Renowned poet, Kevin Young, to give the Lana Schwebel Memorial Lecture

Kevin Young

Esteemed poet and The New Yorker poetry editor, Kevin Young, will give a reading and discussion in Harkness Hall’s Sudler Recital Hall at 100 Wall Street on Thursday Oct. 23 at 5:30 p. m. With the theme “poems of praise,” Young will draw from his latest works, Night Watch and A Century of Poetry in The New Yorker: 1925-2025.

The talk is part of the Lana Schwebel Memorial Lecture series and the Literature and Spirituality series. The Schwebel Lecture was established in 2008 in memory of former faculty member Lana Schwebel, who died suddenly and tragically in July 2007.

Event Details:

  • Date & Time: Thursday, October 23, at 5:30 p.m.
  • Venue: Sudler Recital Hall, 100 Wall Street, New Haven, CT
  • Admission: Free and open to the public
  • Livestream: The event will also be available to view online at this livestream link. 
  • View the event website.

Kevin Young is celebrated as one of the leading poets of his generation. Aside from his editorial role at The New Yorker, where he also hosts the poetry podcast, Young has made significant contributions to the literary and cultural landscape. He served as the Mellon Director of the National Museum from 2021 to 2025 and as the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 2008 to 2016. Additionally, he curated the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University from 2005 to 2016.

Young’s prolific career includes sixteen books of poetry and prose, acclaimed titles like Brown (2018), Blue Laws: Selected & Uncollected Poems 1995-2015 (2016), and Book of Hours (2014). His book Stones (2021) was heralded as a Library Journal Top Ten poetry title and shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Jelly Roll: a blues (2003) received nominations for both the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His forthcoming poetry collection, Night Watch: Poems, is eagerly anticipated for release on September 2, 2025.

For more information about his body of work, visit Kevin Young’s website.

Join us for an evening of inspiring poetry and insightful conversation. For further details, contact Katya Vetrov.

Photo of Kevin Young courtesy of Melanie Dunea.