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Lake Tahoe native Krista Lukas, currently a Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellow and a Gluck Fellow at the University of California, Riverside, will read from her newest collection of poems, ‘Fans of My Unconscious’, at the Sierra Arts Gallery on Friday, March 14th starting at 7pm. The reading is co-sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Black Rock Press. The author will sign books, available for purchase at the event, after the reading. Seating is limited.

The book, published by Black Rock Press, was a finalist for the 2009 May Swenson Award and the 2011 Pearl Poetry Prize. This event coincides with Lukas being one of the judges at the March 15th Nevada Poetry Out Loud State Finals at The Siena Hotel Spa Casino at noon. The State Finals are free and open to the public.

Born in Truckee, California, Krista Lukas grew up in the Lake Tahoe area. She is the recipient of a Nevada Arts Council Fellowship and the Robert Gorrell Award for Literary Achievement from the Sierra Arts Foundation. Her poetry has been broadcast on The Writer’s Almanac on NPR and published in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Best American Poetry 2006, Creative Writer’s Handbook (5th edition), and New Poets of the American West.

Lukas earned a BA in Literature from the University of California, San Diego and completed her teacher education program at Sierra Nevada College. She has taught English, ESL, and Gifted and Talented in Nevada schools. She is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts at UC, Riverside. Having judged regional Poetry Out Loud Competitions and attended the state competition in the past, she travels to Nevada to serve as a state judge this year.