2016 Visiting African Artist is Poet Niyi Osundare
The Visiting African/African Diaspora Artist Series is a partnership between the University of Michigan-Flint and the Flint Public Library, funded in part by the Ruth Mott Foundation. The Series brings authors, poets, playwrights, and journalists of African descent to Flint, Michigan. One purpose is to expose our university and communities to the complexity and richness of modern African culture, as well as the heritage of Africans and people of African descent, and so to embrace diversity. Another purpose is to engage people with the many interesting and challenging issues created by the historical and modern African Diaspora.
On March 16, 2016, the award-winning poet, author, and educator Dr. Niyi Osundare will be visiting the UM-Flint campus for a poetry reading and public discussion. This is the first of his Visiting Artist events. The event is free and open to the public and takes place from 10am-12pm in the UCEN Kiva. Dr. Osundare’s book, City Without People: The Katrina Poems, recounts his personal experience with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. During the discussion we will explore the connections between those affected by Katrina and those dealing with the Flint Water Crisis.
Other events for the visit include a forum for area school students and an evening reception – both at at the Flint Public Library on March 17, and an Educator’s Workshop on the UM-Flint campus on March 18. Each of the events will connect Dr. Osundare with a different audience, allowing him to connect on different levels with readers and audience members.
For more information on Dr. Osundare or the week’s events, visit umflint.edu/africana/niyi-osundare.
