Salem State University Professor January Gill O’Neil is hosting a poetry reading and book signing in partnership with S.U.R.E. Diversity on Monday, December 2 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Swampscott Senior Center.

O’Neil will be signing copies of her most recent release, Glitter Road. The book is a collection of poems that look at the end of a marriage, heartbreaking loss and new relationships in Mississippi.

“O’Neil centers her poems around her time in Oxford, Mississippi, and her life both in the North and the South,” said S.U.R.E. Member Ralph Edwards.

She looks at the history and legacy of Emmett Till, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and lynched in Mississippi after being accused of offending a white woman. O’Neil looks at how Till’s story intertwines with her own through the grief she feels for herself, her children and other Black children who won’t make it home tonight.

She also explores figures like singer Tina Turner as well as concepts of love, hope, family and the body.

Glitter Road won the 2024 Poetry by the Sea Best Book Award and the Julia Ward Howe Prize. It is also a finalist for multiple awards including the Massachusetts Book Award.

S.U.R.E. Diversity, which stands for Swampscott Unites, Respects and Embraces Diversity, is a volunteer community group aimed at celebrating all aspects of human diversity.

For more information, contact Edwards at ralphedwards153@gmail.com.