Acadiana briefs for Feb. 15, 2012

Open mike to celebrate<br/>black authors at ULL  

LAFAYETTE — The Ernest J. Gaines Center will host its inaugural Spoken Word Night at 6 p.m. Thursday at The University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and the public is invited to attend and perform favorite works from African American authors.

The event is a part of the center’s Black History Month festivities. Participants are encouraged to select and read an excerpt, poem or work from a favorite African American author, such as Ernest Gaines, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, or James Baldwin. Each reading should be one to five minutes in length.

The event will begin with readings from invited guests, such as the university’s vice presidents, deans and Student Government Association President Kylie Templet.

Open mike readings will follow.

The spoken word is part of the African American history and culture, according to the university’s news release about the event.

“As described by the Smithsonian Folkways, ... ‘As a vessel for remembrance, oral tradition carried African narratives to a new continent and sustained them through bondage; as a political catalyst, speech defined the struggle for freedom and moved ordinary people to extraordinary acts of courage; and as an art form, the word has conveyed itself forcefully and dramatically by drawing on the rich African American heritage.’”

The Gaines Center is on the third floor of Dupre Library.

For more information, contact the Ernest J. Gaines Center at [phone] or e-mail: [e-mail].