UToledo to Welcome Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Laureate for Summers Memorial Lecture on April 2

UToledo to Welcome Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Laureate for Summers Memorial Lecture on April 2

The University of Toledo will welcome celebrated poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey as the featured speaker for the 2026 Richard M. Summers Memorial Lecture.

The event, organized by the Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education's Department of English Language and Literature, is free and open to the public and will take place Thursday, April 2, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in McQuade Law Auditorium, at 1825 W. Rocket Dr., Toledo.

Trethewey served two terms as the United States Poet Laureate and is the author of "Native Guard," which earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In 2024, she was appointed to the Pulitzer Prize board.

Her appearance will mark the first time a former U.S. Poet Laureate has delivered the Summers Lecture since Robert Pinsky in 1999.

The annual Richard M. Summers Memorial Lecture is the English Department's flagship event, established in honor of the late Richard M. Summers, a distinguished scholar and beloved teacher who dedicated his career to The University of Toledo.

Admission is free and free visitor parking is available in Area 12. Attendees are asked to use regular parking spaces and to avoid metered and reserved spaces, which are clearly marked.