Northern Arizona University writer Oscar Mancinas will share selections from his books "To Live and Die in El Valle" and "des ______: papeles, palabras & poems from the desert" as part of NMSU’s Nelson-Boswell Reading Series.

Sarah Kimmerly, New Mexico State University

LAS CRUCES - As part of the Nelson-Boswell Reading Series, La Sociedad para Las Artes will host a public reading by Northern Arizona University assistant professor of English and creative writing Oscar Mancinas. He will read from his publications “To Live and Die in El Valle” and “des _____: papeles, palabras, & poems from the desert.”

Mancinas will give his reading at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 in NMSU’s CMI Theater in Milton Hall, Room 171. A free reception will follow the reading, where copies of “To Live and Die in El Valle” and “des ______: papeles, palabras, & poems from the desert” will be available for purchase.

Mancinas holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and a doctorate in transborder studies. Based in Arizona, he’s a poet, fiction writer, teacher and organizer. His short story collection “To Live and Die in El Valle” centers around a town called El Valle and the varied experiences of those connected to it. “Des ______: papeles, palabras, & poems from the desert” explores themes of migrant belonging, displacement, resistance and hope.

The Nelson-Boswell Reading Series invites visiting writers to NMSU to share their work with the community. La Sociedad para Las Artes is seeking to establish a permanent endowed fund through the NMSU Foundation whose earnings will support creative writing programs, including visiting writers and reading series as well as creative writing workshops for children in Las Cruces Public Schools.

Sarah Kimmerly writes for New Mexico State University. She can be reached at kimmerly@nmsu.edu.