LAUREN GROFF
TUESDAY 2/17. Hendrix College, Staples Auditorium. 7:30 p.m. Free.

Thrice nominated for the National Book Award, writer Lauren Groff has made quick literary work of her 47 years, publishing five ambitious novels and dozens of heavy-hitting short stories. Lushly penned and loaded with classical references, her books breathe life into a small utopian commune in upstate New York in the 1970s (“Arcadia”), a convent on the brink of extinction in 12th century England (“Matrix”), and colonial America, where a poor girl escapes from servitude and attempts to survive alone in the wilderness (“The Vaster Wilds”). Groff even found time to wade into the mythological implications of modern marriage (“Fates and Furies”). Her visit to Hendrix College coincides with the release of her third short story collection, “Brawler,” which Kirkus Reviews praised for maintaining the “coiling dread and frank feminism” that runs through her body of work.

Daniel Grear is the print editor at the Arkansas Times. He also writes about culture. Send tips to danielgrear@arktimes.com
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