FROM STAFF REPORTS

HOOVER  – The Red Mountain Reading Series at Jefferson State Community College seeks to provide members of the communities it serves with opportunities for conversation on humanities topics in a collegiate atmosphere.

This season’s guests at the Shelby-Hoover Campus include Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame inductee and educational director Daniel “Jose” Carr; blogger and author of the Eli Sharpe mystery series Max Everhart; and Birmingham native poet Sonia Sanchez.

Taken together, this year’s writers help explore the theme “Through Books and Beyond,” stressing the ways that literary arts can be explored in non-traditional spaces like blogs, on stage, and through public advocacy.

All events are free and open to the public.

“It’s very exciting to offer such a range of genres and topics in this year’s presenters,” said Katie Boyer, the series director and an instructor of English. “I hope that our audiences will gain a greater appreciation of the multitude of ways in which language and stories enrich our lives.”

Considered a mainstay of the Birmingham jazz scene, Daniel “Jose” Carr will present a lecture and musical performance on Feb. 18 at 11:30 a.m. in the Health Sciences Building Multipurpose Room.

He will also host an informal jam session following his talk; audience members are encouraged to bring their musical instruments.

The series presents Mr. Carr in partnership with the JSCC Black History Committee.

Novelist Max Everhart will offer two presentations on Feb. 19. The first, a reading from his novels Go Go Gato, Split to Splinters, and Ed, Not Eddie, will begin at 11:30 a.m.

He will also lead a workshop focused on writing process and inspiration beginning at 2:30 p.m. Both will be  in Health Sciences Building 156.

As the final event in this year’s series, Sonia Sanchez will present a reading on April 16 at 7 p.m. in the Health Sciences Building Multipurpose Room.

Sanchez is a poet, activist, and educator most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. She has received the American Book Award, Robert Frost Medal for poetry, Langston Hughes Poetry Award, and Harper Lee Award, among many others.

The series presents Ms. Sanchez in celebration of National Poetry Month and in partnership with the Magic City Poetry Festival. A book signing will follow.

“I love to see our audiences learn about themselves and the world through these presentations,” said Boyer. “This year’s speakers offer any number of opportunities to experience something new.”

Events in the Red Mountain Reading Series are co-sponsored by Sigma Kappa Delta English Honor Society and are made possible with funding from the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

For more, contact Boyer at kboyer@jeffersonstate.edu.