Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove will speak at a free reading Sunday, Feb. 28, at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

She will speak at 4 p.m. Tickets are not required to attend the reading, but the capacity at Emerson Hall is limited to 800 seats. Dove will also sign books and a limited edition broadside immediately afterward.

Dove was the youngest person to be chosen as U.S. Poet Laureate when she was chosen for that distinction in 1993. She was also the first African American to serve in that role.

Her address is part of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library Reading Series, now in its 11th year. Dove spoke for the series back in 2007. She is a frequent visitor to Emory and spoke at the school's commencement in 2013.

She received the National Medal of the Arts in 2011, which was presented by President Barack Obama at the White House.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Dove is a chaired professor of English at the University of Virginia, and lives in Charlottesville.

The Schwartz Center is at 1700 North Decatur Road, Atlanta, on the Emory campus. For information about the event contact Julie Braun at jkbraun@emory.edu, or go to the Schwartz Center website.

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