Poet anjail rashida ahmad to Give Reading at UNCA

Poet anjail rashida ahmad will give a reading of recent work at 3 p.m. Friday, March 29, at UNC Asheville’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. The event, sponsored by UNCA’s Creative Writing Program and the Black Writers’ Series, is free and open to the public.

Publishers Weekly called ahmad’s first book of poems, "necessary kindling," "a dignified, searing homage to African American women, and the speaker’s family specifically." Through gripping narratives, this collection of poems paints indelible character portraits and
shows the interplay of cultural and family history.

Ahmad’s poems have appeared in Midlands, African American Review, Black Scholar and Ark/Angel Review. She has received the College Language Association’s Margaret Walker Alexander Award and the Janet Preston Prize from the Academy of American Poets.

For more information, call UNCA’s Literature & Language
Department at 828/251-6411.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Rick Chess, UNCA Literature & Language Assistant Professor, 828/251-6576
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526