Knox College's Nicholas Regiacorte on Kaveh Akbar's visit to Galesburg

A New York Times bestselling novelist and National Book Award finalist is coming to Galesburg this Friday — and the event is free. Knox College Director of Creative Writing Nicholas Regiacorte joined Galesburg's Morning News on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, to preview the visit. He also read two passages live from Kaveh Akbar's novel Martyr! Listen to the full interview above. Topics covered in this interview: Who Kaveh Akbar is — poet, novelist, Guggenheim Fellow, TIME 100 Next What makes Martyr! accessible to a wide audience despite its heavy themes The novel's structure — real and imagined conversations, from an AA sponsor to Lisa Simpson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar How humor and lightness balance the book's themes of addiction, loss, and identity The legacy of Robin Metz and what the residency means to Knox College Two live readings from Martyr! by Nicholas Regiacorte   Kaveh Akbar reads from Martyr! this Friday, May 22, at 4 p.m. in the Red Room of Seymour Library at Knox College in Galesburg. Free admission. Refreshments and original prints from Knox's letterpress studio will be available. Related: NYT bestselling author Kaveh Akbar comes to Knox College this Friday — free and open to the public