Poet Honoree Jeffers to visit Kenyon

Honorée Jeffers has a gift for writing poetry that is, in the words of one critic, "passionate, sharp, and crisp." Jeffers will share her talents with the Kenyon community as the second of this semester's two visiting minority artists.

During her two-week stay, which begins on March 28, Jeffers will visit classes and teach seven poetry workshops. An informal Common Hour talk on Thursday, April 1, in Ascension 220 and a public reading on Thursday, April 8, at 8:00 p.m. in Peirce Lounge will highlight her visit.

An Alabama native, Jeffers writes in her poetry about the struggles of African-Americans and women. She often explores the religious basis of racial and sexual prejudice. "Art is a vocation," Jeffers wrote in one article. "I have been called to preach, through my poetry, the word. My ability to speak out comes from above, from my belief that a higher power guides me and that I have to speak the truth. Speaking truth, or at least my truth, is my vocation."

Jeffers has published two collections of poetry. The Gospel of Barbecue, published in 2000, was awarded the 1999 Stan and Tom Wick Prize for Poetry. Outlandish Blues, her second collection, was published in 2003.

A Booklist review of Outlandish Blues describes her "jaunty, deal-with-it attitude" as arising from the blues, "an American tradition that beats back despair with wit, élan, and grace." The review continues: "She calls on her mentors, soulful musicians such as Dinah Washington, James Brown, John Coltrane, and Aretha Franklin, for guidance, then, sustained by their voices, segues into vivid imaginings of the inner lives of biblical figures such as Sarah, Hagar, and Lot's wife; a man about to be lynched; and a former slave bravely attending college."

"Honorée Jeffers lights up any room she enters," says Professor of English David Lynn, who, as editor of the Kenyon Review, has published some of her work. "The music of her poetry, the warmth of her voice, her energy, her humor, and her passion make her both a fine poet and a memorable performer and teacher."

Jeffers currently serves as assistant professor of English at the University of Oklahoma, teaching poetry and creative writing. She has also taught at Talladega College, the University of Alabama, Cleveland State University, and Knox College.

In addition to the Kenyon Review, Jeffers's work has appeared in Black Issues Book Review, Black Warrior Review, Indiana Review, Ploughshares and other journals. Her poetry has also been published in several anthologies, including Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, Roll Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art, and These Hands I Know: Writing About the African-American Family.

Jeffers's visit to Kenyon is sponsored by the College's Visiting Minority Artist Program.