As part of Harris Sisters Month, Otis Library presents a poetry reading by Norwich native, Three Rivers Community College professor and inaugural Hartford Poet Laureate Frederick-Douglass Knowles II from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 23 in the Otis Library Community Room.

This free program is sponsored by The Elsie Brown Fund.

Praised for his eloquence, charisma, frank social activism and ability to communicate and live the power of words, Professor Knowles is the author of BlackRoseCity, a potent collection of poems addressing the struggles and successes of a Black youth growing up in Norwich.

Professor Knowles was a 2019 First Place winner of the Nutmeg Poetry Award and received a 2020 Artistic Excellence Award in Poetry from the Artist Fellowship program of the Connecticut Office of the Arts; he was also a 2018 Pushcart Prize nominee.

For this event, Otis Library announces that Professor Knowles has created a poem specifically in homage to Sarah and Mary Harris and the legacy of Prudence Crandall’s Black students.

The approximately 40-minute reading will be followed by a 20-minute discussion period. This event will be sign language interpreted and will be recorded and available for future viewing on the Otis Library YouTube page.

Otis Library is located at 261 Main St. in Norwich and is accessible to people with disabilities. You may register on the Otis Library website calendar at otsilibrarynorwich.org, or call (860) 889-2365, Ext. 128.

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