Norwich University Writers Series

03/26/2021

The Norwich University Writers Series is pleased to present Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American, on Tuesday, March 30th, 2021, 7:00 p.m. EDT, in a virtual event sponsored by the NU Writers Series, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of English and Communications. The event is free but requires registration at this link:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zp0ogYKHQdGk053ToWmhCA

Abdi Nor Iftin is the author of Call Me American, a memoir of his survival of civil war in his native Somalia and journey to a new life in the United States. Born in Mogadishu to nomadic parents, he survived famine, war, and child soldiering. Thanks to the movies available to him, he taught himself English by watching American action films. By repeating and imitating the carefree actors, he earned himself the nickname “Abdi American”. Through guerrilla journalism, Abdi dispatched stories about his life to a series titled Messages from Mogadishu on American Public Media. His stories were short listed for Peabody Awards in 2016. These stories were later picked by NPR, the BBC, and This America.

After surviving a bombing at his house one evening in 2009, Abdi finally said goodbye to his home country and moved to Kenya where he and his brother lived as refugees. In an amazing stroke of luck, he won entrance to the U.S. in August 2014, in the annual visa lottery, though his route to America—ending in a harrowing sequence of events that nearly stranded him in Nairobi—did not come easily. In January 2020, he became a U.S. citizen.

Call Me American was widely praised upon publication, called an “extraordinary saga” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “searing memoir…that impressively remains upbeat, highly inspiring” by Kirkus Reviews, and “riveting” by The New Yorker.

Now based in Maine, Abdi has been featured on CNN and NPR, and in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe. He is an advocate for refugee and immigrant rights and is dedicated to bringing people together through his stories of survival and resilience. He is currently working on a documentary based on Call Me American.

06/22/2020

Past Writers Series guest Major Jackson speaks eloquently to what has happened, what's happening, and what needs to happen. His new poetry collection is _The Absurd Man_ (W.W. Norton, 2020).

Dear JF, Happy Juneteenth! I am going to pretend that it’s a national holiday until the rest of the country catches up. Today is one of those stunning, late spring days in northern New England. I w…

05/16/2020

Next in our summer series of links to new and recent work by past Writers Series guests: Elizabeth Hand's latest novel, _Curious Toys_.

Release Date: October 15, 2019. The Alienist meets The Devil in the White City: An intrepid young woman stalks a murderer through turn-of-the-century Chicago, in Elizabeth Hand's transfixing new historical novel featuring iconic outsider artist Henry Darger. Pre-Order Now via hello hello books, Indi

05/11/2020

Looking for summer reading? Watch this space for links to new and recent work by past Writers Series guests. Let's get started with a new collection of poetry by Kerrin McCadden.

Kerrin McCadden, 2020. Winner, 2018 Button Poetry Prize.

03/14/2020

The NU Writers Series event featuring Abdi Nor Iftin, previously scheduled for March 23rd, has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule for the fall.

03/06/2020

Abdi Nor Iftin

03/06/2020

The Norwich University Writers Series welcomes author Abdi Nor Iftin to campus at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 23, in the Kreitzberg Library Multipurpose Room to discuss his book.
Free and open to the public.

Abdi Nor Iftin is the author of “Call Me American,” a memoir of his survival of civil war in his native Somalia and journey to a new life in the United States. Call Me American has been widely praised: “Riveting” (The New Yorker), “enlightening and immediate” (Booklist), “wrenching yet hopeful…[an] extraordinary saga” (Publisher’s Weekly), and "A searing memoir…that impressively remains upbeat, [and] highly inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews). Abdi is currently studying political science at Boston College. In January 2020, he became a U.S. citizen.

Sponsored by the Norwich University Writers Series, Peace and War Center, College of Liberal Arts, and Department of English and Communications.

11/20/2019

The Writers Series welcomes Pamela MacPherson (Vigil: The Poetry of Presence) and Rachel Lindsay (Rx: A Graphic Memoir), Thursday, 11/21, 4 p.m., Kreitzberg Library Multipurpose Room. As always, free and open to the public.

11/06/2019

We are beyond excited to welcome Miciah Bay Gault to campus this afternoon as part of this semester's Writers Series! A Vermont College of Fine Arts writing teacher and the coordinator of the Vermont Book Award, Gault will discuss her debut novel, "Goodnight Stranger", at today's talk in Chaplin Gallery here on campus. The discussion is set to begin at 4 p.m. and is free to the public; if you are unable to join us, we will be livestreaming the event here on our page, and the stream will be archived for you to watch afterwards!

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11/04/2019

The NU Writers Series welcomes Miciah Bay Gault, author of _Goodnight Stranger_, to campus on Wednesday, Nov. 6th, 4 pm, Chaplin Hall Gallery. Free and open to the public.

09/26/2019

Delighted that our first visitor of the year is Rick Bass, Thurs. 10/10, 12:30 p.m., Kretizberg Library Multipurpose Room on the Norwich campus. As always, free and open to the public.