Northwestern Oklahoma State University's Department of English, Foreign Language and Humanities will play host virtually to writer, educator and cultural commentator Lisbeth Coiman for the Visiting Writer Series on Wednesday, March 31, at 6 p.m. in the Education Building room 109 in Alva.

Members of the department welcome Northwestern students, faculty and staff as well as local and area community members to partake in her Zoom visit as she reads from her collection of poems "Uprising/Alzamiento." This event is free, and familiarity with her work is not required to attend – or enjoy – the event.

Masks will be required inside the building due to the coronavirus pandemic. Seating will be arranged to allow for social distancing.

Coiman is from Venezuela and a 2006 Northwestern alumna. As a bilingual poet, Coiman strives to magnify the voices of the struggle in Venezuela, those who migrate out of despair, and those who stay behind to fight a thousand battles for freedom. In her poetry, she seeks to create awareness about the human rights violations and the humanitarian crisis afflicting her homeland and those she holds dear to her heart.

She identifies herself as a brown woman who speaks the languages of the colonizers of the Americas, rhotic R's spilling off her tongue, crossing over intersections of race, gender, mental health and immigration. Coiman has wandered the immigration path from Venezuela, to Canada, to the United States, leaving pieces of her heart scattered in the places she's lived.

She currently resides in California, where she teaches literacy skills and English as a second language to adult immigrants. With more than 25 years of experience as an adult educator, Coiman works with underrepresented communities, especially, but not restricted to: adults with disabilities, immigrants, older adults and single mothers.

"I am truly excited to have Lisbeth Coiman visit Northwestern," Dr. Roxie James, assistant professor or English, said. "I'm currently reading one of her works, 'I Asked the Blue Heron,' and it is simply amazing! She's an incredible artist."

For more information on Coiman, visit https://lisbethcoiman.com/?v=f24485ae434a.

The Visiting Writer's Series is a way to bring Oklahoma Writers to northwest Oklahoma every spring to discuss writing, the publishing industry and to share their work. This annual series is made possible through donations and raised funds. Anyone interested in giving a tax-deductible donation to the series or who has questions about it may contact Dr. Kathryn Lane, associate professor of English and chair of the Department of English, Foreign Language and Humanities, at 580-327-8470 or [email protected].