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Chris Abani – Master Artist Community Outreach: Reading followed by Q & A and book signing
October 23, 2018, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
« Bee Talk / Nature Walk: Tour and honey tasting with apiarist Doug McGinnis
Isaac Julien – Master Artist Community Outreach: Illustrated Talk followed by Q & A »
Lynn Presentation Room, Rinker Welcome Center, Stetson University, 345 N Woodland Blvd, DeLand, FL 32724
Free, open to the public. For more information, call 386-822-7720
"Chris Abani might be the most courageous writer working right now. There is no subject matter he finds daunting, no challenge he fears. Aside from that, he writes like an angel. If you want to get at the molten heart of contemporary fiction, Abani is the starting point."—Dave Eggers
Chris Abani is an acclaimed novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. Born in Nigeria to an Igbo father and English mother, he grew up in Afikpo, Nigeria, received a BA in English from Imo State University, Nigeria, an MA in English, Gender, and Culture from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. He has resided in the United States since 2001.
Abani's fiction includes The Secret History of Las Vegas (Penguin 2014), nominated for the Hurston/Wright 2015 Legacy Award, Song For Night (2007), The Virgin of Flames (2007), Becoming Abigail (2006), GraceLand (2004), and Masters of the Board (1985). His poetry collections are Sanctificum(2010), There Are No Names for Red (2010), Feed Me The Sun – Collected Long Poems (2010), Hands Washing Water (2006), Dog Woman (2004), Daphne's Lot (2003), and Kalakuta Republic (2001). Poet Kwame Dawes has noted that "Abani's line has a sharp precision that turns a scream into a line of memorable lyric music without losing the emotion and force."
Through his TED Talks, public speaking, and essays, Abani is known as an international voice on humanitarianism, art, ethics, and our shared political responsibility. His critical and personal essays have been featured in books on art and photography, as well as Witness, Parkett, The New York Times, O Magazine, and Bomb.
He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Graceland, the PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the Hurston Wright Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, among many honors. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Romanian, Hebrew, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Dutch, Bosnian, and Serbian.
Abani's many research interests include African Poetics, World Literature, 20th Century Anglophone Literature, African Presences in Medieval and Renaissance Culture, The Living Architecture of Cities, West African Music, Postcolonial and Transnational Theory, Robotics and Consciousness, Yoruba and Igbo Philosophy, and Religion.
Abani is currently a Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University. He lives in Chicago.
Chris Abani's website
Chris Abani is a Pabst Endowed Chair for Master Writers
Ivan Riascos, Residency Director
ACA Main Campus: 386-427-6975
iriascos@atlanticcenterforthearts.org
Stetson University – Lynn Presentation Room, Rinker Welcome Center
345 N. Woodland Blvd
DeLand, FL 32723 United States + Google Map
https://www.stetson.edu/other/visit/media/deland-campus-map.pdf
Atlantic Center for the Arts
1414 Art Center Avenue
New Smyrna Beach, FL, 32168
ACA: Arts on Douglas
123 Douglas Street
ACA: Harris House
214 South Riverside Drive
MISSION: Atlantic Center for the Arts is a nonprofit interdisciplinary artists' community and arts education facility dedicated to promoting artistic excellence by providing talented midcareer artists an opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world's most distinguished contemporary artists in the fields of music composition, and the visual, literary, and performing arts. Community interaction is coordinated through on-site and outreach presentations, workshops and exhibitions.