Common Ground is a reading series devoted to the creative work of graduate and undergraduate
students. Our goal is to engage the widest spectrum of the Binghamton student writing
community as we gather in solidarity and share poetry and prose in a safe and welcoming
environment. Common Ground welcomes writers of color, the LGBTQ community, and people
of all abilities, and finds fellowship in celebrating Binghamton's creative writers.
Dates for Common Ground readings each semester can be found at Creative Writing Events.
If you are interested in reading your work with Common Ground or would like more information,
please email Joseph Heiland at jheiland@binghamton.edu or Derek Ellis at dellis5@binghamton.edu.
Derek Ellis
Common Ground Coordinator Derek Ellis was raised in the small, rural town of Owenton, Kentucky. He holds a BA in English
Literature from Western Kentucky University and an MFA in Creative Writing (poetry)
from the University of Maryland, where he taught courses in creative and academic
writing. He is currently pursuing a PhD in English with a creative dissertation at
Binghamton University. His work has appeared in Action, Spectacle; BODY;Five Points;Leavings; and Prairie Schooner.
Joseph Heiland
Common Ground Coordinator Joseph Heiland is a writer from Upstate New York. He has published stories in EasternIowa Review, Lumina Journal, and Reed Magazine. He received an MFA in Creative Writing (fiction) from Sarah Lawrence College and
is currently pursuing a PhD in English at Binghamton University.
