The Life and Lore of Sterling A. Brown: Celebrating Poetry, Prose, and Music

A virtual symposium at Williams College, October 19-21, 2022

The Life and Lore of Sterling A. Brown: Celebrating Poetry, Prose, and Music, will be happening next week, October 20-21, 2022. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Imani Perry and Dr. Paula Giddings. There will also be panel sessions, music performances, a table read from the play “Brown, Sterling” by Vantile E. Harris, and a closing with the Cornelius Eady Trio band. Find out more information about the lineup and to register click here: https://specialcollections.williams.edu/sab/.

Prof. Sterling A. Brown (‘22) was a scholar, educator, poet, critic, and jazz and blues aficionado. Considered the “Dean of African-American Literature,” Sterling A. Brown was foundational in framing the African-American literary tradition, its advancement as a field of scholarly study, and for creating and inspiring discourse around folklore as a Black aesthetic. This symposium is two-fold, as it will mark the much anticipated opening of the Sterling A. Brown papers as well as celebrate his centennial graduation from Williams College. The symposium will engage local communities,  writers,  scholars, and performing artists for a multidisciplinary conversation on Sterling A. Brown and African-American cultural production.