The first Long River Reading Series of the Spring 2026 semester occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 11, featuring readings from the University of Connecticut community.
This iteration of the Long River Reading Series, hosted by UConn’s Creative Writing Program, featured readings from Liam Smith, Victoria Ifeolu and Leon Perniciaro at the Philip E. Austin Building’s Stern Lounge.
After an overview of upcoming Creative Writing Program events from Luisana Duarte-Armendáriz, the graduate assistant director for the program, Smith read a selection of poetry work. One of Smith’s poems, “Attempting Wallace Stevens in Terms of Ice-Hockey,” recently won the Edward R. and Frances Schreiber Collins Literary Prize for poetry, which awarded $3,000.
Smith said he did not expect to win the award and encouraged anyone at UConn to submit their work to the various Creative Writing Awards offered each year in the fall semester.
Smith’s poems blended intricately-captured emotions with vivid everyday scenes. Some of his poem titles and details were inspired by poetry from other writers, including Ocean Vuong, an acclaimed poet raised in Connecticut.
“Everyone writes in an amalgamation of all their influences,” Smith said. “Every time I read a poem and I’m really affected by it, the first thing I try to do is write something similar.”
Smith said he was nervous before the reading, anticipating an intimidating crowd. But the experience ended up being more relaxing than he expected, he said.
“I knew a lot of people in the crowd, which was good,” Smith said. “Everyone there was super nice, I really enjoyed meeting the other people I was reading with.”
The next reading came from Ifeolu, who is pursuing a master’s at UConn that involves political science and studies of indigeneity, race and ethnicity. She has published multiple books of poetry and fiction that have won a variety of literary prizes.
Ifeolu read excerpts from the first two chapters of a novel in progress, titled “Embryo Burns.” While still in development, the protagonist’s voice and the story’s medical emphasis was well-polished and came across clearly. After the excerpts, Ifeolu provided context for the rest of the novel with an overall synopsis.
The final reading came from Perniciaro, an English Ph.D. candidate at UConn and part-time faculty member of Quinnipiac University’s Game Design and Development Program. He is also the editor of Haven Spec Magazine, an online science fiction and fantasy literary publication that specializes in stories and poetry relevant to a 21st-century audience.
Perniciaro read his short story, “To Taste Again That Bitter Tea,” which was published in the literary magazine The Dread Machine in 2022.
Perniciaro’s story was an immersive first-person narrative that revolved around a mysterious woman named Clara who always had a teapot on her head. Her unusual behavior, which only gets more erratic, created a constant sense of intrigue and led to an exhilarating ending.
Perniciaro’s story was enjoyable and unlike what he typically reads for leisure and class,
Ryan Krishna, a sixth-semester English and individualized major, said.
“Despite it being a written short story, it was very engaging to be read aloud due to the well-executed character and worldbuilding,” Krishna said. “It was a great reading; I could not take my eyes off him as he was reading it.”
After the featured readers, there was a brief intermission with snacks before an open mic portion of the event. A few audience members came to the podium to read their own poems.
The next Long River Reading Series will take place at 5:30 p.m. on March 25 at the Austin Building’s Stern Lounge. It will feature readings from Ph.D. student Adam McLain and undergraduate student Kathleen Tumminello.