New Dominion Bookshop hosting event for Meridian, UVA literary magazine

New Dominion Bookshop in Downtown Charlottesville is set to host a celebration of the 50th issue of Meridian, a literary magazine produced at the University of Virginia in conjunction with the university’s MFA in Creative Writing Program.

Personal note here: I was once a future UVA MFA in Creative Writing student, back in 1995.

Got accepted into the program, decided to take a semester off before starting to make some money, got a job in newspapers, never looked back.

Alas.

Meridian was founded in 1998, and has featured the works of numerous Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and established writers, including Rita Dove, Charles Wright, Yusef Komunyakaa, Gregory Pardlo, Seamus Heaney, Lydi Conklin, Ann Beattie, George Garrett, Heather McHugh, Richard Bausch, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Celeste Ng, Laura van den Berg, Mark Strand, Cathy Song, and Eric Pankey.

Number of times I’ve been featured: zero.

Number of Pulitzers and National Book Awards I’ve won: zero.

Sigh.

The event is set for 7-8 p.m. on Friday, April 24, with the focus being on live readings from the milestone issue of the journal.

Copies of Meridian No. 50 will also be available for sale at this event.