Greensboro Bound: A Literary Festival strikes up, with the opening reception at UNC Greensboro’s Weatherspoon Art Museum the evening of May 16, and an event with bestselling author Zadie Smith at the Elliot University Center on May 18.
The festival is a free, weekend-long series of readings, discussions, and events focused on books, writing, diverse voices from around the world, North Carolina’s literary traditions, and an inclusive community of readers from Greensboro and far beyond.
UNCG is one of the Greensboro Bound’s most prominent partners, with leading sponsorship from University Libraries, as well as support from the Office of the Provost, the Humanities Network and Consortium, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, and the faculty and alumni authors and musicians who are participating in the festival.
“Literary festivals are great moments to celebrate what we most admire in our culture and what issues are getting attention in terms of literary treatments,” said Dean of University Libraries Martin Halbert. “It’s an opportunity for the city to come together and explore different parts of our shared culture. The festival puts Greensboro on the map in a new way, and University Libraries is a very happy partner.”
Award-winning writer Zadie Smith will read from her work and join Halbert in a conversation at EUC’s Cone Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on May 18.
Smith is the author of the bestselling novel “White Teeth,” which won numerous awards and was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. Her 2005 novel “On Beauty” earned the Orange Prize for Fiction, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the United Kingdom. Her most recent published works are “Swing Time,” a novel, and “Feel Free,” a collection of essays that received the 2018 National Critics Circle Award.
Tickets for the event’s main space are sold out, but free overflow tickets for seating in the EUC Auditorium are available on the event site, and attendees are invited to submit questions for the conversation.
From the preceding Thursday through the following Sunday, Greensboro Bound also offers many opportunities to hear and experience the work of UNCG faculty and alumni writers, and to celebrate literary culture through campus connections.
The kick-off party begins Thursday, May 16, at 5:30 at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, and will feature the work of School of Art faculty member Sheryl Oring with her “I Wish To Say” project.
