Convocation Program
Coming soon.
Speaker Biography
Patricia Smith is the award-winning author of eight critically acclaimed books of poetry, includingÌýUnshutteredÌý(Triquarterly Books, 2023);ÌýIncendiary ArtÌý(Triquarterly Books,Ìý2017), winner of the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, the 2018 NAACP Image Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize;ÌýShoulda Been Jimi SavannahÌý(Coffee House Press, 2012), winner of the Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets;ÌýBlood DazzlerÌý(Coffee House Press, 2008),Ìýa National Book Award finalist; andÌýGotta Go, Gotta FlowÌý(CityFiles Press,Ìý2015), a collaboration with award-winning Chicago photographer Michael Abramson. Her other books include the poetry volumesÌýTeahouse of the AlmightyÌý(Coffee House Press, 2006),ÌýBig Towns Big TalkÌý(Zoland Books, 2002),ÌýClose to DeathÌý(Zoland Books, 1998), andÌýLife According to MotownÌý(Tia Chucha, 1991);Ìýthe children's bookÌýJanna and the KingsÌý(Lee & Low, 2013); and the historyÌýAfricans in AmericaÌý(Mariner, 1999), a companion book to the award-winning PBS series. Her work has appeared inÌýPoetry,ÌýThe Paris Review,ÌýThe Baffler,ÌýThe Washington Post,ÌýThe New York Times, andÌýTin HouseÌýas well asÌýBest American Poetry,ÌýBest American Essays,ÌýandÌýBest American Mystery Stories. She co-editedÌýThe Golden Shovel Anthology—New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn BrooksÌý(University of Arkansas Press, 2017),Ìýand edited the crime fiction anthologyÌýStaten Island Noir (Akashic Books, 2012).
Smith is a Guggenheim fellow, a Civitellian, a National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, a finalist for the Neustadt Prize, a two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize, a former fellow at both Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony, and a four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful poet in the competition’s history. She is a professor in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, a former Distinguished Professor for the City University of New York, an Academy of American Poets Chancellor, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Notices
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As a courtesy to the artists and to those in attendance, please be aware that sounds such as whispering and the rustling of programs and cellophane wrappers are magnified in the hall.
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Please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices during convocations.
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Convocations may not be recorded, photographed or broadcast without the written consent of the speaker and Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ÊÓƵ.
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Bag lunches for students, faculty & staff will be available to go in the Music-Drama Center lobby following the Convocation.
- Please refrain from talking during all musical selections.
- An American Sign Language interpreter will be available and located on the stage.
Next Convocation
Honors Convocation:ÌýAllison M. M. Fleshman, associate professor of Chemistry
“The Science of Paint Drying: It’s more fascinating than it soundsâ€
Friday, May 30, 2025, 12:30 p.m.