ORONO — The University of Maine will host free events featuring French-American writers and scholars at the university’s Orono campus as part of its spring Franco-American symposium.

The event begins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and lasts until 6 p.m. on Saturday. The keynote speaker is Canadian author Clark Blaise.

Blaise and other speakers will offer readings and talk about French-American literature, history and culture. The theme of the event is “In and Out of Place: Finding Home in Franco America.”

The UMaine Humanities Initiative and le Ministère des Relations internationales, Francophonie et Commerce extérieur du Québec are sponsoring the event.