After his February visit was postponed, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Ross Gay’s lecture has been rescheduled for April 24 in downtown Lawrence.
Gay will be the first in-person speaker to deliver the Kenneth A. Spencer Lecture in two years. The endowed lecture is “dedicated to bringing leading thinkers whose work applies across disciplines to address the University of Kansas and regional communities,” according to a January news release from The Commons at KU.
Gay is a poet and essayist whose books have received strong praises and accolades. His 2014 poetry book “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The same book earned him a Tufts award, one of poetry’s most prestigious honors. Other honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Cave Canem and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, according to the release.
Gay’s latest book, “Inciting Joy: Essays,” has been a Raven Book Store bestseller multiple times in recent months, and the Raven will have the book for sale at the event.
Gay is also an editor with the chapbook presses Q Avenue and Ledge Mule Press and is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin’, according to the release. He also teaches at Indiana University and in Drew University’s low-residency MFA program.
Gay will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, April 24 at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St. General admission tickets are free but required, and they’re available at this link. Masks are recommended.
Anyone who needs special accommodations may contact The Commons staff for assistance at thecommons@ku.edu.
The February plans were canceled because of illness, according to KU.
Read more about Gay and his work on his website, rossgay.net.
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