UofL’s English and classical and modern languages departments sponsor the 39th annual event. Keynote addresses listed below are free and public. Those speakers will include

  • Michael Heller, poet, essayist and critic and former New York University professor. His most recent books are the poetry volume “Eschaton” and prose and poetry collection “Beckmann Variations & Other Poems”; his 20 published volumes include “Living Root: A Memoir” as well as the opera libretto for “Constellations of Waking.” He will read his poetry at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 24 in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library.
  • Grant Farred, Cornell University professor of Africana studies and English. His most recent books include “Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football,” “Phantom Calls: Race and the Globalization of the NBA” and “What’s My Name? Black Vernacular Intellectuals.” He recently was general editor of the journal The South Atlantic Quarterly. He will speak about “Intellectual: Always Against the Times” at 6 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Muhammad Ali Center, 144. N. Sixth St. An hourlong reception after Farred’s talk will feature the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Quartet.
  • Rae Armantrout, University of California-San Diego writing professor and 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet for “Versed.” Her 10 poetry books include “Next Life,” “Up to Speed” and “Veil: New and Selected Poems,” and her prose memoir is titled “True.” She will read her poetry at 5 p.m. Feb. 25 in Room 100, Bingham Humanities Building.
  • Jose David Saldivar, Stanford University professor of comparative literature. His books include “Border Matters: Remapping American Cultural Studies” and “Criticism in the Borderlands: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture and Ideology.” He will give the Hispanic keynote lecture, “Conjectures on Americanity and Junot Diaz’s ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’,” at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 25 and will end the conference with a 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26 talk about “The Outernational Origins of Chicano/a Literature.” Both talks are in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library.

Registration is closed, but UofL faculty, students and staff can attend any session for free by picking up a badge in Room 300, Bingham Humanities Building.