(September 23, 2009, New Orleans, La.) - Darrell Bourque, Poet Laureate of Louisiana and University of Louisiana at Lafayette Professor Emeritus of English and Interdisciplinary Humanities, will read from his works on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the University of New Orleans Liberal Arts Building, Room 197.

Bourque, the author of Plain Songs (1999), Burnt Water Suite (1999), The Blue Boat (2004) and with Jack Bedell Call and Response: Conversations in Verse (2009), was appointed Louisiana Poet Laureate, 2008-2009 by Governor Kathleen Blanco and reappointed this year by Gov. Bobby Jindal. His central project for the laureateship has been to develop poetry audiences by teaching and reading to students at all levels, from elementary schools to universities, as well as to citizens at Louisiana's libraries.

The event is presented by the UNO Ezra Pound Center for Literature, UNO English Club, the UNO MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Department of English.

An excerpt from Bourque's The Blue Boat (Center for Louisiana Studies, 2004) titled "My Father at Grand Isle" follows.

The University of New Orleans (UNO), the urban research University of the State of Louisiana, provides essential support for the educational, economic, cultural and social well-being of the culturally rich and diverse New Orleans metropolitan area. It opened its doors in 1958 as part of the Louisiana State University System "to bring public-supported higher education to Louisiana's largest urban community." Today, UNO offers 43 undergraduate degree programs, 37 masters, and 11 doctoral programs. The 340-acre main campus sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, offering easy access to all parts of the metro area. For more information, visit www.uno.edu.  

Johanna M. Schindler  

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