Nationally celebrated poets to read tonight

Two nationally celebrated poets, Terrance Hayes and Crystal Wilkinson, will be reading tonight at the Neal-Marshall Grand Hall. The evening of poetry and fiction is the second event this year inspired by and in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Indiana Review and the first edition of the Indiana Review "Writers of Color." \nHayes is the author of "Hip Logic" and "Muscular Music," which was awarded the Whiting Writers and the Kate Tufts Discovery award. Wilkinson is the author of "Blackberries, Blackberries" and "Water Street." Hayes is also featured in "Giants Steps," an anthology of "The New Generation of African American Writers." "Giant Steps" was edited by Kevin Young, IU's Ruth Lilly Professor of Poetry. \nWilkinson, who is the current visiting writer in residence at Eastern Kentucky University, is also a member of the Affrilachian Poets, a group of African-American performing poets from the south. \n"It's going to be great, because for his age, Terrance Hayes has received an incredible amount of attention from his peers," said David J. Daniels, the current editor of the Indiana Review. "I'm also excited to hear Crystal Wilkinson read, because she's a member of the Affrilachian Poets, who has an amazing stage dynamic."\nThe event is funded in part by IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm's One for Diversity Fund, which was started in response to the Benton mural controversy last spring. \n"When fully funded and implemented, the One for Diversity Fund will help transform the Bloomington Campus into a haven for multicultural artistic expression," Brehm said on her Web site. "The campus community's strongly held belief in diversity and equity will resonate, not only in well-placed words, but also in the visible contours of our shared physical space, all helping to create an artistically rich, inclusive community."\nBrehm had originally planned on making opening remarks, but was recently called to Washington D.C. as a part of IU's national fund-raising campaign. \n"The support from Chancellor Brehm and Vice-Chancellor Charlie Nelms has been wonderful," Tony Ardizzone, the director of the Creative Writing Program, said. "They're carrying the bulk of the financial burden. This event is really a part of the University's commitment to diversity in the arts on the Bloomington campus." \nThe event starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Neal-Marshall Grand Hall. The reading will be immediately followed by a reception.