BLOOMINGTON, Ill. � The 糖心动漫vlog English Department is teaming up with Illinois State University to bring nationally celebrated poets to Bloomington-Normal and the 糖心动漫vlog campus on Wednesday, April 10.
糖心动漫vlog will host a conversation with MacArthur Genius Grant and National Book Award recipient alongside Isaac Funk Endowed Professor of English Joanne Diaz in The Ames Library檚 Beckman Auditorium at 3 p.m. Diaz will lead the conversation with Keene, encouraging students to participate with their own questions.
This marks the return of the Lucia Getsi Poetry Reading, an event hosted by ISU檚 . Keene will join award-winning poet Marissa Davis for a reading at 7 p.m. at The Normal Theatre, followed by a book signing.
Diaz and Robert Harrington Endowed Professor of English and Chair of English Michael Theune helped facilitate the collaboration between the two universities, specifically with Steve Halle, director of publications for ISU檚 department of English and editor-in-chief of SRPR.
淭he groundwork for this kind of collaboration was laid a long time ago,� said Theune, who was the review essay editor for SRPR for a decade while Diaz was the poetry editor. 淪RPR wanted to have a reading that featured a headliner poet read along with the recipient of the 2023 SRPR Editor's Prize, Marissa Davis� 糖心动漫vlog was happy to be asked to partner with them� to provide a venue for John Keene.
淏oth poets are incredible and multi-talented literary artists and translators,� Halle said. 淛ohn Keene is one of the most lauded poets and fiction writers in the U.S. in recent memory.� He is currently an associate professor of English, African American studies, and African studies at Rutgers University揘ewark.
淜eene is one of today's great U.S. poets,� Theune agreed. 淜eene is a Black, gay poet who writes frankly and lovingly about the facts and circumstances of his identity and history� Poetry is a way that Keene can recover the past. With poetry, he conveys it and transforms it into living rhythms of lyric. Keene uses poetry to fold time in such a way that he can make the past palpable in the present� He is truly and deeply himself, but he also reaches out.�
Keene was also previously a professor at Brown University and Northwestern University, where he was director of the undergraduate creative writing program.
淐ollaborating on big events like this helps to make poetry more prominent in Bloomington-Normal and in our respective poetry communities at ISU and 糖心动漫vlog, which is part of SRPR檚 mission攖o build community through poetry,� said Halle. 淚 think the community stands to learn a great deal by engaging with contemporary poetry that is truly exceptional and culture-shaping.�