University of The Bahamas’ (UB) English Studies Department is pleased to announce that on Thursday, 16th November 2017 at 7:00 p.m. renowned poet, playwright, professor, and social activist Sonia Sanchez will be the featured speaker at the 12th Annual Anatol Rodgers Memorial Lecture (ARML) Series at UB.
ARML honours a notable Bahamian educator and an important figure in Bahamian history, Mrs. Anatol Rodgers, who was the first female Bahamian to be appointed principal of the Government High School, which was the premier secondary institution in The Bahamas during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Government High School educated many of the professionals working and thriving in The Bahamas today.
Professor Sanchez is the author of more than 20 books and has received many awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Award and the American Book Award for her poetry collection Homegirls and Handgrenades. Her poetry collection Does Your House Have Lions? was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
She was the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University, where she began teaching in 1977 and held the Laura Carnell Chair in English until her retirement in 1999.
In 2011, Mayer Michael Nutley named Professor Sanchez the Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, where she has lived for many years.
Professor Sanchez has traveled extensively, visiting many universities and colleges throughout the world, to lecture concerning Black culture, women’s rights, peace initiatives, and justice.
Most recently, the documentary based on her life and work, BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez, was nominated for a 2017 Emmy Award.
Over the past years, regional and international scholars and artists have shared their work and presented provocative ideas that have pushed the boundaries of the literary arts, cultural production, social activism, and challenged traditional perspectives on history and social engagement during the Anatol Rodgers Memorial Lecture series. Previous lecturers in this series have included Derek Walcott, Earl Lovelace, Carolyn Cooper, Kwame Dawes, Anna Everett, Oonya Kempadoo, Michael Bucknor, Susan Searls-Giroux, Anne Curzan, Erna Brodber and Myriam Chancy.
“We are honoured and pleased that Professor Sanchez has accepted our invitation to give this important lecture. We wish to thank Dr. John Rodgers, son of Mrs. Anatol Rodgers, and his family, for continuing to sponsor this important annual lecture series,” said Dr. Craig Smith, Chair of English Studies and Co-founder of Critical Caribbean Symposium Series.
For further information on Professor Sanchez’s lecture, please contact Mrs. Sophia Ferguson at 302-4386 or Sophia.Ferguson@ub.edu.bs of the English Studies Department at the University of The Bahamas.
Photo: Renowned poet, playwright, professor, and social activist Sonia Sanchez.
