Award-winning poet Toi Derricotte will give a free public reading on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. in the Power Center Ballroom.
Toi Derricotte
Presented by Duquesne’s First-Year Writing Program, the reading helps students experience literature off the printed page. As part of the curriculum of the freshman writing classes, students have been studying Derricotte’s poetry this semester and will attend the reading.
Dr. Greg Barnhisel, associate professor of English and director of the First-Year Writing Program, said, “We wanted all first-year students to have the opportunity not just to read, but to hear, literature. It’s been a great success because we’ve had fantastic people come and read, and because our instructors and students have really bought in to the concept.”
For the past three years, the annual event has brought in well-known writers with Pittsburgh ties, including poet Terrance Hayes and author Stewart O’Nan.
“Pittsburgh is so full of wonderful, high-profile writers that we wanted to showcase them,” Barnhisel explained. “Having Pittsburgh-based writers come to Duquesne, as well, gives our students another way to connect with them.”
For her part, Derricotte has published five books of poetry, most recently The Undertaker’s Daughter, which looks back on her childhood in an abusive home. Her long list of honors includes two Pushcart Prizes, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. Derricotte is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and a co-founder of Cave Canem, a workshop and retreat for African-American poets.
“Derricotte’s poetry is highly personal and very approachable for students without a great deal of experience with literature,” Barnhisel said. “This last collection deals with some tough issues, but we think that our students can handle it.”
The reading is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Department of English and the First-Year Writing Program.
For more information, email english@duq.edu.