September 29th: Daniel Kunene, Angela Sorby, Jennifer Gilmour, Lord Byron

Daniel Kunene was born in South Africa where he earned a B.A. degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He taught at UCT from 1954 to 1963 when he left South Africa and lectured briefly at the University of London, England, before coming to the United States. He taught at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1964 till 1970 when he accepted a position as Professor of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He retired in 2003. His publications include the internationally acclaimed analysis of Sesotho praise poetry entitled "Heroic Poetry of the Basotho." He has published several books of poems, including Pirates Have Become Our Kings (East African Publishing House} and A Seed Must Seem To Die. Kunene's latest book of poems, The Rock at the Corner of My Heart, was published in 2009 by Brown Turtle Press in Makanda, Illinois. His poetry has also been published in many magazines and anthologies. He participated, by invitation, at several international poetry festivals, including one in Medellin, Colombia, South America, in July 2009, and another in Granada, Nicaragua, in February 2010. Kunene's poem, "Soweto," was based on the story of a twelve-year old school girl shot by the police in South Africa and was put to music for choir and orchestra by the Dutch composer Bernard van Beurden.

Angela Sorby's most recent book, Bird Skin Coat (2009), won the Brittingham Prize, a Midwest Book Award, and the Wisconsin Library Association's Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in Poetry. She's also the author of Schoolroom Poets (2005), and Distance Learning (1998). She teaches at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

"Sorby’s disposition as a poet is to keep the truth in the picture—the rude, uncoordinated, self-destructive truth—and the skids and barrel rolls of perspective she performs with her idiomatic lyricism always keep the poem alive.”—Tony Hoagland, author of What Narcissism Means to Me

Jennifer Wolters Gilmour has been writing for the past 19 years. She has hosted and performed at open mics and poetry readings in Milwaukee, Chicago, Iowa City, British Columbia, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos, New Mexico.  Her poetry and short stories have been featured in Tamafyr Mountain Press, Venus Envy, and Generation X Compilation. In addition to being inspired by writing of all genres and authors, Jennifer has reverence for sharing spoken word because of the amazing people it has allowed her to meet. She believes that poetry in particular concisely captures humor, beauty, and often miraculous portraits of moments almost overlooked, much like the shutter of a camera.

Lord Byron, he of "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know" fame, will rise on the 30th from the underworld of earthy delight/debauchery and breathe new life into the cantos of Don Juan before our very eyes. Bring your rosary if you need the assurance or a kerchief if you want to mop your greedy brow, but do not, whatever you do, bring the children.