A poet and playwright, Eady visits the University of Notre Dame on Tuesday to conduct workshops and hold a reading of his work.
The reading will be sponsored by the Renaissance Circle. Eady was an associate professor of English at Notre Dame. He left the university to take a position at the University of Missouri
"This is my first time coming back to Notre Dame since I left," he says.
A professor's life is often transient, and Eady has not been unique in that regard. He says that he's never returned to a school after going someplace else to teach.
He says professors become consumed with life on their new campus, and they don't return to their old stomping grounds unless they have a reason.
Eady has a reason to return to Notre Dame. He will talk to students about creative writing and playwriting prior to conducting the reading Tuesday night at Reckers Restaurant.
Eady is the author of several poetry collections. His "Brutal Imagination" was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award in poetry. The work also inspired a play by the same name. Both examined a 1994 case in which a South Carolina woman accused a black man of kidnapping her children. Later, the woman confessed to killing the children. That play earned him the Newsday Oppenheimer Award. His 1991 book, "Gathering of My Name," was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Eady says his talk will focus on the importance of writers being keen observers who draw on the richness of life.
"You have to be able to pay attention to detail, and you have to be able to apply the things that you see and experience to the creative part of your life," he says.
Eady is also known for founding the group Cave Canem, which is a nonprofit organization that supports emerging black poets. Eady founded the group along with Toi Derricotte, who is an English professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Eady says that Cave Canem hosts a variety of activities, including a summer retreat for black poets, regional workshops and annual anthologies.
The group held conferences at Notre Dame in 2007 and 2010, which was Eady's last year at the university.
He left to take a position as the Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing.
The endowed chair provides Eady with an opportunity to work even closer with emerging black poets.
He says that last summer he was able to award scholarships to eight Cave Canem fellows. The scholarships allowed him to take the scholarship winners to Greece.
"It allows me to have more Cave Canem programs," he says.
Eady's day at Notre Dame will keep him busy, but he hopes that he can find time to reconnect with some old friends.
"I'm excited about being able to see some of my old colleagues on the faculty," he says, "and I also hope to see some of my old students."
Staff writer Howard Dukes: hdukes@sbtinfo.com 574-235-6369
Author reading
Poet Cornelius Eady reads from his work at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Reckers Restaurant at the University of Notre Dame. Admission is free. For more information, call Notre Dame's Multicultural Student Programs and Services at 574-631-6841.
Copyright © 2012, South Bend Tribune
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