A former U.S. poet laureate has shared with an audience at the University of Kansas her experience of having parents of different races and being raised in the South.

Natasha Tretheway spoke Tuesday in Woodruff Auditorium, focusing on race and gender issues.

Tretheway was born to a white father and a black mother. She described memories of her childhood, recalling strangers mistaking her mother for her maid whenever they walked together.

She also read from her past works and spoke about drawing inspiration from paintings.

The poet’s appearance at the university is the latest in the school’s Humanities Lecture Series. She also is set to participate in a less formal discussion Wednesday morning in the Hall Center Conference Hall.

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Associated Press Information from: Lawrence Journal-World