A sibling reading of poetry and prose with Kevin Pilkington and Maureen Pilkington MFA ’97

Following a reading of their own work, a discussion along with a Q&A will explore their relationship as siblings and writers. Each will examine their distinctive ways of experiencing life through poetry and prose.

Kevin Pilkington is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College. He is the author of ten collections: Spare Change was the La Jolla Poets Press National Book Award winner; Getting By won the Ledge chapbook award; In the Eyes of a Dog received the New York Book Festival Award; The Unemployed Man Who Became a Tree was a Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award finalist. His poetry has appeared in many anthologies including: Birthday Poems: A Celebration, Western Wind, and Contemporary Poetry of New England. Over the years, he has been nominated for four Pushcarts. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines including: The Harvard Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Boston Review, Yankee, Hayden’s Ferry, Columbia, North American Review, etc. He has taught and lectured at numerous colleges and universities including The New School, Manhattanville College, MIT, University of Michigan, Susquehanna University, Georgia Tech. His debut novel Summer Shares was published in 2012 and a paperback edition was reissued in summer 2014. His collection Where You Want To Be: New and Selected Poems was a 2017 IPPY Award Winner. A new collection entitled Playing Poker With Tennessee Williams was recently published by Black Lawrence Press. His second novel entitled Taking On Secrets is slated for publication later in 2022. Purchase Kevin Pilkington’s work here.

Maureen Pilkington’s (MFA ’97) new book, This Side of Water: Stories, (Regal House Publishing), is the winner of the 2019 American Fiction Award, a 2020 IPPY Award silver medalist and an Eric Hoffer Award Finalist, all in the short story category. Her short stories have appeared in The Antioch Review, Ploughshares, Puerto del Sol, Confrontation, Orchid Literary Review, Santa Barbara Review, Bridge: Art & Literature (Chicago), and elsewhere. Additional non-fiction has appeared in Stone Voices, Punctuate, Covey Club, Still Points Arts Quarterly and others. She was recently in the podcast, “Writers Under Lockdown." Pilkington worked as a Subsidiary Rights Director in book publishing and received an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She has served, or is serving, on many educational boards. Currently, she is working on a novel and an essay collection.Pilkington is the founder and director of Page Turners, a writing program for the inner city schools in the Archdiocese of New York City. Purchase Maureen Pilkington’s work here.

This in-person event is open to current students, faculty, and staff. Other members of the SLC community are welcome to view the event on Zoom by registering here.