File, Digital Video

Elizabeth Acevedo
31st Annual Bauder Contemporary American Authors Lecture

Digital video taken from a DVD+R containing edited footage of the 31st Annual Bauder Contemporary American Authors Lecture by National Book Awards Winner and National Slam Champion Elizabeth Acevedo, at Marygrove College on April 26, 2019. The disc includes footage from the dinner program, as well as the following lecture.

The video begins with a short montage set to music of people gathering before the dinner. The program during the dinner portion of the event is hosted by Stephen Henderson, and includes a blessing from Sister Mary Jane Herb, a poetry reading by Justin Rogers of InsideOut Literary Arts, a poetry reading by student Tina Allen, and brief remarks by Elizabeth Acevedo.

The lecture portion is hosted by Shaun S. Nethercott of Marygrove's Institute for Detroit Studies, and opens with a message by Marygrove president's Elizabeth A. Burns, and an introduction by Justin Rogers.

In her presentation, Acevedo reads and expounds on her poems, "Rat Ode," "Dominican Superstition," "Mami Came to this Country as a Nanny," "Regularization Plan for Foreigners, 1937," "Brother Myth," "A Laying On of Hands," "La Negra Takes Medusa to the Hair Salon," "La Negra Stoop Sits with Medusa," "Medusa Teaches La Negra How to Pray," "Medusa Explains Betrayal to La Negra," "Goldilocks," and "Self-Portrait of Eve as Cardi B." She then talks about her experiences as a teacher directing students to representative works before reading an excerpt from her novel "The Poet X." She closes by talking about her experiences as a student, the importance of writing and reading to her childhood, a dedication she received in an Angela Johnson book, and her response to the success of "The Poet X."

In the question and answer portion, Acevedo responds to questions about naming characters, the role of Catholicism in her novel, identity and memory as someone of Dominican ancestry, writing characters outside of her personal experience, advice for young writers, navigating between cultural traditions while breaking barriers.

After a brief closing statement from Shaun S. Nethercott, the remainder of the video features footage of Acevedo signing books for attendees.