Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum, the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English, will visit Penn State Behrend to read from her poetry on Wednesday, Oct. 6. The program, which is free and open to the public, begins at 6 p.m. in Metzgar Center.
McCallum has written six books, including “No Ruined Stone,” a “novel in verse” based on the life of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Her poems and essays have been published in journals, anthologies and textbooks throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Israel.
McCallum’s poems have been translated into six languages and set to music by composers Marta Gentilucci and Gity Razaz. She has received numerous awards, including the silver Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica. The Musgrave Medal, similar to the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, honors Jamaican individuals who have demonstrated excellence in their respective fields of literature, arts and science. Established in 1889, it is the oldest award of its kind to be awarded in the Western Hemisphere.
The Penn State Laureate is an honor bestowed to one full-time faculty member each year to bring greater visibility to the arts and humanities, to Penn State, and to the faculty member’s work. During her tenure, McCallum will conduct writing workshops and make numerous speaking engagements throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere. She also will showcase the works of other Pennsylvania poets during “Poetry Moment,” a weekly segment that airs Monday’s on WPSU Radio and is available for downloading on the station’s website.
Additional information, as well as McCallum’s complete fall schedule, can be found on the Penn State Laureate webpage.
Robb Frederick
Assistant director, news and information, Penn State Behrend