Author Marilyn Nelson to Give Reading at UNCA;
Named 2002 P.B. Parris Visiting Writer

Marilyn Nelson

UNC Asheville will host a reading by acclaimed author Marilyn Nelson at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, in UNCA’s Owen Conference Center. UNCA’s Creative Writing Program named Nelson the 2002 P.B. Parris Visiting Writer. This event is co-sponsored by UNCA’s Creative Writing Program and Front Street Books. It is free and open to the public.

Nelson, current Poet Laureate of Connecticut, has published numerous books of poetry. Her work has won many awards including the Poets Prize, the National Book Award, the PEN Winship Award and the Annisfield-Wolf Award. In addition, her other honors include two Pushcart prizes, two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship and the 1992 Connecticut Arts Award. She recently received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Her latest book, "Carver: A Life of Poems," tells a compelling story of George Washington Carver. This book received the 2002 Coretta Scott King Honor Award and was selected by the American Library Association as the 2002 Best Book for Young Adults. Nelson, who has been professor of English at the University of Connecticut in Storrs since 1978, comes from a long line of teachers on her mother’s side. Her father, an Air Force Officer, enjoyed writing poetry and plays.

Nelson’s visit is made possible by an endowment established by the friends of P.B. Parris, a retired UNCA creative writing professor and author of "Waltzing in the Attic."

For more information, call UNCA’s Creative Writing Program at 828/251-6411.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Richard Chess, UNCA Dept. of Literature & Language Director, 828/251-6603
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526