NEWS

Harris-Lopez to speak in Cary on legacy of MLK in literature

CHAPEL HILL -- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill English professor Dr. Trudier Harris-Lopez will discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in literature on Feb. 8 in Cary.

The free public lecture, "Martin Luther King Jr.: Appearances in African American Literature," will conclude Cary’s month-long Martin Luther King Jr. DreamFest celebration. Harris-Lopez will speak at 1:30 p.m. at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, 119 Ambassador Loop. For information, call (919) 462-3963.

Harris-Lopez, UNC's J. Carlyle Sitterson professor of English, has lectured and published extensively in her specialty areas of African-American literature and folklore. Her books include "South of Tradition: Essays on African American Literature," "Exorcising Blackness: Historical and Literary Lynching and Burning Rituals," "Fiction and Folklore: The Novels of Toni Morrison," "The Power of the Porch: The Storyteller's Craft in Zora Neale Hurston, Gloria Naylor and Randall Kenan" and "Saints, Sinners, Saviors: Strong Black Women in African American Literature."

Harris-Lopez co-edited and co-wrote the 1998 reference collection "Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition" (Houghton Mifflin Co.), and she delivered the December 2001 commencement address at UNC. Her alma mater, Ohio State University, presented her with its first annual Award of Distinction for the College of Humanities in 1994.

The talk was arranged by Carolina Speakers at UNC, a statewide outreach program. Since 1993, the program has brought more than 90 faculty members to business, civic and community groups. The

speakers share their expertise on more than 150 topics, including 46 on North Carolina and the South. For more information or to schedule a Carolina Speaker, contact Sandy Roberts at (919) 962-1993 or sandy_roberts@unc.edu, or visit the Carolina Speakers web site at www.unc.edu/depts/uncspeak.

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Contact: Sandy Roberts, (919) 962-1993, sandy_roberts@unc.edu