In honor of Black History Month, world-renowned scholar Bernard Bell, Ph.D., will deliver the keynote speech at the Sixth Annual Spring Literary Forum on Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Perry-Paige Auditorium on the Florida A&M University (FAMU) campus.
Bell is a Senior Fulbright Scholar Lecturer and an inductee into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent. He is a professor emeritus of American and African American literature, language and culture at Pennsylvania State University. His keynote address is titled: “Playas, Playa-Haters, and Old School Critics of Black Aesthetic, Hip Hop and New Black Novels.”
The FAMU chapter of Lambda Iota Tau National Honor Society for Literature is sponsoring the event, which is a component of a two-day forum that kicked off today in FAMU’s Tookes Recreation Center. The event includes: presentations from FAMU’s leading literary and history scholars, student panel discussions, a showing of the film “12 Years a Slave,” music from the Alumni Legacy Chorale and a reception in FAMU’s Meek-Eaton Black Archives.
The event will continue tomorrow, Feb. 28, at 10:10 a.m. and culminate with Bell’s speech. This year’s theme is “The African-American Novel: Text and Context.” The event is free and open to the public.
The forum’s co-sponsors include: the FAMU Department of English and Modern Languages, the FAMU Literary Guild, the FAMU College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, the Department of History and Political Science, Self Graphic Design, the FAMU Student Government Association, the FAMU Office of Black Diasporan Culture and VOICES Poetry Troupe.
For additional information, call (850) 561-2274 or (850) 599-8697.
Photo: Bell was recognized in China as a Senior Fulbright Scholar Lecturer and Specialist.
