Randall Kenan, author of fiction and nonfiction, will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

Raised in a rural community in North Carolina, Kenan has focused his fiction on what it means to be black and gay in the southern United States. Among his books is the collection of short stories Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, which was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1992. Kenan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers' Award, and the John Dos Passos Prize.

Kenan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he graduated in 1985 with degrees in English and creative writing. Currently an associate professor of English at the UNC-Chapel Hill, he has served as a visiting writer or writer in residence at a number of universities, including the University of Mississippi, the University of Memphis, Duke University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a graduate program in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to attend this reading,all the Writers’ Workshop in advance at 319-335-0416.

For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the Arts Iowa website.