FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington’s celebrated Visiting Writers Series in partnership with Twice Told Tales is proud to announce a book release celebration for award-winning author Patricia O’Donnell’s latest book Symmetry of Husbands. O’Donnell will read from her work at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at Twice Told Tales at 155 Main Street in downtown Farmington. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing with the author.
O’Donnell’s poignant novel “A Symmetry of Husbands” (Unsolicited Press., 2023) is about betrayal hidden in the shadow of a life-long friendship and the forgiveness one yearns for in the aftermath. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Agni Review, The North American Review, Prairie Schooner, and other journals. Amy Neswald, author of I Know You Love Me, Too says “Patricia O’Donnell writes unfailingly about the rawness of human relationships with this investigation of contradiction, grief, hope, and memory. With her sparse prose, stark honesty, and grit, O’Donnell lays bare the complexities of love, infidelity, and friendship. A Symmetry of Husbands is a poetic unfolding of love in all its expressions.”
O’Donnell is Professor Emerita of Creative Writing at the University of Maine at Farmington, as she taught fiction writing and directed the BFA Program in Creative Writing. Patricia also currently teaches a creative writing class to residents of the Franklin County Jail. She lives in Wilton, Maine with her husband, Michael Burke.
The Visiting Writer Series is sponsored by the UMF Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program.
The UMF Creative Writing Program: As the only Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program in the state of Maine and one of only three in all of New England, the UMF program invites students to work with faculty, who are practicing writers, in workshop-style classes to discover and develop their writing strengths in the genres of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Small classes, an emphasis on individual conferencing, and the development of a writing portfolio allow students to see themselves as artists and refine their writing under the guidance of accomplished and published faculty mentors.
Students can pursue internships to gain real-world writing and publishing experience by working on campus with The Sandy River Review, a student-run literary magazine; Ripple Zine, a feminist magazine; or The Farmington Flyer, a university newspaper.
