Ethel Morgan Smith will be the featured author during Morgantown Poets literary even

Ethel Morgan Smith will be the featured author during Morgantown Poets 7 p.m. literary event Thursday, Oct. 15, at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).

The reading is free and open to anyone interested in the arts. The MAC is at 107 High St., Morgantown.

Smith is the author of "From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College."

Her essay "Love Means Nothing" won the Mid-Atlantic Arts Prize for Nonfiction. "Outside of Dreams" has recently been published in "Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers." Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Callaloo, African American Review, ThatMinorityThing.com, and other national and international outlets.

Smith has earned numerous awards and honors in the following literary and scholarly programs: Fulbright Scholar (Tubingen, Germany), Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (Bellagio, Italy), DuPont Scholar (Randolph-Macon Woman's College), Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, Visiting Scholar in the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Jane C. Camp Fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and others.

Her novel-in-progress, "The House of Flowers," placed second for the West Virginia Writers, Inc. Annual Writing Competition, and her play for the stage, "African Violets," placed third for the same contest.

Smith is an associate professor of English at West Virginia University..

Public parking is available near the MAC in the parking garage at the corner of Pleasant and Chestnut streets and at the city lot behind 142 High Street (enter off Spruce). The MAC is accessible to individuals with mobility impairments; please schedule ahead at least two days prior to the event by calling 304-906-7268, or write to info@monartscenter.com for more information.

Morgantown Poets is an informal community group that meets from 7-9 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the MAC, providing literary enthusiasts the opportunity to express themselves, share their work, network and to connect up-and-coming writers with more established authors.

New writers are welcome. Meetings usually begin with a spoken reading by a featured author that is followed by readings from attendees. Join Morgantown Poets’ mailing list by writing to morgantownpoets@yahoo.com or join the group on Facebook by entering "Morgantown Poets" in Facebook’s search.