The Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series of Hope College will feature spoken-word poet Minton Sparks with guitarist John Jackson on Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Sparks blends music, story-telling and poetry, to the delight of audiences nationwide. Her CDs include "This Dress," "Middlin Sisters," and her most recent release, "Sin Sick," which legendary folk singer John Prine calls "just what the doctor ordered." In 2006, Sparks's unique brand of poetry and music was featured nationally on NPR's "All Things Considered" and internationally on the BBC's "Bob Harris Show," along with the syndicated "WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour." Sparks lives in Nashville, Tenn., with her husband and two children.

Sparks will be accompanied at Hope College by virtuoso guitarist John Jackson, who recently finished a stint on Broadway with the Twyla Tharp musical production of "Bob Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin'."

There will be a Q&A with Sparks on Wednesday, April 15, at 3 p.m. in the DeWitt Center Herrick Room of the DeWitt Center.

The Hope College Jazz Ensemble will precede the reading at the Knickerbocker with a 6:30 p.m. performance.

Additional information may be obtained online by visiting www.hope.edu/vws.

The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.  The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.