Glenna Luschei to Launch New Book at Quilt Museum

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Glenna Luschei

Poet and literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei will launch her new book of poetry, The Sky Is Shooting Blue Arrows (University of New Mexico Press) at an event hosted by Prairie Schooner, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s international literary journal.

The event will take place on October 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and is free and open to the public. The reception will celebrate the publication of The Sky Is Shooting Blue Arrows. Luschei will read from her new book and sign copies (available to purchase courtesy of the University of Nebraska bookstore) afterward.

“Glenna Luschei has for over fifteen years now been an ardent and very loyal, dedicated alumna and benefactor for her alma mater, the University of Nebraska,” says Susan Norby, Senior Director of Development at the University of Nebraska Foundation. “She has demonstrated visionary charitable support, particularly for literature and poetry, and the university is forever indebted to her and inspired by her.”

Luschei has written over twenty-five books, ranging from books of poetry to artist books and translations. She is also the founder and publisher of Solo Press, which publishes the poetry journals Café Solo, Solo, Solo Café, and Solo Novo. She is the recipient of a National Endowments for the Arts Fellowship, a D.H. Lawrence Fellowship in New Mexico, and an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, North Carolina. In 2000, she was named Poet Laureate of San Luis Obispo City and County. She served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts for four years. She is also a UNL alum.

“Glenna Luschei is very special to this university and especially to Prairie Schooner and the English department.  Frankly, it is thanks to her generosity and philanthropy that Prairie Schooner has been able to advance with confidence for the past decade or so through her generous gift to the journal,” says Kwame Dawes, the magazine’s Glenna Luschei Editor-in-Chief.  “She gives to the university, and she has been a great example of giving for years and years, even when she herself was working hard to make ends meet.  She recently donated funds to establish the Glenna Luschei African Poetry Book Prize, and her support and enthusiasm make her a very special friend of ours.  On top of all that, she is a brilliant poet, and her new book is one we celebrate for its insight, humanity, and craft.”

In 2001, Luschei endowed Prairie Schooner in perpetuity through the University of Nebraska Foundation. She also supports a number of Prairie Schooner’s activities, including the Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Awards, and, in partnership with the African Poetry Book Fund, the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry.

Luschei’s most recent books include Leaving It All Behind (Presa Press, 2011), Witch Dance (Presa Press, 2010), and Salt Lick (West End Press, 2009). Among her artist books is Enigmas, a translation of poems by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

For more details about this event, visit https://prairieschooner.unl.edu.