The University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences Center for the Humanities announces the residency of Nigerian author Chris Abani as a Stanford Distinguished Professor during October 25–29, 2011. Best-selling author and professor, Abani will present three public lectures and a creative writing workshop. All events will take place on the University of Miami Coral Gables campus and admission is free to the public.
On October 25th at 4:30 pm at the CAS Gallery (1210 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables), Abani’s lecture “Coming to America, the Remix” will explore ideas of home and belonging through the lens of recent immigration.
The lecture on October 27th at 7 pm at the CAS Gallery (1210 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables), “Ethics and Narrative: The Human, Self, and Other,” investigates the difficult ethical decisions writers face when dealing with war, violence and human suffering. Registration is necessary for this lecture.
On October 29th, his lecture, “Resisting the Anomie: Exile and the Romantic” at 4:30 pm at the CAS Gallery (1210 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables), focuses on the problems of exile for the writer.
A creative writing workshop, “Painting a Body of Loss and Love, or Approximating the Answer to the Question: Why Do You Write?” will take place October 28th at 3:30 pm in room 427 of the Ashe Building (1252 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables). Registration is required.
For further information and to register for events visit http://humanities.miami.edu/programs/lectures/chris-abani or call 305-284-1580.
Abani’s best-selling novel, Graceland, about an Elvis impersonator in Lagos, won the Hemingway/PEN Prize. His other works of fiction include The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, and the award-winning Song for Night, about a child soldier who has lost his voice. Each was named a New York Times Editor’s Choice.
Imprisoned by the Nigerian government as a teenager for his first novel, Abani was tortured and placed on death row for subsequent work critical of the government. He is the recipient of the PEN Freedom-to-Write Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Lannan Literary Fellowship and many other prizes. Abani is also the author of five poetry collections.
Abani holds a BA in English (Nigeria), an MA in Gender and Culture (Birkbeck College, University of London), an MA in English and a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing (University of Southern California). He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.
The College of Arts and Sciences Center for the Humanities at the University of Miami is dedicated to supporting humanities, arts, and interpretive social science research and teaching, as well as to presenting public programs to enrich Miami’s intellectual culture.
Photo courtesy of the University of Miami Center for Humanities