Weather Systems

Patricia Smith will read from her latest book, "Blood Dazzler," which chronicles the human, physical and emotional toll exacted by Hurricane Katrina and which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award. Smith is the author of four other books of poetry, including "Teahouse of the Almighty," a National Poetry Series winner and a 2007 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award winner. Her poems have appeared in "Poetry," "Paris Review," "TriQuarterly" and other journals. Smith is recognized as one of the most formidable performers of poetry in America, and she has won the individual title of the National Poetry Slam an unprecedented four times. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Bumbershoot, the Folger Shakespeare Library and St. Mark's Poetry Project and has shared the stage with writers such as Adrienne Rich, Sharon Olds, Rita Dove, Joyce Carol Oates, Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Billy Collins and Galway Kinnell. Time: 7-8 p.m. Location: Joynes Reading Room (Carothers Dormitory) Admission: Free