Poet and novelist Lucinda Roy will read from Fabric, her new collection of poems, and describe how her creative process includes both literal journeys back to Africa, and deeply personal figurative journeys inside her African-Diasporan heritage. She will focus on the African ekphrastic poems in the collection and explore why it is she keeps returning both to narratives of enslavement and narratives of African-Diasporan celebration.
Lucinda Roy, Alumni Distinguished Professor in Creative Writing at Virginia Tech, has authored six books, including her new poetry collection Fabric, the novel Lady Moses, and a memoir-critique entitled No Right to Remain Silent: What We’ve Learned from the Tragedy at Virginia Tech. Among her many awards are the Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s statewide Outstanding Faculty Award, a Discover Great New Writers novel selection from Barnes and Noble, the 2017 Zenobia Lawrence Hikes Faculty Woman of Color Award, and the Virginia Press Women’s Newsmaker of the Year Award. She has been a guest on numerous TV and radio programs. These include The CBS Evening News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS’s Sunday Morning, Oprah, and NPR. Her poetry, fiction, articles and commentaries have appeared in many publications, including the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Times, the Guardian, USA Today, Callaloo, North American Review, and American Poetry Review. At Virginia Tech, she teaches graduate and undergraduate creative writing courses in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. In addition to readings, she delivers keynotes and conducts workshops on creative writing, campus safety, teaching, and diversity. She is currently at work on a novel about race in America and a series of oil paintings depicting the Middle Passage.
This lecture will be held in the Skylight Gallery of OUMA which is on the 3rd floor of Lowry Hall, above the Philip Weltner Library. Free for OUMA Members or with a Petrel Pass. Free for Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff of OU. General admission: $5. This event is part of the campus-wide celebration, Hispaniola: A Celebration of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The exhibition Hispaniola is on view in OUMA from September 30 through December 17, 2017
