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Sellers Lecture Series

The Sellers Lecture Series was established to honor Bettie M. Sellers, professor emeritus at Young Harris College and noted Georgia poet. Sellers taught English and served as chair of the Division of Humanities at Young Harris College. After 32 years of service, she retired in 1997. She was named Author of the Year in 1979 by the Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists, and she received the Governor's Award in the Humanities in 1987. In 1992, she was named Poet of the Year by the American Pen Women. In 1997, she was named Poet Laureate of Georgia by then-governor Zell Miller, a position she held for three years. She received a lifetime achievement award from the Georgia Writers Association in 2004.

Past Lectures

Dr. Nadine Sinno, 2012-2013

Nadine Sinno, Ph.D., professor of Arabic language and literature at the Middle East Institute at Georgia State University, will deliver the annual Sellers Lecture at 7 p.m. in Wilson Lecture Hall of Goolsby Center. Presented by the Division of Humanities, the event is free and open to the public. Dr. Sinno’s lecture, titled “‘The Earth is Big Enough for All of Us! Don’t Shoot.’: Arab Women’s War Narratives in the Digital Age,”  will address her research that focuses on Arab women’s narratives about war in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq while also referencing the Arab uprisings. Dr. Sinno was born and raised in Lebanon, where she received her M.A. in English literature from the American University of Beirut. She went on to earn her M.F.A. in literary translation and a Ph.D. in comparative literature and cultural studies from the University of Arkansas. Her research and teaching interests include modern Arabic literature and language, postcolonial studies, literary translation, contemporary women’s writings and transnational feminism.

Eduardo Tami Trio, 2011-2012

Since 2002, Tami has taken tango all over the world, traveling with the Eduardo Tami Trio and a dancing duo. Each year, he organized tours in the United States to share his art and culture at the campuses he visits. During the last 10 years, he has visited more than 40 colleges and universities and traveled to many countries across the globe including Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, and Indonesia.

Along with Tami, the Eduardo Tami Trio features Sebastian Henriquez, a Patagonian guitar player who accompanies some of the most prominent pop music performers in Argentina, and Leando Marquesano, a pianist and tango, folklore and jazz expert. The Trio is accompanied by dancers Antonio Saganias and Claudia Marciano, who have danced and taught tango across the globe.

Robin Romm, 2010-2011

Robin Romm is the author of two books. Her memoir, The Mercy Papers, was named a Top Ten Nonfiction Book of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times, and Top 100 Nonfiction Book by the San Francisco Chronicle. Her collection of stories, The Mother Garden, was a finalist for the PEN USA prize and the Northern California Independent Bookseller's Book of the Year Award. Her stories have appeared in numerous national journals (Tin House, One Story, Threepenny Review) and anthologies. She is on the faculty of the MFA program at New Mexico State University.

Dr. Joe Mackall, 2009-2010

Dr. Mackall's Plain Secrets: an Outsider Among the Amish was described by Publisher's Weekly as "a deeply respectful account that never veers toward sensationalism." He is the co-founder and editor of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative and co-editor of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize Series. He published his memoir, The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage in 2006 with the University of Nebraska Press. His articles have been published in a number of newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, and his essays have appeared in several anthologies, literary journals, and recently on NPR's "Morning Edition."

Dr. Mackall received a B.A. in English from Cleveland State University, an M.A. in English from the University of Central Oklahoma, an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is co-director of the creative writing program and director of the journalism program at Ohio's Ashland University.