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Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute News

The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute brings writers and the literary imagination into the heart of public life through events, fellowships, publications, and student engagement opportunities.

Current Black Mountain Institute News

archival image of four men posing in graduation regalia
UNLV History |

The former student body president and longtime donor passes away, 60 years after UNLV's first commencement. 

author Tananarive Due talking during an interview
Arts and Culture |

Pioneer of Black horror and author of The Reformatory visits Las Vegas on April 5 as part of the Black Legal Futurism conference.

close up of man's face against a white textured background
Arts and Culture |

March 21 reading  is part of Black Mountain Institute's Breakout Writers Series.

sign that reads black mountain institute
Arts and Culture |

Las Vegas’ long-standing literary organization provides funding for local arts and culture initiatives.

sign that reads black mountain institute
Arts and Culture |

UNLV’s literary center welcomes the public to in-person and virtual readings and conversations with acclaimed writers.

man in leather jacket looking skyward
Arts and Culture |

The acclaimed author of 2023’s 'We Are a Haunting' reads at UNLV on Oct. 19.

Black Mountain Institute In The News

Las Vegas Weekly

If Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out spurred a resurgence of Black horror in cinema, Tananarive Due’s novels have made a similar impact on literature. The award-winning author, who wrote for Peele’s Paramount+ revival of The Twilight Zone and teaches a UCLA class inspired by his directorial debut, stands at the forefront of reputable Black horror and Afrofuturistic sci-fi writers who have reshaped the narrative with their worlds and words.

Las Vegas Weekly

There may be no destination as welcoming as Las Vegas, but as a place to live and work and grow—a true home—it’s a bit elusive. Las Vegas takes a while. New residents might hear this from longtime locals: It takes a couple years to get used to it, and we’re not talking about the summertime heat. There’s something about this place that requires patience for meaningful connection … but once you’ve found it, it tends to click into place. You discover your community or culture or cause, and now you’re invested. Being local means making a contribution.

Nevada Independent

Coming to work at an arts organization undergoing many transitions and coming out of the pandemic was daunting, but I was nevertheless enthusiastic. 

Vegas Magazine

University of Nevada Las Vegas Master and Doctorate students of the creative writing program, respond to visual artworks through poetry for "Vegas and Verse" at The Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum, located in North Las Vegas at 5850 Park St. N. Witness the work of refined talent through Oct. 29 with the collaboration of Black Mountain Institute's writers and storytellers in tandem with The Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum.

Desert Companion

Food writer Kim Foster explores these associations and more, as part of UNLV’s University Forum Lecture series in collaboration with the Black Mountain Institute

Desert Companion

UNLV’s medical students conduct walkability studies of Las Vegas neighborhoods to get a more holistic view of factors that affect people’s health outcomes. They evaluate transportation, food access, air quality, and amenities, identifying gaps and devising plans to address issues. Students have spoken about their experiences at legislative sessions about inequities in healthcare.

Recent Black Mountain Institute Accomplishments

Laurence Myers Reese (Black Mountain Institute) published an article titled, "Verdant Refuge / Desert Refugee," in Southwest Contemporary Magazine, Volume 7: "Finding Water in the West." His article profiles the artwork of Nanda Sharif-Pour (MFA, Art, 2019) and her use of artistic interventions that address immigration and climate change.
Jericho Brown (Black Mountain Institute) has been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his poetry collection The Tradition. The collection was described as "masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence." Brown is the poetry editor of The…
Amanda Fortini (Journalism) recently won the prestigious Rabkin Prize. The fourth annual Rabkin Prize for Arts Writers, given by the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation, recognizes outstanding contributions by critics who write on visual arts. The prize was awarded to nine writers nationally. Each honoree will receive $50,000.…
The Believer, the flagship magazine of the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute, is a finalist for the 2020 National Magazine Awards in three categories. “Cabramatta,” an interactive comic by Matt Huynh supported by the Tran Thi Oanh Black Mountain Institute Fund, was nominated in the Digital Innovation category…
Lillehammer Allen (BMI) and Susanna Newbury (Art) sat down to write about land art, mariscos, and Las Vegas for Nevada Humanities' Double Down blog. The essay, Double Down's first bilingual entry, looks at alums Justin Favela, '14 BA Art, and Mikayla Whitmore's, '10 BFA Art, tongue-in-cheek installation of a sculpture called Seven Magic Tires in…
Joe Milan, Jr. (English and Black Mountain Institute) won the prestigious David K. Wong Fellowship, "a unique and generous annual award to enable a fiction writer who wants to write in English about East and Southeast Asia to spend a year in the UK at the University of East Anglia in Norwich." The fellowship commences in October. Milan is…