American Book Award winner next in Frostic Reading Series

Contact: Mark Schwerin
Photo of Jericho Brown.

Brown

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—An author who won the American Book Award will be the next speaker in the spring 2015 Frostic Reading Series at Western Michigan University.

Jericho Brown, an assistant professor of creative writing at Emory University, won the American Book Award in 2008 for his first collection of poetry, "Please," and will read from his works at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Little Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Jericho Brown

Brown grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and worked as a speechwriter for the mayor of New Orleans before earning a doctoral degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston. He also holds a master's degree in creative writing from the University of New Orleans and a bachelor's degree from Dillard University.

In addition to the American Book Award, Brown is the recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Krakow Poetry Seminar in Poland. His second poetry collection, "The New Testament," was published in 2014.

Brown was a teaching fellow at the University of Houston from 2002-07, a visiting professor at San Diego State University in 2009 and an assistant professor at the University of San Diego. He has taught at numerous conferences and workshops, and his poems have appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Best American Poetry series and Nikki Giovanni's "100 Best African American Poems."

About the series

The Frostic Reading Series presents acclaimed creative writers from across the nation and beyond. Every year, a diverse range of readings that encompasses poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama attract both campus and off-campus audiences.

For more information, visit wmich.edu/english/events/frostic.html.

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