LEWISTON – American folksinger and storyteller Utah Phillips will appear at 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College for a special guest performance. The public is invited to the free program.

A nationally known folk artist, singer and storyteller, Phillips is an eclectic who often describes the struggles of trade unions and promotes the industrial workers of the world in his music, actions and words.

A veteran of the Korean War, he is a rail fan who has recorded several albums related to the railroads and steam locomotives. His first recorded album, “Good Though!,” is an example, and contains such songs as “Daddy, What’s a Train?” and “Queen of the Rails.”

Phillips has recorded songs and stories with Rosalie Sorrels on a CD called “The Long Memory” and has been nominated for a Grammy Award for his work with Ani DiFranco. Phillips hosts his own weekly radio show, “Loafer’s Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind.”

The performance will follow a day-long effort by students and community volunteers to box and ship school supplies to the Gakuto Primary School in Gakuto, Botswana, Africa.

They will also send textbooks to a sister campus in South Africa – the Westville Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. Anyone interested in assisting is invited to join them anytime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Room 170 at USM/L-A.

Any donations of books and school supplies for children ages 5 to 18 would be appreciated. Coffee, punch and snacks will be provided, and a potluck lunch will be held.

A portrait of Phillips will be featured in the Robert Shetterly exhibit “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” which will open Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Atrium Art Gallery at USM-LA. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Barry Rodrigue or Ismail Ahmed at 753-6574. More information on the Shetterly exhibit can be found online at www.usm.maine.edu/lac/art/shetterly.