Arabic poetry expert visits GVSU

Suzanne Stetkevych, one of today's most prominent critics of Arabic poetry, will speak at Grand Valley State University on November 14.

Stetkevych's lecture takes place at 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 14, in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room (2nd floor), Allendale Campus. Her talk, 'A Stroll in Al-Ma`arri's Garden: Poetry and Irony in the Islamic Paradise,' will discuss the description of poets in the 11th-century Arabic prose work, The Epistle of Forgiveness.

Stetkevych will then present a poetry reading at 3 p.m. in the Alumni House and Visitor Center. She will read from selected poets in Arabic, with English translations. Both events are open to the public free of charge.

Stetkevych is a professor of Arabic Literature and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. Currently editor of the Journal of Arabic Literature, she has researched and written extensively on Arabic literature and poetry. She holds a doctorate in classical Arabic literature from The University of Chicago.

Stetkevych's appearance at Grand Valley is sponsored by the Modern Languages and Literatures Department, the Middle East Studies Program, and the Classics Department.