Tyehimba Jess, a Pulitzer Prize winner and fiction and poetry author, will be the featured speaker at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, at the Gaithersburg Library as Montgomery County Public Libraries continues its “Contemporary Conversations” series with a presentation recognizing National Poetry Month. Mr. Jess will speak at the free event on poetry, creativity and expression and his work as a poet and fiction writer.
The Gaithersburg Library is located at 18330 Montgomery Village Ave. in Gaithersburg.
The event will be offered via live streaming. Registration is required to attend the in-person event or to view it via live streaming. To register, go to https://mcpl.libnet.info/event/8183068.
Mr. Jess is the author of two books of poetry. Olio won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Midland Society Author’s Award in Poetry and an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Leadbelly was a winner of the 2004 National Poetry Series. The Library Journal and Black Issues Book Review named it one of the “Best Poetry Books of 2005.”
Mr. Jess' fiction and poetry have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry; Beyond the Frontier: African American Poetry for the Twenty-First Century; and Slam: The Art of Performance Poetry.
“The Contemporary Conversations series is a community forum to talk about cultural and current issues with experienced authors and journalists and to engage in enriching conversations,” said MCPL Director Anita Vassallo. “MCPL is delighted to bring a Pulitzer Prize winner of the category of Tyehimba Jess to the series and celebrate National Poetry Month with the community.”
Following the presentation, Mr. Jess will sign books during a reception with light appetizers. Books will be available at the event for purchase from the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County. For more information, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/folmc).
The program is co-sponsored by Friends of the Library, Montgomery County (FOLMC) and the Literacy Council of Montgomery County (LCMC).
Previous speakers in the Contemporary Conversations series have included Kojo Nnamdi, David Ignatius, Charles Lane, Hena Khan, Michelle Singletary, Dinaw Mengestu, Joshua Johnson, Haben Girma, Jarret Krosoczka and Michael W. Twitty. For more information about previous speakers, visit https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library/programs/contemporary-conversations.html.
For more information about the series, contact Clotilde Puértolas at clotilde.puertolas@montgomerycountymd.gov.
