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Tell Me Your Names: A Seminar on the Poetry of Lucille Clifton

June 14 - 21, 2009

Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University

The seminar will engage participants in an intensive course of study led by senior scholars who are authorities on African American poetry in general and Lucille Clifton's poetry in particular. The seminar has three broad goals: (1) to enhance the participants' ability to teach African American poetry, specifically poems by Lucille Clifton; (2) to assist them in preparing lesson plans on Clifton's poetry; and (3) to reanimate the dialogue both within and beyond the academy concerning the importance of teaching and writing about poetry.

New Book Release

Mourning Katrina: A Poetic Response to Tragedy

Edited by Joanne V. Gabbin

_{Mourning Katrina: A Poetic Response to Tragedy is about devastation and mourning, about the failure of humanity to act humanely, about the politics of poverty and race, but it is also about hope and healing. The poets give voice to the rainbow that comes after the storm and the revival of spirit that comes out of the depths of tested faith. All of them share a willingness to see beyond their sorrow to reinvent the spirit of "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" Though human suffering shaped the beginning of this project, the result of it is a morning of hope and inspiration.}