Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89108660390?pwd=SGdKMkJmWHkraGxXK0RFbnZYWlp0UT09

Each day we go about our routine lives, but inside we are superheroes or explorers, pirates or rock stars, hiding our secret identities behind the mask of our unassuming face and daily clothes. One way to enter this secret world is to write a persona poem – persona meaning mask – in which we give a voice to an alternate identity. Join Valerie Nieman, author of Leopard Lady: A Life in Verse, for an exploration of hidden realms of the self.

Valerie Neiman is a Professor of English at North Carolina A & T. She earned her BA in journalism from West Virginia University and an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. A writer of both poetry and fiction, her awards include the Eric   Hoffer Prize for Blood Clay, the Greg Grummer from phoebe  magazine, the Nazim Hikmet Prize from the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival, and   the Byron Herbert Reece Prize from the Georgia Poetry Society. In addition, Ms. Nieman has held fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council and the NEA and been the recipient of major grants in West Virginia and Kentucky.