GREENVILLE – The Friends of the Library are again sponsoring a new season of Author’s Nights.

“These delightful Friday night events consist of one or more authors – prose, poetry, journaling, storytelling, or any form of the written word! – who read from their works and tell about themselves and their craft,” said organizers.

Held at Montage Cafe in downtown Greenville, food and drink is available to purchase – come early and have supper or enjoy a glass of wine. Doors open at 6 and the program is at 7 p.m. To add a festive atmosphere guitarist Bill Westfall and clarinet/saxophonist J.R. Price provide live music before and after the program and during intermission.

The line-up for 2016 is poet Jeff Gundy on January 8, novelist Cyndi Pauwels on February 12, literary journalist David Nilsen on March 18, and the Greenville Poets on April 22.

“It’s a privilege to be able to host someone of Jeff Gundy’s caliber at the January 8 Author’s Night!,” said organizers.

Gundy was born in Illinois and graduated from Goshen University before earning his doctorate in American Lit at Indiana University in Bloomington. He taught four years at Hesston College in Kansas and since 1984 has been at Bluffton University where he is Professor of English and former chair of the English/Language department.

He has published six volumes of poetry and four books of creative non-fiction. His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary and scholarly magazines and have won many prestigious awards. He’s served on the faculty of the Antioch Writers Workshop (in both nonfiction and poetry) as well as on workshops and conferences at universities around the country. Please see Jeff Gundy on Amazon and htttp://www.bluffton.edu/~gundyj/ to get an idea of the scope of his work

As Philip Metres writes “If Whitman were born in the Midwest to Mennonite parents, listened to Dylan and the Dead and loved to laugh at himself, he’d sound just like Jeff Gundy… Gundy’s poetry reminds us, over and over, that paying attention to the delights and troubles of existence becomes a kind of psalm to this botched and beautiful creation.”

He’s been married to Marlyce (Martens) Gundy since 1973, and they have three grown sons: Nathan, Ben, and Joel. His hobbies include playing guitar and handball, jogging, and soccer.

“Be sure to join us for the truly wonderful experience of hearing Jeff read aloud and share his life and works.”