Westminster College English professor Dr. David Swerdlow has released a new poetry collection, “Empty the River,” which explores societal collapse in a fictional city ravaged by illness. He will read selections from the book at Westminster’s Bleasby Colloquium at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the Berlin Lounge of the McKelvey Campus Center. 

In Swerdlow's fifth publication he shares the tales of survivors living in a fictional riverside city that has been overrun with disease and death. “Empty the River,” joins the apocalyptic literature genre that challenges the nightmares of past and present to create the dream of a better future. The stories are told by the citizens who remain and their tales of what they experienced and how they coped. 

The project originated during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Swerdlow encountered images of Hart Island, a New York City burial ground historically reserved for unidentified or indigent individuals. During the pandemic, the island was used for mass burials as deaths surged. 

“New York City was sending up to 100 bodies a week to the island for burials in mass graves,” said Swerdlow. “I was so moved by this situation and this image that I began to imagine a fictional city on a river besieged by infection. I imagined its citizens and their stories and over time, their stories emerged as poems in the voices of many.” 

“Empty the River” was published by Broadstone books and is Swerdlow's fourth collection of poetry. His latest work has been nominated for an Ohioana Book Award and one of the poems has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, which recognizes outstanding literary work published by small presses. His work has appeared in prominent literary journals, including American Poetry Review, Poetry and The Iowa Review, among others.  

Swerdlow joined the Westminster College faculty in 1990 and specializes in creative writing, modern and contemporary American literature and postcolonial literature. He has authored three other books of poetry— “Nightstand” (2023), “Bodies on Earth” (2010), “Small Holes in the Universe” (2003)—and a novel, “Television Man,” which was released in 2019. The recipient of several awards, Swerdlow has served as a Fulbright Professor of American Literature in Peru, as a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow and as visiting faculty on two Semester at Sea voyages. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and his master’s and Ph.D. from Ohio University. 
 
The Bleasby event, sponsored by Westminster’s Department of English, is free and open to the public. Copies of “Empty the River” will be available for purchase and signing.  

The George Bleasby Colloquia series of literary events is an event in honor of the late Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the Westminster College Department of English from 1954-1975. These programs are presentations by department faculty, featured speakers and majors on individual scholarship, interests and creative projects. 
 
For more information about “Empty the River,” please contact Swerdlow at dswerdlw@westminster.edu. 

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