A public reading of Don’s work has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 5th, from 6:00-9:00 p.m.  The reading is currently scheduled to take place on the IU campus in the Lilly Library.

The administrators of this site will post again to confirm the date and time of this reading as soon as they receive confirmation.  More details to follow.

Yesterday, Don’s family and friends were to have held a planned memorial service for Don.  I assume, and hope, that everything went off as expected, and that it was a memorable event.  If any of this site’s readers were able to attend and would like to share their impressions here, we would welcome news of that event, and any other information about upcoming events that celebrate Don’s life and work.

I want to add as a personal note that, yesterday, one of my current students, who was also one of Don’s former students, came by my office hours.  We were chatting about other things when the conversation turned to Don.  This particular student is having a difficult go of things this semester, in large part because she deeply misses Don, who was (no surprise) an important mentor for her, who encouraged her work and, as she put it, changed her life forever by being one of her favorite instructors.

At one point, this student wondered aloud whether or not Don considered her “just another student.”  This immediately struck me as impossible.  Did Don consider any of us “just another” anything?  I have to say that I really don’t think so, and I don’t think I am idealizing Don’s memory by saying so.  I don’t know that I would say it about many people, but it does seem to me that Don probably did celebrate his students, each and every one, a little more than most.   His absence on this campus continues to be felt.

I.U. English Department graduate student, Caroline Diggins, will be reading from Don’s essay “Voodoo for Charles” at the Black History Month Art Fair, Wed. Feb 10^th 2010 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Indiana University Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center Grand Hall.  The theme for this event is “Expressions of the Soul.”  For more information, contact the center at omsld@indiana.edu

A community vigil to remember Don Belton will be held at the SE corner of the Courthouse Square in Bloomington on New Year’s Day at 5 pm.

photo courtesy of IU

We will gather to honor Don’s extraordinary life.

We also reject and deplore *any* excuse to justify this senseless crime. We call on local law enforcement and community officials to remain vigilant about ensuring justice.

Please feel free to circulate this call as widely as you like.