The Millis Lecture

Dr. Joshua Bennett is Distinguished Chair of the Humanities and Professor of Literature at MIT. He is the author of seven books, including Spoken Word: A Cultural History (Knopf, 2023), which was named a 2023 New York Times Notable Book; The Study of Human Life (Penguin, 2022), which won the Paterson Poetry Prize, and was adapted for television in collaboration with Warner Brothers Studios, and The Sobbing School (Penguin, 2016), winner of the National Poetry Series. 

Bennett earned his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has recited his original works at the Sundance Film Festival, the NAACP Image Awards, and President Obama’s Evening of Poetry and Music at the White House. He has also performed and taught creative writing workshops at hundreds of middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States, as well as in the U.K. and South Africa. 

For his creative writing and scholarship, Joshua has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. 

🎟️This event is FREE, but registration is required
👁️In person and livestream tickets are available
🅿️Parking is $10 and can be purchased in advance online, or day of event by credit card