Sept 11-12 2010 - Women Writers Event Remembers Katrina - New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2010, five years ago this month. To honor the suffering it caused, and in a year when the eyes of the world are once again trained on the Gulf Coast after the oil spill, the Kentucky Women Writers Conference will feature poet Patricia Smith, the author of "Blood Dazzler," a collection of poetry on Hurricane Katrina. The Kentucky Women Writers Conference runs Sept. 11-12.

"Blood Dazzler," which chronicles the devastation wreaked by Katrina on individual lives, was a National Book Award finalist and one of NPR’s Top 5 books of 2008. Smith’s poems capture the transformation of the hurricane as it approaches shore, from Aug. 23, 2005, the day Tropical Depression Twelve developed, through Aug. 28 when it became a Category 5 storm with its "scarlet glare fixed on the trembling crescent," to the heartbreaking aftermath. Throughout, the book evokes the horror that unfolded in New Orleans as the nation watched on television. Assuming the voices of politicians, the dying, their survivors, and the voice of the hurricane itself, Smith follows the inadequate relief effort and stands witness to families held captive on rooftops and in the Superdome. Of the critically acclaimed collection, South Carolina poet laureate Marjory Wentworth wrote, "'Blood Dazzler' is the narrative of a shameful tragedy, but it is lyrical and beautiful, like a hymn we want to sing over and over until it lives in our collective memory."

Smith is currently working on a dance/theater production based on "Blood Dazzler" with Paloma McGregor, of the Urban Bush Women. The production is expected to premiere at The Kitchen in New York City this fall.

A four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, Smith will perform as headliner and serve as celebrity judge for this year's Gypsy Poetry Slam. The opening event of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, the Gypsy Poetry Slam will be held Sept. 10,. This is the noted poet's second appearance at the slam, and the event's fifth anniversary. Smith will also teach a two-part poetry workshop for conference registrants Sept. 11-12. For more details, visit the event online at http://www.kentuckywomenwriters.org/ or call (859) 257-2874.