MEDIA ADVISORY: Mizzou celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with lecture from renowned activist, author and scholar

January 22nd, 2018

WHAT: In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the University of Missouri is hosting activist, author and scholar Junot Díaz, who will speak about his life and writing.

WHO: Díaz has written several critically acclaimed books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and is co-founder of Voices of Our Nation, which focuses on writers of color. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey, Díaz also serves on the board of Freedom University, a volunteer organization that provides postsecondary instruction to undocumented immigrants. He is the fiction editor at the Boston Review and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

WHEN: 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 22

WHERE: Jesse Auditorium, MU campus

NOTE: Free tickets for this event are available for pick up at the Missouri Theatre box office and the MSA/GPC box office in the MU Student Center. Both box offices are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets can be ordered online using the Ticketmaster website, but a processing fee applies.

Media will be allowed to record Díaz’s lecture. In addition, Díaz will be available for media questions prior to his lecture at 4 p.m. on Jan. 22 in 123 Jesse Hall. Reporters are asked to please RSVP to Liz McCune, mccunee@missouri.edu, by 1 p.m. on Jan. 19.