Ole Miss will host two-day poetry-reading and art symposium next week. The symposium is in conjunction with Meditations on the Landscape in Art and Literature exhibition that will unveil William Dunlap’s Meditations on the Origins of Agriculture in America.

The event is presented by the Friends of the University of Mississippi Museum and will take place on March 25-26. The two-day event will begin with an opening reception for the exhibition at the University Museum on March 25 at 4 p.m. At 6 p.m., the Nutt Auditorium will host Natasha Trethewey as she reads from her work and comment on her perceptions of history during ‘The Lyrical Landscape.’ Trethewey is a Gulfport native and is the author of five poetry collections, including the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in poetry winner ‘Native Guard.’

An all-day symposium on March 26 will consist of talks and panels focusing on landscape in art and literature. Art historian and curator J. Richard Gruber will present the keynote address. The program at Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts will begin at 9:30 a.m. with doors opening at 8 a.m.

During the afternoon portion of the symposium, Dunlap will discuss painting literature with author John Grisham, Jessica B. Harris and writer Curtis Wilkie. Ralph Eubanks will serve as moderator for the panel.

All symposium conversations and the exhibition are open to the public free of charge, made possible through the support of the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area, the National Park Service and Friends of the Museum. Tickets are required for a luncheon on the grounds of the Walton-Young House and the closing party at Saint Leo Lounge. The luncheon costs $15 and the party costs $25. To register for the symposium, purchase tickets or for more information visit museum.olemiss.edu/meditations.