Author Christopher Merrill to Speak on Cultural Diplomacy SCF Venice

(Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 10, 2015) – State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) will host Hermitage writer in residence Christopher Merrill at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at SCF Venice, 8000 S. Tamiami Trail, building 800, Selby Room. The event is free and open to the public.

Merrill’s discussion, titled “Poetry and Politics: Notes from the Front,” is sponsored by the History and Political Science Club at SCF Venice. He will talk about his work in cultural diplomacy with the U.S. State Department; the National Endowment for the Humanities, for which he serves on the National Council; and the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO). With UNESCO, Merrill is helping a team of Iraqi writers and scholars secure Baghdad’s entry into UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network as a City of Literature.

Merrill is the first recipient of the recently created Annette Dignam Hermitage/SCF Residency in Literature, which ensures that a writer of national stature will be awarded an annual Hermitage residency and will present workshops and guest lectures at SCF.

For more information, contact Michael Rogers at 941-408-1485 or rogersm@scf.edu. Maps and directions are online at scf.edu/maps.