Kirsten Imani Kasai, poet, novelist, publisher and magazine editor, spoke about her newest novel “The House of Erzulie,” an African American gothic genre.

“It’s a dark and complicated book,” Kasai said. “And I was in a dark and complicated place when I wrote it. We can’t escape ourselves in our writing…our experience, in form, are art.”

Amy Sage Webb, director of the creative writing program and professor of English, modern languages and journalism, introduced Kasai last Thursday in the Greek room.

“It’s been a great season, and this is really a highlight,” Webb said. “The timing is perfect that Kirsten is here close to Halloween because I think of her writing as being seductive, spooky, gothic and brilliant.”

During the event, Kasai performed a reading from her book and held a question and answer session. There are parts of the book that include her personal life. Her daughter is the face of the cover.

According to Kasai, her parents, who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement, are an interracial couple that faced criticism.

Her father lived across the street at the time of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama. “I know that traumatized him,” Kasai said.

“(Kasai) writes in a similar style as I do, so I loved (her visit),” said Mickayla Standlea, freshmen secondary English education major.

“She talked about incorporating some personal experiences into (writing) and being able to deal with your own problems in the book without having to openly address them.”

Student fees through the Performing Arts Board fund the visiting writer series, according to Webb.