Poet Yusef Komunyakaa wins Corrington Award for literature; ceremony & reading Tues, Oct 24, 7 pm

Poets Kimiko Hahn, Eileen Myles, and Yusef Komunyakaa
Originally uploaded by sarahana_s.

Centenary College, Shreveport, will present Pulitzer Prize winner and Louisiana native Yusef Komunyakaa with the Corrington Award Tuesday, Oct. 24. The ceremony, which will include a reading by the poet, will take place at 7 p.m. in the Smith Building's Kilpatrick Auditorium on the Centenary campus. Hosted by Centenary’s English Department, the event is free and open to the public, says David Havird, Professor of English.

Hailing from Bogalusa, La., Komunyakaa has taught English and African American studies at universities across the country. From 1965–67, Komunyakaa served in Vietnam as a U.S. Army information specialist and editor of the Southern Cross, a military newspaper, and received the Bronze Star for his service. He has won many awards for his poetry, most notably the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems. Komunyakaa will be reading selections from the book, which first-year students have been studying this fall.

Komunyakaa’s poetry in Neon Vernacular is the climax of his creative work, critics say. Using simplistic language, he draws from personal experience to present images of the South and its culture, racial tensions, wartime, and jazz and blues.

Komunyakaa has written 12 books of poetry and contributed to several anthologies and periodicals. He has co-edited two jazz poetry anthologies, helped translate The Insomnia of Fire by Nguyen Quang Thieu and compiled Blue Notes: Essays, Interviews, and Commentaries.

Named for the Centenary alumnus and author of the short novel Decoration Day, the John William Corrington Award takes the form of a bronze medal designed by Louisiana sculptor Clyde Connell.

Previous recipients include poets as well as novelists: Eudora Welty, Ernest J. Gaines, James Dickey, Miller Williams, Lee Smith, Paul Auster, Elizabeth Spencer, Anthony Hecht, Richard Wilbur, Eleanor Wilner, Richard Powers, C. K. Williams, Eavan Boland, Michael Longley and last year’s co-recipients Debora Greger and William Logan.

More information: David Havird at 318-869-5085.
Photo above from the Brooklyn Book Festival, Sept, 06, by sarahana_s.