Regents Professor Madelon Sprengnether is retiring from the Department of English and the Creative Writing program this May, after spending 46 years at the University of Minnesota. She leaves a legacy of strong leadership, activism, and citizenship, having spent over 20 years striving to establish a permanent home for the department.

The "First Books" event features three authors who are alumni of the MFA program.

Regents Professor Madelon Sprengnether explores how grief can cause physical harm.

Roy Guzman is in his third and final year of the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Minnesota. A passionate poet, he uses his experience from his homeland roots in Honduras and his journey of understanding queerness to write and create social change.