In the tradition of having literary scholars come to campus, Mexican writer and poet Francisco X. Alarcon will come to De Anza College on Oct. 28. He will read his works, some of which may come from his as-of-yet unpublished book.

The event, co-sponsored by Puente, the WRC and Red Wheelbarrow, will take place in the Writing and Reading Center in room ATC 309 inside the ATC Building. The reading will be followed by a reception with refreshments, for those in attendance.

Francisco X. Alarcon, born in California, lived in Mexico before returning to the state. He has authored several publications and received numerous awards, including the Pura Belpré Award in 2000 and 2002. His publications include works such as “Quake Poems,” poems written in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake and “Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation,” poems about his Aztec roots.

Ken Weisner, instructor of the Red Wheelbarrow publication class, is excited about the visit, and asks those coming to be prepared for the unexpected. Alarcon is a highly spiritual individual. Guests should be prepared for the reading and native chanting that celebrates the four cardinal directions.

His new work centers on his excursions to Chile and Argentina. Alarcon will require those in attendance to be attentive listeners because, for him, “poems by nature are incomplete and they need to be completed by the reader and the listener.”