Carnegie Library Lecture Hall
April 14
6 p.m.
Fans of contemporary poetry should mark their calendars now for a free reading by two leading literary figures in the field.
For the latest event in the Poets Aloud series—a collaboration between Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures—award-winning writers Sam Hazo and Parneshia Jones will present a free reading on Thursday, April 14 at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland.
A free book signing and reception will follow the reading, which starts at 6 p.m. The Squirrel Hill-based independent book shop, Classic Lines, will be on-site at the event before and after the reading selling copies of the poets’ books.
Author of numerous works of poetry, fiction and translation, as well as essays and plays, Sam Hazo served as the McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University for 43 years. A Pittsburgh native, Hazo founded and ran the International Poetry Forum—one of the only independent organizations of its kind—which operated from 1966 to 2009. A National Book Award Finalist, Hazo became Pennsylvania’s first poet laureate when he was selected by then-Governor Robert Casey in 1993. Hazo’s recent collections include Sexes: The Marriage Dialogues, A Flight To Elsewhere, and Just Once, which received the 2003 Maurice English Poetry Award.
Author of the new collection, Vessel: Poems (Milkweed Editions, 2015), Parneshia Jones is the recipient of a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, Margaret Walker Short Story Award, and an Aquarius Press Legacy Award. A native of Evanston, Illinois, Jones has received commissions from arts and cultural organizations, and her work has been published in several anthologies, performed internationally and featured on Chicago Public Radio. Poetry editor at Northwestern University Press, Jones is a member of Affrilachian Poets, a collective of black poets from Appalachia, and serves on the boards of Cave Canem, the Guild Complex and UniVerse: A United Nations of Poetry.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration recommended. RSVP online or by calling 412-622-8866.
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures has just announced its next season of Ten Evenings (formerly known as the Monday Night Lecture Series)—including Patti Smith on October 10—so be sure to check out this year’s exciting lineup and mark your calendar today.
Looking for more events? Read our 12 Pittsburgh events not to miss in April feature.