A Celebration of Art and Creative Writing with A. Van Jordan

Celebrate Arts & Humanities Month through an evening of poetry, storytelling, and creative discovery!

A. Van Jordan, The Jule Museum’s poet-in-residence, will read alongside the recipient of the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize, honoring Jake Adam York, and the inaugural recipient of The Jule Museum Award for Creative Writing. This new student award recognizes an undergraduate whose work responds to an object in the Museum’s collection.

Jordan is the author of five acclaimed poetry collections and the recipient of numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers’ Award, a Pushcart Prize, an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and the 2024 Hurston-Wright Legacy Award in Poetry. His work explores history, memory, race, film, music, and popular culture, demonstrating poetry’s unique ability to connect personal stories with larger cultural conversations. Jordan currently serves as a professor of English at Stanford University.

Bringing together these voices in conversation highlights how poetry and visual art inspire new ways of seeing and understanding the world. Join The Jule Museum on Thursday evening, October 15th, 2026, to experience how the arts and humanities foster curiosity, empathy, and meaningful dialogue across generations and disciplines.

Support for The Jule Museum Award for Creative Writing is provided by Michael and Pat Williams and John and Michelle Mason.