Black Poets Lean South: A Cave Canem Symposium

Thursday, April 3 @ UGA Chapel

originally published April 2, 2008

Roy Beeson

Sean Hill

The Cave Canem Foundation will bring a full day of first-class contemporary poetry from nationally renowned poets to Athens on Apr. 3 during Black Poets Lean South, a symposium hosted by the UGA English Department and the UGA Press. Cave Canem gets its moniker, which translates from Latin to “Beware of the Dog,” from a floor mosaic in the entry to the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii. Since 1996, Cave Canem has bolstered the black literary community by shining a spotlight on veteran voices, recognizing the most promising new poets, and providing what it calls a “safe space” (hence the dog) for up-and-comers to fine-tune their talent. The Black Poets Lean South symposium will allow prominent Cave Canem poets from across the country to convene to present their writing, field audience questions, and reflect on the intersection of black poetry and the South.

The day begins at 11 a.m. with Nikky Finney and UGA alum Sean Hill. Opal Moore and Kyle Dargan follow at 2 p.m., and Cave Canem cofounders Cornelius Eady and Toi Derricotte will take the stage at 4 p.m. All of the poets will come together at 5:15 p.m. for a panel discussion moderated by Angela Elam, host of NPR’s “New Letters on the Air,” to be aired on public radio affiliates. The symposium will conclude in the main gallery of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, where the participants will assemble for a book-signing and reception.

You can also catch Hill reading from his debut collection Blood Ties & Brown Liquor, which chronicles the African-American community of his native Milledgeville, for the Mandala Journal release party at Ciné on Wednesday, Apr. 2 at 7 p.m. Hill, a former Mandala editor, will be joined by several local poets for what will serve as a prelude to the Cave Canem symposium. Attendance at both events is free and open to all.

Jennifer Bryant