Cumberlands hosting Angela Jackson-Brown for Palmer Lecture

An award-winning writer, poet, and playwright is visiting University of the Cumberlands soon, ready to share her insight on creative writing, history, and life itself.

Angela Jackson-Brown – author of When Stars Rain Down, The Light Always Breaks, Drinking from a Bitter Cup, and House Repairs, to name a few – will be the keynote speaker at Cumberlands’ annual Palmer Lecture. The event will be held in the lecture hall on the first floor of the Correll Science Complex on Cumberlands’ campus, beginning at 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 20th. The lecture is a free event available to all. A book signing will be held after the event.

In addition to being a professional writer, poet, and playwright, Jackson-Brown is an associate professor in the creative writing program at Indiana University in Bloomington. She also teaches in the graduate program at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, KY. Her novel When Stars Rain Down was named a finalist for the 2021 David J. Langum, Sr., Prize in American Historical Fiction, longlisted for the Granum Foundation Award, and shortlisted for the 2022 Indiana Authors Award. Her next novel, Homeward, a follow up to When Stars Rain Down, was published in October 2023.

“I had the opportunity to take a novel class led by Angela this past summer, so I know how knowledgeable, insightful, and gracious she is as an instructor,” said Jamey Temple, English and creative writing professor at Cumberlands. “I’m excited for our students and community to not only hear her speak, but also to meet her — her energy is infectious, and her work ethic is unmatched. If there is any writer to aspire to, it’s Angela Jackson-Brown.”

The Dr. Robert L. Palmer Lecture Series is dedicated to Dr. Palmer, a former member of UC’s English Department. Palmer sought to draw attention to the power of the written word. The lecture series was first established by his nephew, John Palmer, in his uncle’s memory.