Danez Smith will give a public reading as part of the Visiting Writers Series at Northern Michigan University. This free event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, in the Marquette Room of the University Center.

Smith is a black, queer, poz writer and performer from St. Paul, Minn. He is the author of two books. His first book, [insert] Boy, won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literacy Award for Gay Poetry. His two chapbooks, Hands On Ya Knees and Black Movie, are recipients of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation and the McKnight Foundation. He is also a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts fellow.

Smith’s work has been featured in many publications and on PBS NewsHour and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He is a two-time Individual World Poetry Slam finalist and a three-time Rustbelt Poetry Slam Champion.

For more information, call 227-2711 or email mfrank@nmu.edu.