Who: Lucille Clifton
What: The Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries Annual Dinner
When: Thursday, April 24, 2008 5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Where: Hubert H. Humphrey Center
$45 for members of the Friends of the Libraries; $55 for non-members
RSVP by April 17, 2008 to Lanaya Stangret, 612-626-9339 or stangret@umn.edu.

Program
5:30 p.m.
Awards Presentation and Reception
Bistro West Lower Level
6:15 p.m.
Buffet Dinner
1st Level Atrium
7:30 p.m.
Reading by Lucille Clifton, followed by a conversation with Alexs Pate - part of the NOMMO African American Authors Series

Award-winning, fearless poet Lucille Clifton is one of the most beloved and respected figures in American poetry today, widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, spirituality, and mortality. A major voice since her debut collection Good Times, in 1969, she has continued to portray the experiences of being an African American, a woman, and a human with clarity and elegance. Her language, often described as "deceptively simple," strikes a nuanced balance between complexity of thought and economy of words. She has published 12 collections of her poetry, one autobiographical prose work, and 19 children's books, with more on the way. She received the National Book Award for Poetry for her book, Blessing the Boats (BOA 2000). Her most recent book of poems is Mercy (BOA 2005); other titles include Ordinary Woman, Quilting, and The Book of Light. Her work has been included in close to 200 anthologies of poetry.