About this event:

The annual Red Mountain Reading Series will be Thursday February 16, 2017. Melda Potts Beaty will read from one of her publications at 11:30 AM in HSB 156, Shelby-Hoover Campus followed by a writing workshop at 2:30 PM, GSB Room TBA

A little something about Melda…

Author, playwright, college English assistant professor, and educational consultant, Melda Beaty is the “one to watch,” in her industry. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Melda resides in Chicago, Illinois with her three gifted and beautiful daughters.

Melda is a passionate author/editor of a diverse and cathartic compilation of non-fiction writings by black women from across the United States. My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions from Black Daughters to Their Fathers won the 2006 National Fresh Voices Award. She published articles on minority student recruitment and retention in Black Issues in Higher Education, Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education, In Search of Fatherhood Forum and Proud Parent Journal. Melda’s prolific writing style led to an invitation to pen several short stories and poems for the Educational Testing Service for the California Achievement Test. Her debut novel, Lime, is being hailed as America’s Next Top Model meets Burning Bed. Her current play, Front Porch Society, delves into the complex lives of four elderly black women in rural Mississippi Delta on the eve of the 2008 presidential election. What does the election of the country’s first black president mean to women who have lived through segregation, civil rights, and the senseless killings of black boys? The play was read at the following: NBTF (National Black Theatre Festival) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2015; Robey Theatre in Los Angeles, California in 2013 (See cast and press: http://meldacreates.com/front-porch-society/) and Chicago Dramatist in Chicago, Illinois in 2011.

Melda earned a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a M.A. in English/Writing at Illinois State University. She teaches college English at Olive Harvey College and is also a writing and college consultant for Chicago Public Schools. Her business, MeldaCreates, Inc. provides workshops on college personal statements, essay writing, college awareness and planning, and curriculum development.

In her spare time, Melda enjoys cardio and strength training, bike riding, swimming, live theater, concerts, reading, and listening to NPR.

More info on series: [email protected]