February 5, 2021
The University Convocation, “The Radical Possibility and Democratic Necessity of Navel-Gazing,” was held virtually by the Public Events Committee on Monday, Jan. 28. Kiese Laymon, Hubert H. McAlexander Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi and the author of the book, “Heavy: An American Memoir,” spoke at the event about his writing experience with “Heavy” and the need for navel-gazing within the community.
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Public Events Committee, Allison Fleshman, is part of the selection process for Convocation speakers.
“As a committee, we knew that Laymon’s ability to write and capture the southern Black experience and un-selfishly turn inward for deep introspection would benefit our ongoing campus conversations on racial and social injustice, personal reflection and continued work to create a more inclusive community,” Fleshman said.
Kiese Laymon
The University of Central Arkansas College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) will host author Kiese Laymon as an artist-in-residence Feb. 23-24.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m., Laymon will host a public reading, interview and Q&A via Zoom with meeting ID number 831 0260 1516 and passcode 992840. Attendees can access the Zoom session here. Earlier that afternoon, Laymon will instruct a masterclass with UCA Master of Fine Arts students and participate in an informal Q&A with faculty, both via Zoom.
On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Laymon will host a craft talk and Q&A with students via Zoom.
Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi, who is known for his observant, often humorous work that delves into issues such as race and family, body and shame, poverty and place. He is the author of the award-winning “Heavy: An American Memoir,” the essay collection “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America” and the novel “Long Divisio
UCA hosts virtual reading from writer Kiese Laymon
UCA hosts virtual reading from writer Kiese Laymon Kiese Laymon courtesy of UCA
Writer
Kiese Laymon (“Heavy: An American Memoir,” “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America,” “Long Division”) will give a public reading via Zoom as an artist-in-residence at the University of Central Arkansas Feb. 23-24.
Laymon is currently the Hubert H. McAlexander chair of English at the University of Mississippi, where he founded the Catherine Coleman Initiative for the Arts and Social Justice a program aimed, Laymon’s bio states, “at getting Mississippi kids and their parents, more comfortable reading, writing, revising and sharing,” his bio states. He’s a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and his work has appeared in the The New York Times, Esquire, Colorlines, The Lost Angeles Times, The Guardian, Ebony, Lit Hub and Arkansas’s own Oxford American magazin
Cambridge Public Library to host Martin Luther King Day event
Community Content
Kiese Laymon, author of the award-winning memoir “Heavy: An American Memoir,” will be in conversation with Jesse McCarthy, an assistant professor at Harvard University, at the Cambridge Public Library’s 46th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at 7 p.m. on Jan. 14.
Laymon will speak as part of the library’s Our Path Forward series, which examines issues that “are important to the health of our democracy.” The program is co-sponsored by the mayor s office, city manager s office and the Cambridge Public Library Foundation.
Laymon’s “Heavy: An American Memoir” received the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2018 Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose and the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media. The memoir was named one of the “50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years” by The New York Times and was named