LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 400 literary scholars, critics and writers from around the world are expected at the University of Louisville for the Feb. 23-25 Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900.
UofL’s English and classical and modern languages departments and the Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society sponsor the annual conference with topics ranging from Nobel laureate William Faulkner to contemporary feminist writer Roxane Gay and from “Downton Abbey” to steampunk and voodoo poetry. Keynote addresses listed below are free and public; those speakers are:
–Jack Halberstam, Columbia University professor of English and gender studies and author of five books. He will speak about “Sex, Death and Falconry” at 5 p.m. Feb. 23 in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library.
–Ryan Ridge, Weber State University assistant professor, UofL alumnus and winner of UofL’s 2016 Calvino Prize, will read from his winning work, “Echo Park,” at 11 a.m. Feb. 24 in Bingham Poetry Room, Ekstrom Library.
–Solange Rodriguez Pappe, Latin American fiction writer, literature professor at Universidad de las Artes de Guayaquil in Ecuador and author of eight short-story collections. She will read from her work at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 24 in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library.
–Juliana Spahr, Mills College professor of English, a founder of small press collective Commune Editions and author of five poetry collections. She will read from her work at 5 p.m. Feb. 24 in Room 102, Strickler Hall.
–James Smethurst, University of Massachusetts-Amherst professor of Afro-American studies and author of several books about African American literature, culture and intellectual history. He will discuss “The Black Arts Movement, Hip-Hop and How Bob Dylan Can Be a Nobel Laureate” at 5 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts, 100 E. Main St.
For more information, contact Tracy Heightchew at 502-852-8977 or tracy.heightchew@louisville.edu or check www.thelouisvilleconference.com.
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