Poet, performer, and librettist Douglas Kearney will visit Bloomington-Normal for an afternoon and evening of poetry, conversation, and book signing on Friday, April 26.

At 1 p.m., Kearney will be in conversation with Dr. Duriel E. Harris (editor of Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora) at Illinois State University’s Publications Unit. 

At 6 p.m., Kearney will read from his most recent work at the University Galleries in Uptown Normal, followed by a book signing. Both events are free and open to the public.

About Douglas Kearney

Douglas Kearney has published seven collections, including Optic Subwoof (2022); Sho (2021); Buck Studies (2016), and Mess and Mess and (2015). His operas include Sucktion, Mordake, Crescent City, Sweet Land, and Comet / Poppea. He has received a Whiting Writer’s Award, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, residencies/fellowships from Cave Canem, The Rauschenberg Foundation, and others. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Altadena, California, Kearney teaches creative writing at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.

Event sponsors

These events are sponsored by the Harold K. Sage Foundation and the ISU Foundation Fund and co­sponsored by Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora and the ISU Department of English, creative writing.

If you need an accommodation to fully participate in this program/event, please contact Obsidian Managing Editor Tara Reeser at tareeser@obsidianlit.org. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.

Units

English