Reading followed by a conversation with Rob Casper,
Head of the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress
Meditations on captivity, knowledge and inheritance permeate Trethewey’s poems, as she reflects on her own interracial, complicated—and utterly American—roots. This brilliant and fearless poet masterfully gives a voice to the past and present as she explores human struggles we face in common.
Co-sponsored with the Library of Congress
Natasha Trethewey is the author of four poetry collections, including Native Guard, for which she was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, and a book of creative non-fiction, Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She holds the Phillis Wheatley Distinguished Chair in Poetry at Emory University. Ms. Trethewey was appointed United States Poet Laureate in June 2012, and begins her official duties in September. She is the also Poet Laureate of Mississippi.
Robert Casper is Head of the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. He previously worked as Programs Director for the Poetry Society of America and as Membership Director for the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and served as Poetry Committee Chair for the Brooklyn Borough President's Literary Council. Casper is Founder of the literary magazine jubilat and Co-Founder of the jubilat/Jones Reading Series in Amherst, MA.
Photo Credit: Joel Benjamin
ALOUD is one of the many free programs the Library Foundation makes possible at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. To help sustain this valuable cultural exchange, at least one copy of the author’s featured book must be purchased from the Library Store if you wish to participate in the post-program book signing. Other non-featured books by the author may be eligible for the signing without having been purchased at the Library Store. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library. Library Foundation members receive a 15% discount on all Library Store purchases.
Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.
