows project makes a new educational intimacy with great writing possible." This year's Writers Fellows include Grace Paley, Robert Creely, and John Edgar Wideman. Paley will sit it on Filreis's seminar from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Following the class, Paley will meet with a small group of students from Writers House and will do a public presentation of her reading at 7 p.m. Tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. Paley and Filreis will conduct a conversation/interview, which will be broadcasted on the internet. Paley will discuss her most recent work, "The Collected Stories," published in 1994. Her earlier works include three collections of short fiction and three collections of poetry. Paley, who currently teaches at City College in New York and Sarah Lawrence College, was a professor at both Syracuse and Columbia Universities. Her long list of awards range from a Guggenheim fellowship in 1961 to a Senior Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987. Filreis and his students seem to be excited about the upcoming program. They believe she is a fabulous choice for the first Writers Fellow of the 1999-2000 year. In particular, Filreis is looking foward to the event. "Paley's interacting with Penn undergraduates in the intimate setting of Writers House should be amazing."