Bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo to deliver lectures at Howard Community College

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo will deliver two lectures at Howard Community College Sept. 19, as part of the fourth annual Bauder Lecture Series.

Acevedo is the author of “The Poet X,” released in 2018, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, among other awards. During the upcoming lectures, she will discuss her book, “Clap When You Land,” described as “a novel-in-verse, brimming with grief and love, as she tells the story of forgiveness, loss and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives,” according to a news release from the college.

“Clap When You Land” was selected as the Howard County Book Connection title this year. The program, held annually since 2003, encourages the entire county to read a selected book and participate in a variety of activities during the college’s academic year related to the title.

Following Acevedo’s speech, journalist Celeste Doaks will moderate an in-depth discussion of Acevedo’s book.

“We are so proud to offer our students and community the experience of learning from two outstanding writers whose stories deepen our collective understanding about how ideas of family, gender, nationality, culture and sexuality intersect and inform our experiences,” Tara Hart, professor of English, department chair of humanities and world languages and co-chair of HoCoPoLitSo Board of Directors said.

A Washington, D.C. resident, Acevedo earned a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from George Washington University and a master of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Maryland.

Doaks said it is paramount for stories like “Clap When You Land” to be shared and discussed.

“It’s important to have diverse voices, especially voices of women of color who are writing these stories that oftentimes you really don’t get enough of in the literary space,” she said. “Elizabeth is building that legacy and history around extolling and lifting up Latina women in her stories and that’s the part, for me, that we really need in this area and in the United States.”

Acevedo will give two lectures, one at 12:30 p.m., which will be live-streamed and presented in person, and another at 6 p.m., presented in person only, at the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center in the Monteabaro Recital Hall at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia.

Both are free and open to the public. For more information or to view the livestream, go to howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/lectures-talks/bauder-lectures/.

The Bauder Lecture Series is funded by a grant from Lillian Bauder, of Columbia, who also funds the Don Bauder Awards, which will be given to two Howard Community College students who have read the book and reflect on it via an essay or other creative format. The awards honor the memory of Bauder’s late husband who was a champion of civil rights and social justice causes, according to the college.