The UNLV-based Women's Research Institute of Nevada will host a reception Feb. 28 for Catherine Bellver, a UNLV foreign language professor, whose new book, Absence and Presence: Spanish Women Poets of the Twenties and Thirties, was published in December.

A prolific writer, Bellver has published extensively on 20th century Spanish literature, particularly in the area of the poetry of the Generation of '27 and of women narrators of the post-civil war period. Her work has appeared in major journals in the United States, Spain, and Mexico, and she has authored two other books. Bellver, who holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, has taught at UNLV for more than 20 years. In 1998, she received the university's Distinguished Professor Award. She currently serves as the vice president of the Twentieth Century Spanish Association and is a delegate of the Twentieth Century Division to the Assembly of the Modern Language Association.

The reception will take place 4-6 p.m. at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History, located on the UNLV campus. It is free and open to the public. Speakers at the event will include Bellver and Joanne Goodwin, founding director of the institute.

The Women's Research Institute of Nevada is the only research facility in the state to focus specifically on issues that impact woman. Founded in 1999, the institute is housed in UNLV's College of Liberal Arts.

For additional information about the reception, call the institute at 895-4931.