THE NADINE B. ANDREAS VISITING WRITER RESIDENCY

Poet and 2009-2010 Andreas Graduate Assistant

Jorge Evans

Poet and 2009-2010 Andreas Visiting Writer

Lucille Clifton

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Talk on craft
3:00 P.M.—CSU Ostrander Auditorium
Reading
7:30 P.M.—CSU Room 253

Jorge Evans’ poems have appeared in The Allegheny Review and Blue Earth Review. His press, RockSaw Press, focuses on printing chapbooks highlighting the Midwest and writers of the Midwest. Born and raised in central Illinois, Evans is the 2009-2010 Nadine B. Andreas Graduate Assistant at Minnesota State University.

Lucille Clifton is one of the most beloved and respected figures in American poetry today, widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, spirituality, and mortality. A major voice since her debut collection Good Times, in 1969, she has continued to portray the experiences of being an African-American, a woman, and a human with clarity and elegance. Her language, often described as "deceptively simple," strikes a nuanced balance between complexity of thought and economy of words. She has published twelve collections of her poetry, one autobiographical prose work and nineteen children’s books, with more on the way. She received the National Book Award for Poetry for her book, Blessing the Boats (BOA 2000). Her most recent book of poems is Voices (BOA 2008); other titles include Ordinary Woman, Mercy, Quilting, and The Book of Light. Her work has been anthologized in close to 200 anthologies of poetry.

See a writing sample by Evans.

See a writing sample by Clifton.

Listen to the interview, craft talk, or reading.

To learn more about Evans, see this web site.

To learn more about Clifton, see this web site.

If you attended any component of this residency, please offer your comments.

This year's Good Thunder Reading Series is funded by the Minnesota State University Department of English, the College of Arts and Humanities, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Nadine B. Andreas Endowment, the Eddice B. Barber Visiting Writer Endowment, the Robert C. Wright Endowment, and individual donors. This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council from funds appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature. This activity is also made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. MSU Library Services and Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Minnesota State offer additional support.