(HARLINGEN) – The Humanities and Arts Department at Texas State Technical College recently hosted local authors and poets, many from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, at writing forums open to students, faculty, staff and the community.

Authors and poets who participated in the forums were: San Benito Writers Forum members Enriqueta Ramos, Beto Conde and TSTC Physics Instructor Jose Alvarez, UTRGV Professor of Creative Writing Dr. Elvia Ardalani, UTRGV Professor Emeritus in History Dr. Manuel Medrano, UTRGV Professor of Communications Dr. William Strong.

The forums were in conjunction with the Texas Writers Exhibit, which has been at the TSTC J. Gilbert Leal Learning Resource Center for the past month, thanks in part to a $1,000 grant from Humanities Texas.

This was the exhibit’s first time in the Rio Grande Valley and focused on the vitality and breadth of creative writing in Texas from the mid-twentieth century to the turn of the twenty-first century to present day.

“We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to celebrate the humanities and arts with our students and the community,” said Dr. Richard Kirk, TSTC social and behavioral science and humanities professor. “This exhibit brought awareness to the transcultural contributions made to Texas literature.”