Elizabeth Alexander To Read At Obama Inauguration

It was announced this afternoon that Elizabeth Alexander will read at Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20. Here's a bio on Alexander from her website

Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher. She is the author of four books of poems, The Venus Hottentot, Body of Life, Antebellum Dream Book, and American Sublime, which was one of three finalists for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. She is also a scholar of African-American literature and culture and recently published a collection of essays, The Black Interior. She has read her work across the U.S. and in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, and her poetry, short stories, and critical prose have been published in dozens of periodicals and anthologies. She has received many grants and honors, most recently the Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellowship for work that “contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954,” and the 2007 Jackson Prize for Poetry, awarded by Poets and Writers. She is a professor at Yale University, and for the academic year 2007-2008 she is a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

You can read more about her selection in this story in the Washington Post. The Venus Hottentot is a fantastic collection. You've got plenty of time to get to know this poet. 

Comments

January said…
This is exciting news. The Cave Canem listserv is ecstatic about Elizabeth's selection.

Woo hoo!
This is a great selection. I love her work.
DeadMule said…
And not only will Elizabeth Alexander read, but Aretha Franklin will sing. Way to go, O!
Anonymous said…
I hate to say this but I'd never heard of her until I read your post. I'll check her out.

GAV
Unknown said…
Elizabeth Alexander is a great choice.
Anonymous said…
Great. A phony funded by parasites annoints a parasite funded by phonies to grace us with it's prose. Now that my friends is Art!
Collin Kelley said…
^^ Crawl back under your bridge, troll.

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