Nikky Finney, award-winning poet and author of "Heartwood," a collection of short stories, will read at Smith College. Finney's poetry addresses themes such as birth, death, family, violence and sexuality. Tues., 7:30 p.m., Stoddard Auditorium, Smith College. No admission charge.

Welfare rights activism is an important topic in the persistent debate on poverty in the U.S. Amy Jordan, Assistant Professor of African American History at Hampshire College, will lecture on Mississippi's tenancy system and the challenges it posed for women who sought public assistance, housing, farm and educational programs for their communities during the Civil Rights Movement. Fri., 4 p.m., Five College Women's Studies Research Center. No admission charge.

Fans of the history of the theater should check out Staged: Scenes from the James Ellis Theatre Collection, an exhibit featuring select items from the research collecion of retired Mt. Holyoke College Professor of English James D. Ellis. Ellis' entire research collection of materials on the English and American stage from 1750 to 1915 is available in the UMass Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives Department. Now through Dec. 31, W.E.B. Du Bois Library. No admission charge.

The Amherst College German Department will be screening "Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)," the Academy Award-winning film about a Stasi official who becomes disillusioned with East Germany's Communist Party after he was asked to spy on a famous playwright. The film is the first in the department's German Film Series. Thur., 7:30 p.m., Stirn Auditorium. No admission charge.