The book showcases the poetry and prose of 26 writers who are 40 or under, including such noted authors as Edwidge Danticat, Colson Whitehead and Randall Kenan. I hope I can help introduce these writers to each other and expand their readership nationally. Present will be Young, Kenan and Whitehead, along with poet Natasha Trethewey. A reception with free food will follow on the fourth floor of Rusk Hall. There will also be a forum on the future of black writing on March 22 at 4 p.m. in the Law School Auditorium.
All events are free and open to the public.
Giant Steps is just the latest work for Young, who is quickly becoming one of the best-known younger writers in America. His poetry has been published in virtually every major journal and magazine in the country, from The New Yorker to The Paris Review , and his first book, Most Way Home , won the national Poetry Series and the Zacharis First Book Prize from Ploughshares magazine. Most Way Home sold out after a major feature on Young was broadcast on National Public Radio in 1999, but the volume is being reprinted later this year. His next book of poetry, To Repel Ghosts , will be published by Zoland Books in 2001. Indeed, many of the contributors have won Pushcart Prizes and had their work featured in Best American Poetry and Short Stories .