Nigerian poet returns to WMU for reading
Sept. 25, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- A Nigerian poet who was one of the first participants in a Western Michigan University summer institute for foreign American studies educators will return to Kalamazoo to give a reading Thursday, Oct. 4.
Remi Raji, who teaches literature at the University of Ibadan, will read from his work at 8:30 p.m. in Room 2304 of Sangren Hall. Sponsored by the WMU Africana and American Studies programs, the Department of English, the Diether H. Haenicke Institute for International and Area Studies, and the Office of International Affairs, the reading is free and open to the public.
Raji is an award-winning author of three books of poetry, including "Webs of Remembrance" and "Shuttlesongs: America, A Poetic Guided Tour," which chronicles his experiences as a participant in the 1999 U.S. Information Agency/Fulbright Summer Institute in American Studies held at WMU. In 1997, he won the West African Young Writers VOCA Award for the best first published book of the year and was a co-winner of the 1997 Association of Nigerian Authors/Cadbury Poetry Prize. He is the coordinator for the PEN Nigeria Center.
For more information, contact the American studies program at (616) 387-2076.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu