At the end of January, Dana Gioia gave a reading and spoke at Houston Baptist University’s second annual writer’s conference. Gioia is one of the best readers today. Like E.E. Cummings, he mixes selections of his own work with commentary and the work of others. The result is a reading that is like a musical composition–a series of short movements with interconnected themes. It was a wonderful performance and is available at HBU’s YouTube channel for a short time. Watch it while you can.

Gioia also spoke on his important First Things‘s essay, “The Catholic Writer Today.” The complete version of the essay has recently been published by the excellent Wiseblood Books and is available here.