Poet, essayist and playwright Elizabeth Alexander will visit Duke for a poetry reading April 14 at the Nasher Museum of Art.
Alexander read her poem "Praise Song for the Day" at President Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20. She is a professor of African-American studies at Yale University and studied with Duke President Richard Brodhead during his 32-year career at Yale.
Brodhead extended the invitation to the poet, said Christina Chia, assistant director for programs and communications at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute.
"Elizabeth Alexander is a marvelous poet and one of the youngest artists in America," Brodhead said.
Alexander will assume the new post of chair of Yale's department of African American studies in July. She was only the fourth poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration.
"It was a great opportunity for us to bring a really intellectually distinguished poet who has just been in the public eye," Chia said. "This will bring together students, faculty and members of the community."
The Nasher reading will not be Alexander's first time on campus. She first spoke at Duke as a participant in the 2006 North Carolina Festival of the Book when the University hosted the event three years ago.
Throughout her career, Alexander has published five books of poems and has had her work translated into five different languages. She was awarded the 2007 Jackson Poetry Prize by Poets & Writers, Inc., among various other honors.
"With our focus on the arts and our commitment to the humanities, it just seems like she's a really interesting figure who brings together people in literature and in African American studies," Chia said. "[Alexander] brings a fantastic mix of scholarship and poetry and weaves together bits of history and ordinary moments. It was a good way to capture this kind of moment of synergy."
The reading is sponsored by the Office of the President, the Franklin Humanities Institute, the English department and the African and African American Studies department.
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