The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) is proud to host the first poetry reading in partnership with James Island Arts at McLeod Plantation Historic Site on Sunday, Nov. 13. Poet Kendra Hamilton will do a reading at 2 p.m. Dr. Hamilton is a Charleston native and award-winning writer who has been featured on C-SPAN, NPR, and at the Spoleto Festival USA. Her poetry appears in The Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, among others, and she is the author of The Goddess of Gumbo and Romancing the Gullah. Dr. Hamilton’s recent art reflects her research into the lives of enslaved Americans. She a professor and director of Southern Studies at Presbyterian College and a Cave Canem Follow. Cave Canem is an educational organization for African American poets whose follows include South Carolina’s recent National Book Award winners, Terrance Hayes and Nikky Finney. The poetry reading on Nov. 13 will take place on the grounds of McLeod Plantation Historic Site. Following the reading, there will be a reception and Dr. Hamilton will sign her book The Goddess of Gumbo. Guests will have the opportunity to join a guided tour of McLeod Plantation Historic Site at 3 p.m. The reading will be free of charge with admission to McLeod Plantation Historic Site. Park admission is $10, or $6 for ages 3-12 (free for ages 2 and under). Gold Pass membership allows free entry for 4 guests per visit.