LEWISTON, Idaho — Local author Tara Karr Roberts will give a public talk April 10 as part of Lewis-Clark State College’s Visiting Writers Series.
Roberts, a novelist, freelance writer, and newspaper columnist, will be reading from her award-winning debut novel, “Wild and Distant Seas,” as well as discussing her current projects. All are welcome to attend the talk scheduled for 7 p.m. April 10 at the Lewiston City Library, 411 D St. in downtown Lewiston.
“Tara Karr Roberts’ novel ‘Wild Distant Seas’ takes Herman Melville’s 1851 novel ‘Moby-Dick’ as its starting point, but this story goes far beyond Melville’s vision,” said LC State English professor Marlowe Daly-Galeano, who regularly teaches classes on “Moby-Dick” and American literature. “While ‘Moby-Dick’ presented the narrative of a single whaling voyage, ‘Wild Distant Seas’ spans generations and continents, reflecting the immense potential of the women left behind the disastrous expedition."
“Wild and Distant Seas” received the 2024 Idaho Book of the Year Award and a Pacific Northwest Book Award. A lifelong Idahoan, Roberts grew up in Laclede, Idaho, a small community along the Pend Oreille River. She currently lives in Moscow, Idaho, with her family, and enjoys camping and hiking throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The presentation will get underway with an introduction by Landry Cash, an LC State creative writing and publishing arts student and vice president of the student-run literary journal, “Talking River Review.” Cash will provide attendees with a brief biography on Roberts as well as some of her own takeaways from reading Roberts’ works.
Cash and Roberts had the opportunity to work together through “Talking River Review.” Each visiting writer is invited to contribute to “Talking River Review,” and Roberts wrote a short piece of fiction specifically for the journal’s current issue. LC State’s publishing arts students can work with professional authors behind the scenes thanks to contributions from writers like Roberts. Copies of the current issue of the journal as well as “Wild and Distant Seas” will be available for purchase at the April 10 reading.
The Visiting Writers Series is coordinated by LC State’s Humanities Division. Typically, one writer is invited to participate in the series each fall and spring semester, with one delivering the Stegner Lecture. Author, director, and artist Kimi Eisele, of Tuscan, Arizona, will give the Fall 2026 Stegner Lecture.
In addition to providing a public reading, visiting writers stop by several LC State classes where students can discuss their work and ask questions. They are also invited to lead a session at the LC State Center for Teaching and Learning; Roberts will hold a conversation at 3 p.m. April 9 about teaching writing and the future of writing careers in the age of AI large-language models. The talk will take place in the CTL, Meriwether Lewis Hall, Room 320, on the LC State campus.
Roberts’ visit is supported by the Rosehill Fund and an Institutional Development Grant. Contact the Humanities Division at 208-792-2297 for more information on Roberts’ upcoming presentations and the Visiting Writers Series.