Several renowned writers from around the country will visit campus April 3 to celebrate African-American literature at “Black Poets Lean South: A Cave Canem Symposium.” Open to the public, the event will be held from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. in the Chapel, with a reception following.
“Black Poets Lean South” will feature six award-winning poets from the Cave Canem Foundation, an organization that promotes the work of emerging African-American authors. Poets scheduled to participate include the two founders of Cave Canem—Cornelius Eady and Toi Derricotte—as well as Nikky Finney, Opal Moore, Sean Hill and Kyle Dargan. The symposium takes its name from an anthology of poetry edited by Finney entitled The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, published in 2007 by the University of Georgia Press.
The symposium will include author readings and question-and-answer sessions throughout the day, culminating at 5 p.m. with a panel discussion moderated by Angela Elam, UGA theater alumna and host of public radio’s longest-running literary program New Letters on the Air. This panel will be followed by a book signing.
On April 2, UGA’s Mandala Literary Journal will hold a release party from 7–10 p.m. at Ciné, 234 W. Hancock Ave.
