Two Louisiana poets – will talk about the importance of poetry as well as their new collections at 6 p.m., Monday, April 26, via video conference online. Visit www.jplibrary.net/adults for more details, including how to join the discussion.

This event is held as part of National Poetry Month, an annual celebration that reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives.

Peter Cooley

Professor Cooley received a B.A. in Humanities from Shimer College, an M.A. in Art and Literature from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Modern Letters from the University of Iowa. Cooley’s nine books of poetry are The Company of Strangers, The Room Where Summer Ends, Nightseasons, The Van Gogh Notebook, The Astonished Hours, Sacred Conversations, A Place Made of Starlight, Divine Margins, and Night Bus to the Afterlife. His poems have appeared in more than 700 magazines including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The Nation, The New Republic, and The Southern Review, and in more than 100 anthologies. Cooley served as Poet Laureate for Louisiana in 2015-2016. He is Director of Creative Writing, Professor of English, and Senior Mellon Professor in the Humanities.

Skye Jackson

Skye Jackson was born and raised in New Orleans. She holds an English degree from LSU and a degree in law from Mississippi College School of Law. She is an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop where she works with Bayou Magazine. Her work has appeared in the Delta Literary Journal and Thought Catalog. Her chapbook A Faster Grave was published in 2019.

For more information regarding this event, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

In accordance with provisions of the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, as amended, Jefferson Parish shall not discriminate against individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs or activities. If you require auxiliary aids or devices, or other reasonable accommodation under the ADA Amendments Act, please submit your request to the ADA Coordinator at least 48 hours in advance or as soon as practical. A 72-hour advanced notice is required to request Certified ASL interpreters. ADA Coordinator/Office of Citizens with Disabilities 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Suite 403, Elmwood, LA 70123, (504) 736-6086, ADA@jeffparish.net