Friends, Readings, New Books, Conferences

These days part of the job of an academic and writer is to host readings by great writers.  I know what you’re thinking: that’s not a hard job.  Indeed it isn’t.

On January 24, I hosted University of San Francisco poet and scholar Dean Rader (Okie) to UGA’s campus. He was funded by the Eidson Foundation at UGA that also funds my chair. Dean gave a wonderful reading  from his new book at Cine in Athens, GA.  His new book Self Portrait as Wikipedia Entry  as https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/pages/browse/book.asp?bg=%7B603C6409-E9AF-4F8F-B6BF-8BCECC32754A%7D is a great read and UGA was proud to be his premier reading for the new book just out from Copper Canyon Press.

Also in January 2017, the Georgia Review hosted a reading by poet Jericho Brown (Emory University) on the UGA campus.  He read from some of his new work.  Both poets gave fantastic readings.  UGA audiences live for poetry readings. 

Last summer I was fortunate to have worked with Jericho Brown and Native poet Natalie Diaz at the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference in Bemidji held  June 20-26 2016 at the American Indian Resource Center on the campus of Bemidji State University. Pictured below, left to right, are Brenda Child, me, Natalie, and Jericho at a local pizza restaurant in Bemidji.  Brenda Child (Red Lake Ojibwe) is a historian at the University of Minnesota, and author of Boarding School Seasons, and most recently My Grandfather’s Knocking Sticks. https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/events/growing-up-ojibwe-brenda-j-child-wins-award-for-historical-family-memoir/.   In 2003, we were in Bilbao, Spain for a conference and she was consistently the best judge of Spanish red wines I’ve ever had the privilege of hanging out with!  Brenda and I met in the Twin Cities years ago when I had a visiting writer position at Carleton College, Northfield, MN.And speaking of the Twin Cities, this year the Native American Literature Symposium (NALS) was held at Mystic Lake Casino, just outside of Minneapolis, February 2-4, 2017.  This was our 18th year to host NALS somewhere on Native land in the United States.  I’m proud to have hosted Payton Guthrie, (Choctaw) filmmaker from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant.  He gave the Friday night’s keynote  lecture at NALS.

Keynote Payton Guthrie (Choctaw).  His address was supported in part by the Eidson Foundation Fund, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and NALS.

Some NALS photos from the conference below.

Below is a picture of my recent lecture at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, and it was my great pleasure to be home again.  Will see what happens next!

Stay tuned.