Writing Now / Reading Now returns to the Ulrich today (Thursday, Feb. 16) Writing Now / Reading Now returns to the Ulrich today (Thursday, Feb. 16)

Writing Now / Reading Now will feature a reading by Lee Clay Johnson at 6 p.m. today (Thursday, Feb. 16) in the Ulrich Museum of Art. A reception will precede the reading at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. Writing Now / Reading Now is co-sponsored with the WSU Department of English, Watermark Books and Cafe and the Ulrich Museum of Art.

One of a new generation of shockingly talented novelists, Johnson is an electric personality and a dynamic reader whose first book, "Nitro Mountain (Knopf)," has been praised widely, including mentions in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times Book Review and O Magazine.

The novel, set within the ruined-pastoral landscapes of southern Appalachia, explores addiction, abuse and the power of music to ennoble and transform; the great writer Joy Williams called it "Perturbingly good. Hazardous. Addictive. Harrowing and hilarious too."

Raised in a family of bluegrass musicians, Lee has toured internationally as a musician and also worked as a gardener for a homeless shelter, a bartender and a professor. He is an adjunct lecturer at Wichita State this spring and will be teaching the Writer's Tutorial in Fiction.