DURHAM, N.H. - U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will deliver the commemorative address at the University of New Hampshire's annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration taking place Feb. 5-Feb. 12, 2014.

Lee Daniels, director and producer of "The Butler" and "Precious" and producer of "Monster's Ball," will be the featured speaker in the MUB Lecture Series Feb. 12, 2014.

All events are free and open to the public.

Trethewey is the author of four collections of poetry: "Domestic Work"; "Bellocq's Ophelia"; "Native Guard"(for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize) and her most recent book "Thrall", a collection of poems exploring the historical, cultural and social forces that determine the roles consigned to a mixed-race daughter and her white father. She is also the author of the prose work "Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast." Her presentation is Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Paul Creative Arts Center's Johnson Theater.

On Feb. 6, associate professor of English Delia Konzett and professor of theater David Kaye will join Trethewey for a conversation on using the arts as a tool for understanding difference and as a catalyst to explorecomplex topics such as race; 12:40 p.m. - 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building's Strafford Room. 

"Breaking the Ties that Bind: A Spiritual Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," an interfaith spiritual celebration, will be held at the Durham Community Church Sunday, Feb. 9, from 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. This interactive celebration pays homage to persons from diverse religions and identities who believe in the power vested in humankind to challenge physical, spiritual and psychological bondage.

A roundtable discussion, "Walking the Walk: Intersections of Food Insecurity and Food Justice," will look at how food insecurity intersects with racism, poverty, and power on Monday, Feb. 10, from12:45 p.m. - 2 p.m. in the MUB Strafford Room.

Daniels will speak about his road to box office triumph and breaking ground as an African American director/actor in Hollywood Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 7 - 8 p.m. in the MUB Granite State Room. "The Butler" tells the real-life story of White House butler Eugene Allen, who served eight U.S. Presidents and witnessed the effects of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War in his own life, his workplace and American society. 

Special screenings of the film will be shown in MUB Theater II Feb 6, 7, 8, 9 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and Feb 10, 3 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Ticket information can be found at http://www.unhmub.com/things-do/movies-mub/movie-screenings-list.

Additional information can be read here:
http://unh.edu/inclusive/mlk-celebration-2014#mlkschedule.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.
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Caption: U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will deliver the commemorative address at the University of New Hampshire's annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration taking place Feb. 5-Feb. 12, 2014.