The Griot Collective of West TN and Lane College to celebrate National Poetry Month with special guest
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE GRIOT COLLECTIVE OF WEST TENNESSEE
JACKSON, Tenn.—The Griot Collective of West Tennessee and Lane College celebrate National Poetry Month with award winning poet Major Jackson, April 2nd, on the campus of Lane College. Jackson will conduct a poetry workshop at 1pm for students from Jackson State Community College, Union University, the University of Memphis-Lambuth and Lane College. At 6pm, Jackson will give a reading of his work, followed by a Q&A. Both events take place in the CMAC building.
Major Jackson, Poet/ author. Photo by Beowulf Sheehan
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, John S. Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Major Jackson has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and has been honored by the Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. He is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University.
The Griot Collective is a non-profit literary arts organization that conducts monthly poetry workshops, poetry contests, Open Mics and a Visiting Writers Series. Established in 1882, Lane College has nurtured business and spiritual leaders, novelists and scientists, physicians and public servants, scholars and teachers in every field of endeavor. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters.
Lane College is located at 545 Lane Avenue in Jackson, Tennessee. This event, made possible by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Jackson Arts Council, is free and open to the public.
For details, contact Dr. Richard Boada: (731) 215-0713/rboada@lanecollege.edu or James E Cherry: (731) 422-2524/thegriotcollective@yahoo.com.
