Events Calendar

Ed Pavlic and Derrick Harriell will join us as part of the Writers @ Grinnell reading series, hosted by Dean Bakopoulos.

Ed Pavlic is the author of several poetry collections including Let It Be Broke, and Visiting Hours at the Color Line, winner of the 2013 National Poetry Series.   Pavlic is well known for his nonfiction/critical work, particularly ‘Who Can Afford to Improvise?’: James Baldwin and Black Music and Crossroads Modernism: Descent and Emergence in African American Literary Culture. He was a coeditor for the forthcoming anthology: Ancestors.  A recipient of the Author of the Year Award from the Georgia Writers Association and a fellowship from the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University, he has received the Albert Christ-Janer Creative Research Award, and the Darwin Turner Memorial Award from African American Review. His writing is widely published in literary journals and online, and he teaches English at the University of Georgia.

Derrick Harriell is the author of the poetry collections Rope and Cotton. Harriell’s most recent book,  Stripper in Wonderland is a fast-paced collection that draws from hip-hop culture and music. Dark and at times graphic, this collection examines the heartbreak of racism and violence as well as the complexities of Islam and childbirth. Musical lyrics and references to the 1970s era of funk bands infuse this existential body of work with a sense of delight that’s captivating and inspiring. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harriell directs the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Mississippi, where he is also associate professor of English and African American studies.