March 25, 2013 Literature in Conversation: Fred Arroyo and Maria Melendez, April 11

The Library of Congress, in collaboration with Letras Latinas and the University of Arizona Press, will feature Latino writers Fred Arroyo and Maria Melendez in a reading on April 11.

Arroyo and Melendez will read from their fiction and poetry, respectively. After the reading, Letras Latinas Director Francisco Aragon will moderate a discussion with the writers.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11 in the Montpelier Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. No tickets or reservations are needed. A book sale and signing will follow the program. The reading is sponsored by the Library’s Center for the Book, Poetry and Literature Center and Hispanic Division.

Arroyo is the author of “Western Avenue and Other Fictions” (2012), a collection of short stories, and “The Region of Lost Names” (2008), a novel. Arroyo’s honors include an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission. His novel was a finalist for the 2008 Premio Aztlán Literary Prize.

Arroyo received a master’s degree from Purdue University, a master of fine arts from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and a doctorate in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of South Dakota.

Melendez is the author of two collections of poetry, “Flexible Bones” (2010) and “How Long She’ll Last in This World” (2006). Her first book of poems received Honorable Mention at the 2007 International Latino Book Awards and was a finalist for the 2007 PEN Center USA Literary Awards. Melendez received a master’s degree in English and creative writing at the University of California, Davis. She lives in Pueblo, Colo.

Letras Latinas is the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. It seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latino literature both on and off campus, with a focus on projects that identify and support newer voices.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 155 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.