We all know Greensboro is a “lit” town.
You can’t walk down the sidewalk without bumping into a local poet or novelist, many of them UNCG alumni and faculty.
It’s also a place where internationally known writers come to share their work with the community alongside distinguished local writers. Each May, you can catch an array of them at one of the state’s fastest growing and most resilient literary festivals.
Greensboro Bound, founded in 2017, returns to the city this week as an in-person event, after two years as a virtual festival. Readings and panels are planned for various venues in downtown, such as the Greensboro Cultural Center, International Civil Rights Center, and Scuppernong Books and also several locations on UNC Greensboro’s campus.
All events are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested to assist in planning.
As in the past, UNCG faculty and alumni are playing key roles in many events as readers, speakers, and hosts. See a selection of UNCG-related events below:
An Evening with Amor Towles
Thursday, May 19, UNCG Elliott University Center and virtually, 7 p.m.
Keynote event hosted by UNCG Libraries and moderated by UNCG creative writing professor Xhenet Aliu
* In-person event is sold out; for information about the virtual event, contact library.events@uncg.edu
A Musical Thriller: Brendan Slocumb and Tona Brown in Conversation.
Friday, May 20, 5 p.m. UNCG School of Music Tew Recital Hall
hosted by UNCG School of Music professor Dr. Rebecca MacLeod
Hell of a State: North Carolina’s Literary Fire with Jason Mott and UNCG creative writing professor Holly Goddard Jones. Hosted by Ed Southern. With opening music by alumnus Colin Cutler. Sponsored by Well-Spring Retirement Community.
May 20, 7 p.m., Van Dyke Performance Space, Greensboro Cultural Center
Whatever Wholeness Means: Poetry in an Age of Separation with Crystal Simone Smith, UNCG poetry professor Stuart Dischell, and Kay Ulanday Barrett. Hosted by Michael Gaspeny.
Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m., Scuppernong Books
Lost Mothers: Memoirs of Longing with Elisheba Haqq and Megan Culhane Galbraith. Hosted by UNCG professor emeritus Lee Zacharias
Saturday, May 21, 12 p.m., Stephen D. Hyers Theater, Greensboro Cultural Center
The Truth about Disability: What We Don’t Talk About with Emily Maloney, Kay Ulanday Barrett, and UNCG alumnus James Tate Hill
Saturday, May 21, 2 p.m., Stephen D. Hyers Theater, Greensboro Cultural Center
Fred Chappell: I Am One of You Forever documentary presentation with an introduction by UNCG alumna Ruth Dickey. Film created by UNCG media studies professor Dr. Michael Frierson about UNCG Professor Emeritus and former NC Poet Laureate Fred Chappell
Sunday, May 22, 12 p.m., Van Dyke Performance Space, Greensboro Cultural Center
Journalism and Activism with Tessie Castillo, UNCG professor Dr. Tara T. Green, and Lynden Harris. Hosted by alumnus Joe Killian. Sponsored by PEN America.
Sunday, May 22, 2:30 p.m., International Civil Rights Center & Museum
Just Bring Yourself: A Conversation with Ann Hood and Julia Ridley Smith hosted by alumna Molly Sentell Haile
Sunday, May 22, 4 p.m., Van Dyke Performance Space, Greensboro Cultural Center
To learn more about the festival and authors, visit the Greensboro Bound website.
Compiled by Susan Kirby-Smith, University Communications
