African-American Poet to Speak Feb. 11

[Blue_Tires]

Cornelius Eady, one of the most prominent African-American poets in the nation, will speak at a Valparaiso University literary event during Black History month.

Eady, associate professor of English at Notre Dame, will read and discuss his works as part of Valpo’s Wordfest series in a free event Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Mueller Hall refectory. The event is free and open to the public.

Eady is the author of eight books of poetry, the most recent being the critically acclaimed “Hardheaded Weather,” which has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Eady is co-founder of Cave Canem, a national organization for African-American poetry and poets. He is the recipient of a National Education Association fellowship in literature; John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry; Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Traveling Scholarship; Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to Bellagio, Italy; and The Prairie Schooner Strousse Award. In 1999, Eady’s “Running Man,” a music-theatre piece co-written with jazz musican Diedre Murray, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Wordfest, an annual series of readings by distinguished authors and poets, panel discussions and student writing contests, is sponsored by Valpo’s Department of English and Cultural Arts Committee. The series will continue with critic Joseph Tabbi on March 31.

http://www.valpolife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6161