Modesto Junior College author to give campus reading

The Modesto Junior College Fall Visiting Author Series will host a book reading by Dimitri Keriotis at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on the east campus.

Keriotis, a professor of English at MJC, will read from his debut collection of short stories, “The Quiet Time,” which was published by Stephen F. Austin University Press in October 2014.

MJC instructors are using his book in their classes, from reading classes to developmental writing classes to critical thinking classes, said Optimism One, MJC professor of English.

“We do this to build community, to share in a dialogue about the issues presented in the stories, and to share a common text that will bring students together,” One said.

The book includes a range of stories, from one about a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, to a young couple in Greece, to a heartbroken man in Modesto.

“Each story raises a number of questions about personal, local and global issues, all of which students have been keenly interested in,” he said. “Each story reveals a main character’s moral center in the face of unexpected events, some of which seem trivial, others vital.”

Several classes have had the author in to talk to students about story content and writing process. Keriotis said he also has presented readings at Merced College, UC Merced, Lake Tahoe Community College, Chico State, and he recently taught at the Tuolumne Writers Retreat.

Keriotis’ stories have appeared in Beloit Fiction Journal, Georgetown Review, Evening Street Review, Flyway and Border Senses. He works with the High Sierra Institute, an offering of summer classes held at Baker Station.

Raised in Northern California, Keriotis holds a master of arts from the University of Nevada, Reno, and master of fine arts from California State University, Chico. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire and Bolivia.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Modesto Junior College author to give campus reading."