For immediate release: March 4, 2008

BLOOMSBURG — Novelist and poet Sapphire will discuss her writing on Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. in Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Kehr Union Ballroom. She also will present a workshop on March 18 at 3 p.m. in the Kehr Union Multicultural Center. Both events are sponsored by the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity and are open to the public free of charge.

Sapphire is the author of “Push,” a novel about an abused teenager who begins to gain confidence and hope after she is taught to read and write. The book was inspired by Sapphire’s own work in Harlem, where she taught literacy classes for teenagers and adults. “Push” was named one of the top 10 books of 1996 by “Time Out New York” and was awarded the Book-of-the-Month Club Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction.

Sapphire is also the author of two books of poetry, “Black Wings & Blind Angels” and “American Dreams.” Her work has appeared in The Black Scholar, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker and Spin.

The Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity is a new project at Bloomsburg University that aims to open up dialogue among various identities on campus which have historically been underrepresented. The consortium fosters communication among the various university projects that promote diversity and brings speakers to Bloomsburg who will address the central concerns of these organizations.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 8,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Professional Studies, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology