"If you like gardening and the natural world, you'll find something you like in my work," Welsch said.
His reading will be the first of nine readings of creative writing of the Allegheny Mountains Reading Series, associate director of the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in creative writing Sheila Squillante said. She said she thinks very highly of the program, which is supported by five separate organizations.
"It is so rewarding and so helpful for writers to come and read to others," Squillante said.
Welsch received his undergraduate degree in English in 1993 as well as his MFA in Fiction from Penn State in 1998. He currently works for alumni relations and development in the College of the Liberal Arts. He previously taught English classes at Penn State.
He said a graduate class got him to take poetry seriously.
"I never thought of myself as a poet at all," Welsch said.
He said the instructor of that graduate class, Professor Robin Becker, is a mentor for him.
Becker said she holds him in the highest regard, and his poems are extremely accomplished.
"Gabe knows how to make his poems strong," Becker said. "In the largest sense, his poems are a celebration of human effort in the face of mortality."
Welsch said he wrote poetry on the side when he ran out of ideas for stories. He also said a poetry reading provides more background on what the writer thinks and feels. He said listeners are able to hear inflections and expressions that are lost when reading a poem to oneself and that can help readers better interpret a poem.
"Poetry is a performed art," Welsch said. "People lose sight of that. The crowds that come out [to readings] are really receptive."
Welsch said he enjoys reading his work, and he tries to read it expressively.
"I'm looking forward to it," he said.
The book will be available for purchase and a book signing by the author will take place following the reading.
