A public lecture series hosted in memory of the late Dr. Renate Usmiani, Professor Emerita with the Department of English at Mount Saint Vincent University, will feature poet and activist George Elliott Clarke at the Halifax Central Library next week.
The Humanities Today Public Lecture series was founded by a donor who sought to honour Dr. Usmiani who is remembered for her support for and teaching of the humanities. Now in its 3rd year, the free event highlights the benefits of the humanities for the public good. It is hosted by the non-profit organization Halifax Humanities.
When: 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 29
Where: Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road
In his lecture titled “The Discipline of Poetry”, George Elliott Clarke will explore his own poetic development through his roots in Halifax. Pop and soul singer Julia Tynes will perform four of Clarke’s poems set to music. The lecture will be followed by a book launch of “Each Life a Poem,” a collection of writing that celebrates the 20th anniversary of Halifax Humanities. Since 2005, Halifax Humanities has offered free, accessible, transformative courses in literature, art, and philosophy to adults who face barriers to traditional education.
All are welcome to this evening of poetry, music, and celebration.
About Dr. Renate Usmiani
The late Dr. Renate Usmiani emigrated to the United States from Vienna in 1950, having lived through the turbulent period following Hitler’s annexation of Austria. She obtained her Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from Radcliffe, the women’s college at Harvard, and later moved to Halifax with her husband Mirko Usmiani where her teaching and research career flourished. Dr. Usmiani was also the founder of the Mount Playhouse, the first dinner theatre in Halifax which took place each summer in the campus pub.