All are welcome to attend the general reading on 2/27 at 4PM

Masterclass - Sold Out - Waitlist Full

Master Class begins Friday, February 26 at 6pm.

• A private link to the masterclass will be sent out the day of the event. If a spot opens, you will be contacted by email based on the order of registration to see if you would like to join.

About Danez Smith

Danez Smith is a Black, queer, poz writer and performer from St. Paul, MN. Their books include Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, and [insert] boy (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Smith is a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is the co-host of VS with Franny Choi, a podcast sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness. Their third collection, Homie,was published by Graywolf in January 2020.

Find more at www.danezsmithpoet.com

About the Reading

Poet and spoken-word performer Danez Smith will perform an online reading on Saturday, February 27 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. At the event, hosted by Valencia College and the University of Central Florida, Smith will read from their newest book, Homie, recently named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. The reading will be followed by a Q&A session.

About the Masterclass

Friday, February 26, 6-9 p.m. EST, Masterclass:

Title: Devotions

Description: “What waits for us at the bottom of form? At the end of content? When obsession turns into style or when something possesses our making for a season? Looking at a few samples from contemporary poets, some who have long relationships with their formal or topical constraints and some who dive deep into a singular concern over a project or brief period.”

About the Event Coordinators

This event is hosted by Valencia College in Collaboration with UCF. The event organizers are Tori Grajeda and Chrissy Kolaya.

The Event Funded in Collaboration with Valencia College Student Development College-Wide, Valencia Communications Departments College-Wide, and UCF.

University of Central Florida (UCF) sponsors of this event include the College of Arts and Humanities Dean’s Office, the Burnett Honors College, the Center for Digital Humanities, the English Department, the Cypress Dome Society, and Writers in the Sun.