by Akilah Frazier
The University of West Georgia's School of the Arts and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion have rescheduled Kiese Laymon, a rising star in creative nonfiction and fiction, for Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. in TLC room 1305. The event is free and open to the public.
Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Kiese is a black southern writer. He attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University before graduating from Oberlin College. Upon his graduation he obtained his MFA from Indiana University. Kiese is currently an Associate Professor of English at Vassar College and the author of the novel, Long Division and a collection of essays, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America.
He has quite a few notable accomplishments under his belt such as having his writings included in many well-known publications such as Esquire, ESPN, Colorlines, NPR, Gawker, Truthout, Longman’s Hip Hop Reader, The Best American Non-required Reading, Guernica, Mythium and Politics and Culture. Long Division was named one of the Best of 2013 by Buzzfeed, The Believer, Salon, Guernica, Contemporary Literature, Mosaic Magazine, Library Journal, Chicago Tribune and the Crunk Feminist Collective. It was also short-listed for the Believer Book Award, the Ernest Gaines Award and the Morning News Tournament of Books. The book went on to win the 2014 Saroyan International Writing Award on November 10, 2014.
UWG is excited to welcome Kiese Laymon. Come out and hear more of his story of success. We hope to see you there.
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