The Bankhead Visiting Writers Series will host its second reading of the year with GC Waldrep and Sabrina Orah Mark reading their poetry tonight at 7 in Smith Hall Room 205. Admission is free.

The series is hosted by the University’s creative writing program, which invites “prose, non-fiction and poets from all across the writing world to come and give a reading that is free and open to the public,” said Curtis Rutherford, assistant to the director of the creative writing program.

The creative writing program invites both emerging young writers and award-winning distinguished writers to speak.

Students will have the opportunity to hear GC Waldrep read from his collection of works. Waldrep, a renowned poet, has written full-length collections such as “Goldbeater’s Skin,” “Disclamor” and “Archicembalo.” His work has appeared in many journals, including “Harper’s,” “Boston Review,” “Best American Poetry 2010” and others.

Waldrep is also a winner of the Dorset Prize. He received his Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing at the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. in history from Duke University.

Waldrep is collaborating with John Gallaher on his fourth poetry collection, “Your Father on the Train of Ghosts,” due out in April 2011. He is currently teaching creative writing at Bucknell University.

The event will also host Sabrina Orah Mark. According to her website, sabrinaorahmark.com, she is currently teaching literature and creative writing at Agnes Scott College and The University of Georgia.

She, like Waldrep, received her MFA at the University of Iowa. Her work has been published in various journals, such as “Best American Poetry 2007.” Mark has one published book, “The Babies.”

The Bankhead Visiting Writers Series has other recognized writers scheduled to appear, including Ted Conover on Nov. 9, Cecil Giscombe on Feb. 17, Larry Sutin on March 3 and Brenda Hillman and Claudia Keelan on April 7.

The program has been successful in the past, with previous speakers including Charles Simic, Alice McDermott, Kevin Young, Neil Gaiman and others.