POET AND PLAYWRIGHT JAY WRIGHT TO READ FROM AND DISCUSS
HIS WORK AT U.VA. SEPT. 26 AND 27 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept.11 -- Jay Wright, one of
America's most distinguished and innovative poets and playwrights,
will read from and discuss his works at the University of Virginia
on Sept. 26 and 27. 
	On Thursday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. in Campbell 153 Wright will
read from and talk about his plays. He will read from his poems on
Friday, Sept, 27, at 8 p.m. in Minor 125. Both events are open to
the public. 
	Wright, whose readings are sponsored by the Peters Rushton
lecture series in the English department, has published eight,
highly-praised books. His most recent books of poetry are "Boleros,"
"Elaine's Book" (in U.Va.'s Callaloo Poetry Series) and "Selected
Poems of Jay Wright." 
	"Boleros" and "Elaine's Book" both experiment with the use
of speech, dialect and setting. The "Selected Poems" includes some
of Wright's most powerful and intricate poetry and often
contemplates African-American cultural identity through evocative
language and imagery. 
Wright's plays, focusing on African-American ancestry, include
"Balloons: A Comedy in One Act" and "Welcome Back, Black Boy." 
	Among Wright's many awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, a
prestigious MacArthur Fellowship "genius" award, and the American
Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Literature Award. He is a
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
	Wright has been poet-in-residence at Talledega University,
Tougaloo University, Texas Southern University, and Dundee
University. He has also taught at Yale, the University of Utah, the
University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina, Dartmouth
College, and Washington University.
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September 10, 1996