The National Book Foundation, or NBF, will bring the award-winning writer Claire Wahmanholm to campus on March 31 for a free event, “Eco-Poetics and the Modern Apocalypse.”

The event is part of an NBF tour with 16 events across 10 cities, and marks the first time UCR has been selected to host a National Book Award, or NBA, event.  

Wahmanholm is a NBA 2025 Science + Literature honoree, for her poetry collection “Meltwater.” She will participate in a conversation with Donika Kelly, an associate professor of creative writing in the English Department at the University of Iowa. Kelly is the author of “The Renunciations” and “Bestiary,” longlisted for the NBA.

The event is 6 p.m. on March 31 at CHASS Interdisciplinary South 1128. Seating is limited, so attendees must preregister at UCR/NBF Science + Literature.

According to the NBF: “‘Meltwater’ dissects the vulnerability of parenthood and our natural world, with embedded erasure poems of Lacy M. Johnson’s ‘How to Mourn a Glacier' throughout the collection." The book “simultaneously mourns the disastrous effects of the climate crisis while finding moments of joy in the everyday through the eyes of a new mother.”

When confronting the apocalyptic climate crisis bearing down on humanity, Wahmanholm believes poetry can help people as they struggle with “with moments of emotional extremity, despair, ecstasy, grief, trauma, love, all those things, not just for the poet writing it, but for her readers.”

“We want to feel like someone understands our grief, our anger, despair, the radical hope, anxiety that we feel right now,” Wahmanholm said. “That's super important.”

"It's important to us at the National Book Foundation to not only honor exceptional books like 'Meltwater,' but also to connect authors directly with readers around the country, through free events and book distributions," said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the NBF. 

The 10-city tour includes online and in-person events, celebrating authors honored by the NBF through the NBA, 5 Under 35, and Science + Literature. 

The Science + Literature program is in its fourth year and made possible by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and a three-year, $525,000 renewal grant. The purpose of the initiative is to recognize works that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology. A committee of five scientific and literary experts select three books across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. 

Along with the NBF, UCR’s Department of Creative Writing, School of Medicine, and Writers Week will sponsor the event. As a bonus, the NBF will be giving away 100 copies of "Meltwater" with an author signing following the reading/conversation.

Dickey credited Allison Hedge Coke, a UCR distinguished professor, writer, and NBA Finalist in 2022 for her poetry collection “Look at This Blue,” with bringing the event to campus.

“I'm extremely interested in bringing the Science + Literature award to UCR," Hedge Coke said. “It is an award that's necessary and essential when we're living in tumultuous times. We can use these conversations to bring attention to the student body and our colleagues where science and literature intersect and work for greater good for all of us.”