ANN ARBOR—A benefit reading for hunger relief will highlight the November Visiting Writers Series at the University of Michigan.

The fifth annual “Writers Harvest: The National Reading,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Rackham Amphitheater, will feature readings by Debra Allbery, author of the poetry collection “Walking Distance”; U-M alumna Laura Kasischke, who has written the novel “Suspicious River” and two collections of poems; U-M English Prof. Charles Gordon (OyamO), author of “I Am a Man” and dozens of theater productions; and U-M visiting English Prof. Anton Shammas, who has written the novel “Arabesques” and three books of poems in Arabic and Hebrew.

Sponsored by the national hunger-relief group Share Our Strength, the event will benefit Food Gatherers, a local anti- hunger organization. The special reading is one of about 500 taking place across the nation on that day.

Suggested donations are $5, with tickets available at the door.

The U-M Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the Department of English and Borders Books and Music, features fiction and poetry readings by distinguished writers throughout the academic year. Most readings are free to the public.

Other November readings include:

Nov. 7 (5 p.m.), Rackham Building East Conference Room: Poet Sharona Ben-Tov, who teaches English and creative writing at Bowling Green State University, is the author of the books “The Artificial Paradise: Science Fiction and American Reality,” “During Ceasefire” and “The Recoilless Cannon and Other Inventions.”

Nov. 19 (4 p.m.), Rackham Amphitheater: U-M English Prof. Linda Gregerson, a noted critic of contemporary American poetry and Renaissance literature, has written two books of poetry, “Fire in the Conservatory” and “The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep.”

For more information on the Visiting Writers Series, call the U-M Hopwood Room, (313) 764-6296.

University of Michigan