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Keynote Speaker

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Tara M. Stringfellow
poet. activist. storyteller

When Tara Stringfellow was three years old, her father read to her Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven.”

“It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard in my life,” she says.

She knew at that moment she had to be a writer. In 2008, Tara published her first book, More than Dancing, a collection of poetry that explores and challenges America's perspectives on love, history and race relations. She has also written for many publications including Collective Unrest, Minerva Rising and Jet Fuel Review.

Last year, Tara released her debut novel, Memphis, a story about a multi-generational southern Black family. The book draws inspiration from her own family’s stories and photos and was named one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2022.

Tara earned bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and African American Studies and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Northwestern University. She also holds a juris doctor degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.