The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute (BMI) at UNLV presents the following events as part of its Readings & Panels Series. Readings & Panels offers a public platform for timely political and social debate by inviting national and international literary figures to UNLV to engage the university and its surrounding communities.
Blood, Sweat & Tears: Life on the Front Lines of the Human Rights Struggle in Russia, Nigeria, and Iran
Veterans of conflicts in Iran and Nigeria will discuss today's struggles in human rights.
- When: 7 p.m. Sept. 11
- Where: Philip J. Cohen Theatre, UNLV Student Union
- Speakers: Moderated by UNLV Professor of History Michelle Tusan, a human rights scholar; Wole Soyinka, a playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, theater director, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986; and Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran.
Emerging Writers Series: Poet Bridget Lowe
Presented with Nevada Humanities
- When: 7 p.m. Sept. 25
- Where: UNLV Greenspun Hall Auditorium
- Speaker: Bridget Lowe, author of the book of poetry At the Autopsy of Vaslav Nijinsky.
Alumni Reading Series: Poet Sasha Steensen
Sasha Steensen is the first guest of the new Alumni Reading Series. She is a graduate of the inaugural class of the UNLV Creative Writing Program, and earned her Master of Fine Arts at UNLV in 2000.
- When: 7 p.m. Oct. 2
- Where: UNLV Greenspun Hall Auditorium
- Speaker: Sasha Steensen, author of three books of poetry, House of Deer, The Method, and A Magic Book.
Vegas Valley Book Festival: Aimee Bender
Best-selling novelist and short story writer Aimee Bender will deliver the closing keynote of the 2014 Vegas Valley Book Festival.
- When: 4 p.m. Oct. 18
- Where: The Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth Street, Downtown Las Vegas
- Speaker: Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, and the bestseller, The Particular Sadness of a Lemoncake and The Color Master, a New York Times Notable Book of 2013.
To Swerve or Not to Swerve: How Literature Navigates the Past, a Conversation with Stephen Greenblatt and Geraldine Brooks
Preeminent literary historian Stephen Greenblatt and best-selling historical novelist Geraldine Brooks will discuss how literature is shaped by our understanding of the past.
- When: 7 p.m., Nov. 13
- Where: Philip J. Cohen Theatre, UNLV Student Union
- Speaker: Stephen Greenblatt, author Swerve: How the World Became Modern, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Emerging Writers Series: Fiction Writer Jennifer Pashley
- When: 7 p.m., Nov. 18
- Where: UNLV Greenspun Hall Auditorium
- Speaker: Jennifer Pashley, author of States and The Conjurer. Presented with Nevada Humanities
All events are free, unticketed and open to the public. BMI's public events are sponsored by Nevada Public Radio and the Caesars Foundation. Events are subject to change.
Please check the Black Mountain Institute website for updated event information or call (702) 895-5542. Directions to UNLV and campus locations may be found on the campus maps website.
About BMI
Founded in 2006 the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is dedicated to advancing literary and cross-cultural dialogue. Through public programs, residential fellowships, and publishing initiatives, BMI provides a cultural lens through which today's most pressing issues can be addressed and evaluated.
