Clarion University will host two February events as part of the 2014-2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Series, “Keeping the Dream Alive.” Both are free and open to the public.
Actress, performance poet, social activist and educator Reenah L. Golden will visit
Clarion from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 in Carlson Library Level A for National African American
Read-In Day. The event aims to honor both the legacy of Martin Luther King and February
as Black History Month. Golden will lead the celebration of the African American experience
through reading works authored by African Americans. The public is invited to participate
by sharing a reading from a favorite African American author.
This is the 24th year for the read-in. The day is sponsored nationally by the Black Caucus of National Council of Teaching of English and at Clarion University by the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee and Minority Student Services.
Christopher "Cee" Williams, Erie County poet laureate, will read from his work at
7 p.m. Feb. 17 in the multi-purpose room of Gemmell Student Complex. Williams is author
of three chapbook-length collections of poetry, "Bus Riders in the Storm," "My America
– 9 Poems for Sister Lucille" and "12 Poems."
He is a two-time finalist for the Erie County Poet Laureate Award. He was a recipient of a 2014 Chautauqua Writers Grant and received the 2011 Erie Metropolitan Yellow Pages Award for Business Innovation. In 2010, Williams founded Poets' Hall and Poets' Hall press, both non-profit endeavors which he operates near his alma mater, East High School.
Williams' visit is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, Minority Student Services and the English department.