For immediate use
Pulitzer Prize Winner and former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey to speak at UNC-Chapel Hill, March 22
Trethewey comes to campus as the 2016 Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence
(Chapel Hill, N.C. – March 2, 2016) – Pulitzer Prize Winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will speak at 7:30 p.m. on March 22 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Genome Sciences Auditorium.
Trethewey, the 2016 Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence in the College of Arts and Sciences, was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. As the daughter of a mixed-race couple whose union was still illegal at the time of their marriage, she was an intimate witness to the inequality and daily strife that would become a common theme in her work. When Trethewey was 19, her mother was murdered, a tragedy that led her to writing poetry.
She is the author of four poetry collections: “Thrall” (2012); “Native Guard,” for which she won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize; “Bellocq’s Ophelia” (2002), which was named a Notable Book for 2003 by the American Library Association; and “Domestic Work” (2000). She is also the author of “Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast” (2010) and the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others.
From 2012-2014, Trethewey served two terms as Poet Laureate of the United States. One of her most powerful projects as poet laureate was the PBS NewsHour series, “Where Poetry Lives,” an in-depth look at civic life in the United States through the lens of poetry. During this series she and NPR correspondent Jeffrey Brown traveled 100 miles from Mississippi to Alabama as part of Congressman John Lewis’ 14th annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage.
Trethewey will also participate as a panelist in two additional free events:
“Writing Under the Influence: Our Favorite Poems and Why” – March 21, 3:30 p.m.
Donovan Lounge, Greenlaw Hall
The event will feature moderator George Lensing (English and comparative literature faculty, emeritus) and panelists Matthew Olzmann (poet and Kenan Writer-in-Residence) and Alan Shapiro (creative writing).
“Literature, Historical Memory and Empathy: The Role of the Literary Arts in Our Campus Conversation on Race” – March 23, 3:30 p.m.
Anne Queen Lounge, Campus Y
The event will feature moderator Randall Kenan (creative writing) and panelists Minrose Gwin and Jennifer Ho (both English and comparative literature).
The Frank B. Hanes Hanes Writer-in-Residence Program in the department of English and comparative literature honors the late Frank Borden Hanes Sr., a 1942 alumnus and founder of the Arts and Sciences Foundation, who was a long-time and generous supporter of creative writing at Carolina.
-Carolina-
About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu