Believe it or not, tomorrow is the last day of January. Literary-event-wise, it’s going out with a bang with what is sure to be a fascinating reading and reception with author Mahmoud Saeed at the Lincoln Park campus. Luckily, February will be packed with even more great literary events in and around DePaul. Grab your calendars and get ready for these upcoming literary events from the DePaul Visiting Writers Program, the DePaul Humanities Center, the Guild Literary Complex, and more!

February 2nd – DEPAUL POETS DePaul’s own Mark Turcotte, Chris Green, David Welch and Kathleen Rooney will give a joint reading, which promises to be the epitome of awesome. This event takes place at 6 p.m. at the new DePaul Art Museum, 935 W. Fullerton.

• Bonus for current students in the MAWP program: After the reading, all MAWP students are invited to head to Kelly’s Pub, 949 W. Webster (just east of Sheffield) for an informal social gathering. People leaving from the reading will get there around 7:30-8pm, but if you have class that evening, you can still stop by afterwards. This is not a university-sponsored event, but rather a fun, informal meet and greet for students and professors to get together and socialize.

February 14th – HAKI MADHUBUTI and AMINA GAUTIER In an event co-sponsored by African & Black Diaspora Studies and the English Department, the renowned poet Madhubuti, author of more than 20 books, reads with our esteemed colleague, Amina Gautier. The fun takes place in room 300 of the Richardson Library, with a reading from 6-7:30 and a reception from 7:30-8.

February 15th – The Guild Literary Complex presents: Palabra Pura featuring Rey Andújar, Jorge Frisancho, & Juan Dicent. Under the theme Mutant Body/Cuerpo Migrante, the evening will present the body as a space for multiple questions related to the state of transition. What does the body leave behind in its translation/transfer? What does it acquire or adapt? In this sense language is an element that determines more than its sensory definition. It will take place at La Bruquena, 2726 W Division Street, at 7:30 pm. Free and open to the public.

February 17th – The DePaul Humanities Center’s Literature and Music Series and the New Music DePaul Series composer and 2011-2012 faculty fellow Kurt Westerberg present: the inaugural performance of Vision and Prayer (after the poem by Dylan Thomas). This unique concert will take place at 8:00 p.m. in the DePaul Concert Hall (800 W. Belden Ave).

February 29th – DAGOBERTO GILB In an event co-sponsored by the Center for Latino Research and the English Department, Gilb–the award-winning author of The Flowers, Gritos, Woodcuts of Women, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, and The Magic of Blood–reads from his new work, Before the End, After the Beginning. The event takes place at 6 p.m. in Room 115 of the John T. Richardson Library.

Hope to see you out at some of these great events!

NOTE: Last week Ex Libris incorrectly published the time and place of the Writers Guild meetings. The Writers Guild actually meets on Wednesdays from 7:30-9pm in the Arts & Letters lobby. They are always open to new members; review the details here.