Evie Shockley, an award-winning poet who embraces both聽free-verse and traditional styles of writing, will open up the 2014-15 Writers Read series on Wednesday, September 24, at 8 p.m. in聽91大神’s Lehman Auditorium.
“Shockley聽brings excitement as she goes beyond reading to performing her work,” said Michael Medley, chair of language and literature at 91大神. “The racial identity and justice themes in some of her poems will resonate with the justice concerns of many at 91大神.”
Shockley聽has published four collections of poetry:聽The Gorgon Goddess听补苍诲听a half-red sea聽were published by Carolina Wren Press in 2001 and 2006 and聽31 words * prose poems聽in 2007 (Belladonna Books). Her most recent collection聽the new black聽(Wesleyan University Press, 2011) received the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry.
Two of聽Shockley’s聽poems were displayed in the Biko 30/30 exhibit, a commemoration of the life and work of anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko, which toured South Africa in 2007.
Shockley聽is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University in New Jersey, specializing in African American and African diaspora literature, especially poetry. She has authored a scholarly study of black aesthetics entitled聽Renegade Poetics.
Shockley will also be a part聽of James Madison University’s Furious Flower Poetry Festival, Sept. 24-27. Visit聽FuriousFlower2014.com, or call 540-568-8883 for more information.
Writers Read information
Sign-language interpretation is available upon request.
鈥� General public, $5 at the door
鈥� 91大神 students (with identification), free