Winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize for poetry and current Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Kwame Dawes discusses the life and work of acclaimed novelist and poet and former director of the Institute of Jamaica, Neville Dawes (1926–1984), whose radical writings broke new ground in the development of Caribbean writing.

Reading in Kray Hall with a reception to follow in the Viscusi Reading Room.

About the Poet:

Kwame Dawes is the author of twenty books of poetry and numerous other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. In 2016 his book, Speak from Here to There, a co-written collection of verse with Australian poet John Kinsella appeared. His most recent book, Sturge Town (W.W. Norton) was published in 2023. He is Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner and teaches at the University of Nebraska and the Pacific MFA Program. He is Director of the African Poetry Book Fund and Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival.