FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington is proud to present non-fiction, environmental author Kathryn Miles as the next reader in its celebrated Visiting Writers Series. Miles will read from her work at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 11, in The Landing in the UMF Olsen Student Center. The reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a signing by the author.
According to author Janine DeBaise, Miles’ non-fiction work is known for combining the scientific facts of a story with a good narrative that entertains while educating. Miles’ “Superstorm: Nine Days Inside Hurricane Sandy” (Dutton 2014), is the first complete, moment-by-moment account of the largest Atlantic storm system ever recorded. In this riveting account, she takes the reader inside the enormous storm and the people whose lives were forever changed.
Miles’ recent works also include “All Standing” (Simon & Schuster 2011), the true story of the Jeanie Johnston, one of the legendary Irish famine ships that transported immigrants from Ireland to North America. While 100,000 immigrants perished on the other so called “coffin ships,” Miles tells how the Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger.
Miles has written about diverse subjects, including, Puerto Rican street food, eel poachers, homing pigeons and lifesavers. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications including Best American Essays, Between Song and Story, Ecotone, History, How To Write About Anything, Outside, Popular Mechanics and The New York Times.
Miles currently serves as writer-in-residence for Green Mountain College and as a faculty member for Chatham University’s low-residency MFA program. She is also a scholar-in-residence for the Maine Humanities Council and a member of the Terrain.org editorial board.
She received her PhD in English from the University of Delaware in 2001.
This event is sponsored by the UMF Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program.
