News & Events

What Had Happened Was
Therí Alyce Pickens, Bates College
Monday, April 14, 1pm
Elliston Poetry Room, 646 Langsam

This year’s WGSS Distinguished Lecture meets the moment by turning us to poetry as a site for cultural analysis and imaginative strength in the midst of political struggle. Dr. Therí Pickens, Charles A. Dana Professor of English and Africana at Bates College, is a highly accomplished poet, scholar, and public intellectual. Her work focuses on Arab American Studies, Black Studies, Comparative Literature, and Disability Studies and she has published in a wide range of outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her most recent monograph, Black Madness:: Mad Blackness (2019) is a foundational framework for thinking Black Disability Studies. Dr. Pickens' will be reading from her debut poetry collection, What Had Happened Was, which will be released by Duke University Press on March 28th.