"The joint event is all about discussing historical data and current facts that is
intertwined with Jeffers' literature, in order to energize important discussions on
issues in the Southern United States, which impact the Black community; especially
family related issues," Trimble stated. "Our two departments within ASU's College
of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences decided to pool our resources to bring this internationally
known and celebrated writer to the University to use her literary expertise to more
closely examine the social side of the issues with literature."
Trimble noted that on Friday, March 15, the co-founder of Montgomery's Valiant Cross Academy, Dr. Anthony Brock, will address the conference attendees on similar issues.
Both days’ events are free and open to the public.
ABOUT JEFFERS BODY OF WORK
Jeffers is the Paul and Carol Daube Sutton professor of English at the University
of Oklahoma and is among the more well known and honored literary figures in the nation.
Her more recent book of poetry, "The Age of Phillis" (Wesleyan, 2020), was longlisted
for the National Book Award in Poetry, won the NAACP Image Award for Literary Work,
received the Lenore Marshall Prize in poetry and was recognized with several other
stellar awards. Her work was among President Barack Obama’s book recommendations for
2021 and was included in The New York Times and The Washington Post's “Ten Best Books of 2021.”
ASU TRIMBLE'S BACKGROUND
ASU's Dr. Trimble is quite an accomplished literary artist in her own right and is
the author of numerous poems and books. Her most recent work is titled "American Happiness
and How to Survive the Apocalypse" which is available from the University of Georgia
Press and may be accessed at https://ugapress.org/browse-books/?keyword=Jacqueline+Allen+Trimble
"We hope that members of the Hornet Nation Family and the public avail themselves
to attend our event with Professor Jeffers, whose body of literary work will help
us better understand the issues that confront our communities and more importantly,
our children," Trimble stated.
ASU's news media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.
An internationally renowned novelist, poet, critic, and scholar will speak at Alabama State University as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences' two-day (March 14-15) Child Welfare and Community Conference. The speaker, Professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, whose first novel, "The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois" (Harper 2021), was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club and longlisted for the National Book Award in Fiction.
Jeffers will speak at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, in the Ralph D. Abernathy College of Education's auditorium.The chairwoman of Alabama State University's department of Languages and Literatures, Dr. Jacqueline A. Trimble, explained that the purpose of the joint program with ASU's Department of Social Work is to bring the acclaimed author to campus to speak, utilizing her awarding-winning book -- "The Love Songs of W. E. B. DuBois" -- to stimulate a conversation about topics related to Black families and child welfare issues."The joint event is all about discussing historical data and current facts that is intertwined with Jeffers' literature, in order to energize important discussions on issues in the Southern United States, which impact the Black community; especially family related issues," Trimble stated. "Our two departments within ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences decided to pool our resources to bring this internationally known and celebrated writer to the University to use her literary expertise to more closely examine the social side of the issues with literature."Trimble noted that on Friday, March 15, the co-founder of Montgomery's Valiant Cross Academy, Dr. Anthony Brock, will address the conference attendees on similar issues.Both days’ events are free and open to the public.ABOUT JEFFERS BODY OF WORKJeffers is the Paul and Carol Daube Sutton professor of English at the University of Oklahoma and is among the more well known and honored literary figures in the nation. Her more recent book of poetry, "The Age of Phillis" (Wesleyan, 2020), was longlisted for the National Book Award in Poetry, won the NAACP Image Award for Literary Work, received the Lenore Marshall Prize in poetry and was recognized with several other stellar awards. Her work was among President Barack Obama’s book recommendations for 2021 and was included in The New York Times and The Washington Post's “Ten Best Books of 2021.”ASU TRIMBLE'S BACKGROUNDASU's Dr. Trimble is quite an accomplished literary artist in her own right and is the author of numerous poems and books. Her most recent work is titled "American Happiness and How to Survive the Apocalypse" which is available from the University of Georgia Press and may be accessed at https://ugapress.org/