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Award-winning poet to speak at UOG on May 9
Dr. Craig Santos Perez
The University of Guam welcomes Dr. Craig Santos Perez, award-winning poet and professor of English at the University of Hawaii, Mānoa, as the 36th speaker in its Presidential Lecture Series. The event will be held at 5:30pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences lecture hall on the UOG campus.
The title of his lecture is “Ocean in our Blood.” Perez will perform new poetry related to Pacific politics and Chamorro identity, and he will discuss the role of poetry in addressing issues of colonialism, militarism, environmental justice, migration, food, and cultural revitalization.
“We are very much looking forward to Dr. Perez’s lecture and poetry reading,” said Dr. Robert Underwood, UOG president. “Poetry and storytelling—these art forms are the traditional expressions of islanders and provide a human context to the current issues we are facing.”
The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited.
Perez was raised in the village of Mongmong but has lived in California and Hawaii for the past 20 years. He is the author of four books of poetry, and he has received an American Book award, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, and the Elliot Cades, the most prestigious prize from the Hawaii Literary Arts Council. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco, and a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He works as an associate professor in the English department at the University of Hawaii, Mānoa, where he teaches creative writing, eco-poetry, and Pacific literature.
Lecture series
In 2009, Underwood introduced the Presidential Lecture Series, which features distinguished and diverse guest speakers share their unique observations and thoughts with the university community. The university has welcomed over 30 lecturers, which include activists, scientists, entrepreneurs, poets, public servants, dignitaries, and professional athletes.
For more information and to view videos of the lectures, visit www.uog.edu/psl. (UOG)
