I would like to welcome you tonight.
And we are co-sponsoring this event with the Poetry Center.
And I'm going to take just a minute
to talk a little bit about why every year
students and an honors course here at the U of A
taught by Professor Charlie Birch.
In this case, who's around here, he's and there and sometimes
by [? Jennie ?] [? McStotts ?],, who was here earlier,
the students get together and choose a common reading book
for students and the following year.
So my decide what books should all the freshman
reading for the next year?
And then in the summertime, all of the first year students,
many of whom are here tonight, receive a copy of the book.
Often, as is the case this year, they
have a chance to meet the writer and to talk to her about ideas.
Which as far as I'm concerned, is the main reason
to go to college in the first place.
And when they go get books think about
and they consider all sorts and kinds of books
and all sorts and kinds of genres.
So they've chosen novels in the past.
Memoirs, nonfiction, even science fiction.
And then be wonderful in different ways.
But this year for what I believe is the first time
since this book is really different from any other one
we've ever had before.
Citizen is sometimes called poetry,
but I like Rankine's own remark that
says that it is an attempt to pull the lyric back
into its realities.
So we've never had a poetry book before,
and we've never had a book that's pulling a lyric back
into its realities.
As you know, this book is challenging in many ways.
And as always, in form and in content,
it's beautifully written and beautiful
and terrible to look at.
And for so many reasons I'm really, really thrilled
that the students chose Citizen as their 2016 book.
I'm also especially thrilled that Professor Rankine is here.
And to introduce her, I'd like to bring up my colleague Tyler
Meier, executive director of the Poetry Center,
and say thanks to you for working with the Honors
College on this event.