Authors Randa Jarrar and Kwame Dawes will hold public readings as part of the NMU English Department's Visiting Writers Series. This free event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the University Center.

Jarrar the author of two books, “A Map of Home” and “Him, Me, Muhammad Ali.” In 2010, she was named one of the most gifted writers of Arab origin under the age of 40. She is president of the Radius of Arab American Writers, a literary organization dedicated to supporting and disseminating creative and scholarly writing by Arab authors. Her work has been featured in "The New York Times Magazine," Salon.com, "The Oxford American" and others. 

Kwame Dawes is the author of 20 books, including genres of poetry, fiction, criticism and essays. Some of his written works include “City of Bones: A Testament” and “Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius." In addition to his writing, Dawes teaches at the University of Nebraska and the Pacific University MFA Program in Portland, Ore. He is also the director of the African Poetry Book Fund and artistic director of the Calabash International Literary Festival.