Alumnus to present poetry reading

Jared Belden, a 2003 alumnus of Northwestern College, will return to campus to present a reading of his poetry on Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. in the lobby of DeWitt Theatre Arts Center. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.

After graduating from Northwestern, Belden earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing at Eastern Washington University. His poems have been published in such journals as Artful Dodge and Rock and Sling. Two of his works, “Credo of an American Astronomer” and “Next Exit,” were among the four finalists in the 2006 Virginia Brendemuehl Prize for Poetry competition.

Belden has taught English at a high school in St. Paul, Minn., and at Northwestern College in Roseville, Minn. A Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Malawi, he now teaches English as a second language at Des Moines Area Community College.

Belden is serving as judge for the 2009 Spectrum, Northwestern’s creative writing magazine. During his campus visit he will hold conferences with many student writers and give a talk about his Peace Corps experiences.