FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

POET TO SPEAK AT APRIL 3 COMMON HOUR

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., March 22, 2002 - Lisa Kahn, an accomplished poet who was born in Germany and who came to the United States in 1950 as a Fulbright Scholar, will be the Common Hour speaker April 3 at Southeast Missouri State University.

Kahn's topic will be "From Grimm Humor to German Comic" and will focus on the famous Grimm brothers of fairy tale fame. Kahn will speak at noon in Crisp Hall Room 125. Kahn's presentation is part of a series of spring semester Common Hour programs at Southeast focusing on humor.

Kahn, who was born in Berlin, Germany, began her career as a family life instructor for the Seattle Independent School District. After a family move to Houston, Texas, she taught for 22 years at Texas Southern University.

She has published 12 volumes of poetry, two of them in cooperation with an outstanding photographer. She also has published one book of short stories and three anthologies. Some of her books are in German, some are in English and some are bilingual.

Traveling in the United States and Europe, she has read at many schools - elementary through university - at art galleries, senior citizen homes, poetry fests and bookstores. Her teaching at Texas Southern University made her especially sensitive to minority students. She is a member of PEN America, is listed in Who's Who in the Southwest and has received two poetry awards.

She is now retired from the TSU faculty in order to devote her entire time to writing.