October 19, 2012 Kenneth Colangelo

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© Fran Funk

Tunxis Community College invites the community to An Evening of Poetry and Music on November 1 at 7 p.m. in Founders Hall, featuring Marilyn Nelson, an award-winning poet, three-time finalist for the National Book Award and 2012 recipient of the Frost Medal. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Tunxis is located at the junction of Routes 6 and 177 in Farmington. For more information, please call 
860.773.1639 or email [email protected].

Nelson will read from her poetry, including selections from “The Freedom Business” (2008), Carver: A Life in Poems (2001), and “The Fields of Praise” (1997). The books will be available for sale and signing during the event. Participants are invited to read their work before and after Nelson’s readings. A jazz ensemble performance will also be featured throughout the evening.

Nelson is the author or translator of 15 books and five chapbooks. Three of her collections have been finalists for the National Book Award: The Homeplace (1990), The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems, and Carver: A Life in Poems. Other awards and recognition she received for the books include the 1992 Annisfield-Wolf Award for “The Homeplace;” the 1998 Poets’ Prize, the PEN Winship Award and the Lenore Marshall Prize for “The Fields of Praise;” and the 2001 Boston Globe/Hornbook Award and the Flora Stieglizt Staus Award for “Carver: A Life in Poems,” which was also named a Newbery Honor Book, and Coretta Scott King Honor Book.

Nelson is a past Connecticut Poet Laureate (2001-2006). Other honors include two NEA creative writing fellowships, the 1990 Connecticut Arts Award, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, and the Frost Medal—the Poetry Society of America’s most prestigious award, for a “distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry.” Nelson, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, is a professor emerita of English at the University of Connecticut. For more information on Nelson and her books, visit www.blueflowerarts.com.

Tunxis Community College offers almost 60 associate’s degrees and certificates, providing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare students for transfer to bachelor’s degree programs and employment in areas with industry need. For more on Tunxis programs and events, visit tunxis.edu.