The Dire Literary Series

The Dire Literary Series is pleased to welcome authors Rita Zoey Chin, Michelle Y. Burke, and Emily Eckart for a reading from their latest works.

Rita Zoey Chin is the author of the bestselling debut memoir, Let the Tornado Come (Simon & Schuster). Hailed by The Huffington Post as “a near euphoric ode to the human spirt” and Oprah.com as a “powerful story to pass onto a friend,” Let the Tornado Come was named a Boston Globe “Summer Reads” pick, one of Kirkus Reviews’ “10 True Stories Perfect for Summer Reading,” an Elle Readers Prize pick, and one of Flavorwire’s “10 Nonfiction Books That Will Make You Smarter.” The recipient of a Katherine Anne Porter Prize, an Academy of American Poets Award, and a Bread Loaf waiter scholarship, Rita holds an MFA from the University of Maryland. She has taught at Towson University and currently teaches at GrubStreet in Boston, as well as at retreats and conferences near and far. Some of her other writings can be found in Guernica, Tin House, Marie Claire, Blackbird Review, New York Arts Magazine, and elsewhere.

Michelle Y. Burke earned a BA in creative writing from Loyola University Maryland, an MFA in poetry from the Ohio State University, and a PhD in English from the University of Cincinnati. She is the author of the poetry collection Animal Purpose, winner of the 2015 Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, and the poetry chapbook Horse Loquela, winner of the Red Mountain Review Chapbook Series Award. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry, Hopkins Review, New Orleans Review, and elsewhere. She’s received poetry prizes from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund, the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, and the American Literary Review, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center. She teaches creative writing, literature, and expository writing at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, the writer Douglas Watson, and their daughter.

Emily Eckart studied music at Harvard University. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Nature, Potomac Review, New World Writing, and elsewhere. Besides writing, she is interested in classical music and environmental conservation. Her book of stories Pale Hearts was released in 2016 and she’s currently at work on her first novel.