Mr. Miller will meet with high school and university students in these cities, including the students of the Gandhi High Scool in Pécs; he will hold an English language reading and discussion at the ĺrók Boltja on February 25, at 5 p.m. in Budapest, moderated by poet and translator András Gerevich. He will also be the speaker at the Rózsavölgy Art Salon’s event “What Makes an African American Writer?” at 4 p.m. on February 28.

You can find out more about Mr. Miller’s life and work here and here.

E. Ethelbert Miller describes himself and his work as follows:

“I define myself as a literary activist. I'm very much concerned with the role culture plays in our society. I adhere to the idea of a Beloved Community as defined by the work and life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Along with writing several collections of poems, I've written two memoirs. The first was Fathering Words: The Making of An African American Writer. In that book I describe growing up in New York City and attending college during a time of civil unrest in the United States. My freshman year at Howard University was 1968. I arrived on campus a few months after the deaths of King and Robert Kennedy. Along with urban protests within the U.S., the world was still wrestling with the conflict in Vietnam. The Black Arts Movement (of the late 1960s) emerging out of black communities around the country motivated me to become a writer and find my voice. The Women’s Movement had a big impact on me, as well.

I see my work as upholding and extending the tradition of African American culture. Hopefully, it also promotes the legacy of such individuals as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Sterling A. Brown and Richard Wright. I try to write poems that embrace the politics of our changing world. I see a connection between the personal and the political. My last collection of poems is The Ear Is An Organ Made For Love. In the title poem I write about the despair and discontent one finds throughout the world. Why is there so much hatred? Why the old songs of anger? Where is the new music? Our ears are waiting. The ear is an organ made for love.”

For more details of Mr. Miller’s program in Budapest, please contact U.S. Embassy cultural specialist Mónika Váli by clicking here

We look forward to seeing you at Mr. Miller’s programs.

Source: U.S. Embassy Budapest