The English department, in partnership with other UGA units, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of multi-ethnic literature studies at the university by holding “New Voices in American Literature: A Multicultural Symposium” on March 5 from 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m. in the Chapel.
Four writers—Lorraine M. López, Natasha Trethewey, Major Jackson and Cathy Park Hong—will read from their works and participate in panel discussions about their writing. Graduate students in English—Billie Bennett, Jenn Blair, Ondra Krouse Dismukes and Sabrina Mark—will moderate the panel discussions.
Following the panels and readings, a reception and book signing will take place in Demosthenian Hall.
The symposium will culminate with a musical performance by Susie Ibarra and Roberto J. Rodriguez, leaders of the percussion group Electric Kulintang. All symposium activities are open to the public.
López, assistant professor of English at Vanderbilt University, holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from UGA. She is the author of Soy la Avon Lady and Other Stories (2003), a collection exploring the Chicano quest for identity, and Call Me Henri (2006), a young adult novel about a boy’s struggle to overcome the adversities of life in the barrio.
Trethewey, associate professor of creative writing at Emory University, holds a B.A. in English from UGA. She has published three collections of poetry including Domestic Work (2000), Bellocq’s Ophelia (2002) and Native Guard (2006).
Jackson, associate professor of English at the University of Vermont, is a 2006-2007 Fellow at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. He is the author of Leaving Saturn (2002), published by the UGA Press, and Hoops (2006).
Hong holds an M.F.A. from Iowa Writers Workshop and teaches creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
A Korean-American poet and journalist, she is the author of two poetry collections, Translating Mo’um (2002) and the forthcoming Dance Dance Revolution (2007).