Marilyn Nelson Poetry Reading and Conversation

Announcement from Higgins School of Humanities

On Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00pm, poet Marilyn Nelson will read from her most recent collection, Faster than Light. The event will take place in the Higgins Lounge at Dana Commons and is part of the Modern Poetry Series and this spring’s Dialogue Symposium, What’s the Difference? Thoughts on Diversity and Inclusion.

Conjuring numerous voices and characters across oceans and centuries, Nelson’s work explores widely disparate experiences through the lens of traditional poetic forms. Telling stories of family history, famous African Americans, and lesser-known communities of ordinary men and women, Nelson’s poems speak in many voices – revealing differences while underscoring the ties between inclusion and creativity.

Marilyn Nelson is an accomplished poet, children’s verse author, and translator. From 2001 to 2006 she held the office of Poet Laureate of the State of Connecticut. She is a three-time finalist for the National Book Award, has won two Pushcart Prizes, two Yaddo residencies, as well as numerous fellowships. In 2012 the Poetry Society of America awarded her the Frost Medal for “distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry.” Nelson is a professor emerita of English at the University of Connecticut; from 2004 to 2010 was the founder/director and host of Soul Mountain Retreat.