Richard Siken, author of the poetry collection "Crush," will give a reading at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at The Hinge Gallery. The reading is part of the GWA Reading Series at UMSL.

Writers and poets of St. Louis have reason to be excited. Trending poet Richard Siken will be on their literary scene for a reading hosted by the Graduate Writer’s Association at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The event is part of the GWA Reading Series and is the second and final reading of the semester.

Siken’s reading will begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at The Hinge Gallery, 410 N. Newstead Ave., Suite 4W, in St. Louis.

The event is free and open to the public. It will feature free food and drinks. Siken’s book will be available for purchase and signing after the reading and discussion.

“Crush,” Siken’s debut book of poetry, won the 2004 Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, a Lambda Literary Award and the Thom Gunn Award. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Listed in their Best Poetry of 2005, Library Journal called “Crush” “Vital, immediate and cinematic in scope, [Siken’s] verse offers sharply observed vignettes of longing, love and pain.”

“It [is] almost impossible to look away from the beautiful and troubling scenes he sets,” wrote The New Hampshire Review of “Crush.”

Siken is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize. He lives in Tucson, Ariz. and is cofounder and editor of the literary magazine “spork.”

The Graduate Writers Association is a student organization composed of student writers in the Creative Writing MFA at UMSL. It serves as an opportunity for the students to network with emerging and established writers, as well as gain insight into the process of running a reading series.