Prominent writers and activists Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez will give a joint poetry reading April 1 at 7 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

The free reading is presented by the Africana Studies and Research Center as part of its Black Authors/New Books series, and the Creative Writing Program.

Baraka, formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is a poet and playwright who has provided commentary on music, drama and African-American culture for almost 50 years. He has published more than 40 volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, drama, music history and criticism, and autobiography. His new book, "Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music (Music of the African Diaspora)," melds autobiography, history, musical analysis and political commentary to convey the transgenerational power of music, as Baraka recalls his experiences with John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and other artists.

Sanchez, one of the leading figures of the Black Arts Movement started in 1965 by Baraka, will read from "Morning Haiku," her first book of poetry in more than a decade. Sanchez uses haiku as a channel for remembrance and reflection -- writing on the beauty of the extraordinary and ordinary, while celebrating the lives and grieving the losses of African-American artists, activists and musicians in a historical context. Her output since 1969 includes 16 volumes of poetry, eight published plays, and three children's books; her work has appeared in several anthologies including "The Best American Poetry 1999."

A book signing and reception with Baraka and Sanchez will be held April 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the Africana Center, 310 Triphammer Road.

On April 8, the Africana Center will host poet and literary critic Édouard Glissant for a 4:30 p.m. panel discussion at the center, followed by a 7:15 p.m. Cornell Cinema screening of "One World in Relation" in Willard Straight Theatre. The film illustrates Glissant's theory of Relation, including his thoughts on diversity and anti-imperialism, in short clips filmed during a 2009 cross-Atlantic journey.

Filmmaker Manthia Diawara and Glissant will be respondents at the panel discussion, which will be moderated by Africana Center Director Salah Hassan and will feature Gerard Aching, Romance studies; Jonathan Culler, English and comparative literature; Natalie Melas and Jonathan Monroe, comparative literature; and English Ph.D. candidates Anthony Reed and Natalie Leger Palmer.

Glissant's writing and ideas laid the foundation for studies in multiculturalism, identity politics, minority literature and Black Atlanticism. Philosopher Gilles Deleuze has said Glissant's work "ties the knot between philosophy and poetry at their deepest and purest level."

All events are co-sponsored by the Minority, Indigenous and Third World Studies Research Group. Glissant event co-sponsors include the Institute for Comparative Modernities, French Studies Program, Society for the Humanities and Department of English.