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U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo to Visit Madison

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters – with support from the Wisconsin Book Festival – will host an evening of poetry with U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo on Oct. 20, 7 pm, at Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts. 

The evening will include readings by Wisconsin poets, a reading by Harjo and a conversation between Harjo and Kimberly A. Blaeser, Wisconsin’s 2015-16 poet laureate. They will discuss the forthcoming release of When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry; the state of Native poetry; and Harjo’s goals as the U.S. poet laureate in a time of deep partisan divides. The event is open to the public, and a book signing will follow. 

Advance online registration is required on a pay-what-you-can basis to encourage broad participation. Registration will open May 1 at wisconsinacademy.org/JoyToWI.

A ticketed reception with Harjo will precede the reading, 5-6:30 pm, in the Overture Center’s James Watrous Gallery. Space is limited. Reception tickets, available for purchase at wisconsinacademy.org/JoyToWI, are $25 (or $20 for Academy members).