Former poet laureate Trethewey to kick off 2014 E.N. Thompson Forum

            Former U.S. poet laureate Natasha Trethewey will deliver the 2014 Humanities Nebraska Governor's Lecture in the Humanities on Sept. 10 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St.

            Trethewey, whose two-year term as poet laureate ended in May, will speak on the creative work of poets in society, their role as public intellectuals, and the ways that poetry helps promote greater historical memory of crucial moments in American history.

            The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Ticket information can be found at http://enthompson.unl.edu/ticket.shtml.

            Trethewey's lecture is the first event in the 2014-15 E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues series. This year's Thompson Forum theme is "The Creative World," which will explore creativity's impact on people and societies and examine the question of how creativity can change our culture and planet for the better. A full schedule can be found at http://enthompson.unl.edu.

            "Creativity takes many shapes and forms in our world, as this year's E.N. Thompson Forum series speakers illustrate,” said Chris Sommerich, executive director of Humanities Nebraska, a sponsor of the lecture. "When the news around the world seems so troubling, who better to help nourish our souls and our creative spirits than a great poet like Natasha Trethewey? The audience will appreciate hearing her take on the poet's place in preserving our historic memory and helping us reflect on who we are -- individually and collectively -- as we try to move forward to a better future."

            Trethewey, professor of English and creative writing at Emory University, is the author of four collections of poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Native Guard" (2006) and "Thrall" (2012). She is also regularly featured on the PBS NewsHour Poetry Series.

            This is the 19th annual Humanities Nebraska Governor's Lecture in the Humanities. The lecture will be streamed live at http://netnebraska.org and will be available on Lincoln digital cable Channel 80, or Channel 99 on analog cable, UNL campus Channel 8 and UNL's KRNU radio (90.3 FM).

            A pre-talk will take place at 7 p.m. in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room with Kwame Dawes, Chancellor's Professor of English the Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner. In addition to delivering the pre-talk, Dawes will moderate the audience question-and-answer session with Trethewey. This year, the Thompson Forum will take questions via social media. Questions may be submitted via #ENThompsonForum, @ENThompsonForum or E.N. Thompson Forum on Facebook.

            The E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues is a cooperative project of the Cooper Foundation, the Lied Center and UNL. It was established in 1988 with the purpose of bringing a diversity of viewpoints on international and public policy issues to the university and the residents of the state to promote understanding and encourage debate.