The Kansas City Public Library hosts poet Victoria Chang for a reading from her latest collection as part of a presentation called The Business of Words on Thursday, October 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

With her first book of poetry, Chang won the Association of Asian American Studies Book Award as well as the Crab Orchard Review Award Series in Poetry. Her latest collection is titled Salvinia Molesta, and her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The Nation, Poetry, The New Republic and Ploughshares. She also edited Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation, published by the University of Illinois Press.

After earning a graduate degree in Asian Studies at Harvard University, Chang obtained a M.B.A. from Stanford University and worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, and joined an Internet start-up casualty of the dot-com crash. She currently works as a business writer.

The Business of Words is a part of the Park University Ethnic Voices Poetry Series. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Rainy Day Books will be on hand to sell copies of Chang’s books. The author will sign copies purchased at the event.