Poet Sheryl St. Germain, May 1

Poet Sheryl St. Germain will read from her own works at 4 p.m., Thursday, May 1, in the Alumni Room, Old Main, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. The reading is free and open to the public.

St. Germain, who also will present the Davenport Prizes in Poetry, has written six books of poetry, including "Going Home," "The Mask of Medusa," "Making Bread at Midnight," "How Heavy the Breath of God," "The Journals of Scheherazade," and her most recent,"Let it Be a Dark Roux: New and Selected Poems." St. Germain has also published a book of translations of the Cajun poet Jean Arceneaux, "Je Suis Cadien," and a book of lyric essays, "Swamp Songs: the Making of an Unruly Woman."

St. Germain is director of the master's program in Creative Writing at Chatham University, where she also teaches poetry and creative nonfiction. She has taught at The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Iowa State University and, from 1994 to 1999, at Knox College. She has received NEA and NEH Fellowships, the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, the Ki Davis Award from the Aspen Writers Foundation, and the William Faulkner Award for the personal essay.

The reading is sponsored by the John and Elaine Fellowes Fund and the Davenport Prizes in Poetry. The prizes are awarded annually to Knox College students, supported by a bequest from John Davenport, a member of the Knox English faculty from 1945 to 1972.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 44 nations. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.