A List
8/27/07

POET TOI DERRICOTTE OPENS SLU WRITERS SERIES SEPT. 6

CANTON - The 2007-2008 St. Lawence Writers Series begins on Thursday, September 6, with an appearance by poet Toi Derricotte, at 8 p.m. in the Common Room of Sykes Residence Hall. It is open to the public, free of charge.

Derricotte is the author of the poetry collections Tender, winner of the 1998 Paterson Poetry Prize; Captivity; Natural Birth; and Empress of the Death House. Her recent memoir, The Black Notebooks, won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award; the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Award in nonfiction; and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Derricotte's honors include the Pushcart Prize; inclusion in The Best American Essays; and fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. A professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh, she is the co-founder - with Cornelius Eady, also in this year's Writers Series - of Cave Canem, the historic first workshop/retreat for African American poets.

Other events in this year's series, featuring authors reading from their recent works, are September 17, Tess Gallagher; September 20, Robert Root; October 18, Jane Hamilton; November 1, Phillip Lopate; November 12, Alice Elliott Dark; February 7, Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing K.L. Cook; March 6, Eady; April 7, Faith Adiele; and April 24, Sena Jeter Naslund.

For more information, contact the English department at 315-229-5125.

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More information: Arts at St. Lawrence