The event, sponsored by CSUN¹s English Department, will be held at 12:30 p.m. in Room 319 of Jerome Richfield Hall in the southwest part of campus.

Merrill has written three collections of poems, including Wind Fire, for which he received the Peter I.B. Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets. His other works include essays and translations and three non-fiction volumes about his international travels.

Merrill is currently the director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. He has founded literary and writing programs, including an international reading series and the annual Literary Octoberfest at Holy Cross University, and the Orion Society¹s Forgotten Language Tour, which brings nature writers to more than 30 states in the country.

California State University, Northridge has more than 27,000 full- and part-time students and offers 48 bachelor's and 39 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.