Jaki Shelton Green, North Carolina poet laureate, will speak at Southeastern Community College on Tuesday, February 18 at 7 p.m. in the SCC Auditorium.

The Reuben Brown House Preservation Society is planning her visit.

Green is a native of North Carolina from Alamance County. No stranger to community colleges, she has a degree in early childhood education from Greater Hartford Community College in Connecticut.

Greens publications include Dead on Arrival, Dead on Arrival and New Poems, Masks, Conjure Blues, singing a tree into dance, breath of the song, Blue Opal (a play), and Feeding the Light. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Crucible, Obsidian, Essence Magazine, Callaloo, and Black Gold: An Anthology of Black Poetry, among many others.

In 2003, The North Caroliniana Society inducted Green as a member. She was inducted into N.C. Literacy Hall of Fame in 2014. Among her numerous writing and teaching awards are the 2018 Indies Arts Award, 2019 N.C. Humanities Council Caldwell Award and 2019 American Academy of Poets Laureate Fellowship. She was a 2018 Tar Heel of the Year finalist.

Green has taught poetry and facilitated creative writing classes at public libraries, universities and community colleges, public/private schools, and literary organizations. She will continue this work in Columbus County by leading three classes for a total of 100 students and will provide one workshop for area English teachers.

SCC Director of Institutional Advancement Lisa Clark said that the community college is pleased to host a cultural enrichment event for the community. “That’s part of our mission,” she said. “And for our students to have exposure to someone of her stature is amazing.”

A reception and book signing will follow the event.

Sources Jaki Green and The News Reporter.