Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady co-founders of Cave Canem
Tue, March 29, 6pm
Woodruff Library Emory University
Toi Derricotte is the author of four books of poetry - "Tender" (1997), winner of the 1998 Paterson Poetry Prize; "Captivity" (1989); "Natural Birth" (1983); and "The Empress of the Death House" (1978). Her literary memoir, "The Black Notebooks" (1997), won the 1998 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Non-Fiction. She is working on a new book of poetry, "The Undertaker's Daughter," and teaches in the creative writing department at the University of Pittsburgh.

Cornelius Eady often writes about race, family, and jazz, and his poems have a musical quality drawn from jazz and the blues. A poet and playwright, Eady has published eight books of poetry, including "Hardheaded Weather" (2008); "Brutal Imagination" (2001), a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award in Poetry; "You Don't Miss Your Water" (1995); "The Gathering of My Name" (1991), nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; and "Victims of the Latest Dance Craze" (1986), winner of the Lamont Prize from the Academy of American Poets in 1985.

The two noted poets co-founded Cave Canem, a nonprofit organization fostering the talents of black poets, in 1996.
A selection of books and a limited edition broadside will be available for purchase and signing at the reading.

Kathryn Stockett and Susan Rebecca White
Wednesday, March 30, 6:30 p.m.
SCAD Atlanta
The Savannah College of Art and Design will begin its spring 2011 Ivy Hall Writers Series with Kathryn Stockett and Susan Rebecca White as guest lecturers. Both belong to "a new wave of Southern female writers who might look like belles but who write fearlessly," according to Vanity Fair (February 2011). The two will appear together Wednesday, March 30, from 6:30-8 p.m. at SCAD Atlanta, 1600 Peachtree St. The event is free and open to the public.
"We are thrilled to present two young Atlanta authors who write about the Southern experience through new, intriguing voices," said Georgia Lee, director of Ivy Hall. "Both Kathryn Stockett and Susan Rebecca White resonate with local and national readers alike. As popular, acclaimed authors who are also hometown favorites, they are a perfect pair for the Ivy Hall Writers Series."
Kathryn Stockett delighted readers with her thought-provoking novel, "The Help." A movie based on the book is scheduled for release in August. "The Help," on the New York Times Bestseller list for 79 weeks, is a tale of three ordinary Mississippi women taking one extraordinary step together despite complications of living in a segregated town. The 1960s setting reflects Stockett's childhood experience in Jackson, Miss., with a black caregiver.

After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing, Stockett moved to New York City, where she wrote her first novel. She now lives in Atlanta with her husband and daughter.
Atlanta native Susan Rebecca White also made the New York Times Bestseller list with her critically acclaimed novel "Bound South," followed by "A Soft Place to Land." She is known for translating human flaws into traits that evoke compassion in her readers. White lived in San Francisco before returning to Atlanta with her husband. She teaches creative writing at Emory University.

40th Annual Agnes Scott College Writer's Festival
Jennifer Nettles Performance
Thu, March 31, 8pm
Agnes Scott College, Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall
This year marks Agnes Scott College’s 40th annual Writer’s Festival. The festival which will be held this year from March 31st to April 1st hosts acclaimed writers of poetry, prose and for the first time this year songwriting come to Agnes Scott to give readings, performances, and lead workshops for the Festival’s magazine. At the end of the festival the writers then pick winners in the magazine’s categories of poetry, prose, playwriting and songwriting. This is an amazing time for Agnes Scott students and the Decatur community to rub elbows with the literary world’s elite. Past writers have included Junot Diaz, Joyce Carol Oats, Anita Desai, Yusef Komunyakka, Rita Dove, John Updike, Margaret Atwood and many more!
And this year’s writers won’t disappoint either! This is the first year where a featured writer and (Agnes Scott alum!) is a songwriter, a new category that was added to this year’s Festival creative writing competition. Maybe you’ve heard of her? The one and only Grammy award winning Jennifer Nettles of the hit group Sugarland! She cut her teeth on performing music right here in Decatur at Eddies Attic. Jennifer Nettles will be performing Thursday, March 31, 8 p.m. Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall. Ticket required.