Viebranz Professors Return to SLU 

On Oct. 9, the second event of the 2025-26 Writers Series hosted four former Viebranz Visiting Professors of Creative Writing for a craft talk, a reading, and many engaging conversations with students and faculty. The four writers were Robin Hemley, Trudy Lewis, Stephanie Elizondo Griest and Okey Ndibe. 

That Thursday morning, students and faculty crowded Carnegie 10 for a craft talk between the four writers. “I think the craft talk was special because, unlike the readings, we got to see the authors interact with each other and bounce ideas off each other,” said Nora Kenyon ’27, an English major and craft talk attendee. “They conversed in a way that helped students understand authors’ minds and where they spend their time in their work.” 

Later that day, the writers sat down for an interview with Special Collection Librarian, Paul Doty. Each writer answered different questions about their time working at St. Lawrence University. Hemley, the inaugural Viebranz professor in 2000-01, recalled the first and last hockey game he ever attended and his initial reactions to living in an area with a large Amish community. Ndibe recounted a story about his deadly fear of mosquitoes on the Saddlemire Trail. Lewis talked about the joys of spending time in Canton with her husband and finding her voice in writing a novel. Griest described a serene moment she experienced while maple tapping with local friends. “It was like a maple symphony,” she said. 

Later that evening, each of the writers read an excerpt of their writing. Bob Cowser, professor of English and this year’s Writers Series director, introduced each writer by recounting small anecdotes about their time at SLU. Cowser has been with the English department since the conception of the Viebranz professorship 25 years ago. This year, the department will bring back 13 former Viebranz Professors for readings plus a special reading from this year’s Viebranz Professor, A. Kendra Greene. 

Griest was the first to speak. “I left a part of my heart in the North Country, and I’m so happy to have a part of it back,” she said, before reading an excerpt from her book, “Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life.” 

Ndibe was next up. He began with a playful call-and-response with the audience, announcing a proud, “Good evening!” When he did not get the energetic response that he wanted, he then repeated “Good evening!” in a louder, more engaging voice. The audience then responded with the same level of enthusiasm. Ndibe said that this introduction is a trait of his teacher, a way to engage his class right away. Ndibe spent most of his time recalling the story of how he became a writer–discovering the “magic of libraries” and eventually writing the manuscript of his debut novel, “Arrows of Rain.” 

Lewis read passages from her short story, “Marado,” which was published in the New England Review in the summer of 2024. Many audiences were engaged through Lewis’ dialogue and descriptions about Gen-Z views of sexuality and gender. 

Hemley closed out the night with an excerpt from a story of him running into an old ex-girlfriend by a photo booth and how the interaction brought up all new insights about his identity as a partner, a father and a friend. It was a nostalgic and sentimental way to close out the day.