McNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY
McNeese State University is hosting a fiction reading and conversation with Michelle St. Romain on Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in the ballroom in Richard Student Union.
This event is sponsored by the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in creative writing. This reading is free to the public. Founded in 1981, McNeese’s MFA degree program is the oldest MFA program in Louisiana and one of the oldest in the Southeast.
A Lake Charles native, St. Romain has been writing since she was a child. The coauthor of two poetry books, Promised Fruit and Water’s Edge, she holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola University and a master’s degree in creative writing from California State University.
St. Romain is launching her first novel in her hometown with a conversation with her St. Louis Catholic High School friend, Pam Breaux, the CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
Song of Belonging began as an idea when she was 7 years old when her great-grandmother gave her a green jewelry box when she died. St. Romain will discuss the themes of the book which combine her love of the environment and the natural world with stories from her French Acadian heritage.
The book is a haunting and magical story of a family with hidden gifts and secrets. It follows Alice as she embarks on a journey to discover the truth about her ancestors and find her place in a lineage of women healers who protect the waters that surround their Louisiana home.
St. Romain leads writing workshops, reads voraciously and enjoys learning life lessons from two spaniels and a wise, aging cat. She has lived in California and Hawaii and currently resides in Medford, Oregon, with her family.
Persons requesting accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should contact the Office of Campus Compliance and Civility at least 72 hours before the event. Additional information is available from the Office of Campus Compliance and Civility, located in the Burton Business Center, Suite 407, by phone at 337-475-5428, by fax at 337-475-5603, or by email at compliance@mcneese.edu.
