Seven poets will be in the spotlight at Pellissippi State Community College Nov. 8 and 9 as they read from their works and talk about the process of writing.
“A Potpourri of Poets” is slated for 12:25-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and noon-1 on Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the Goins Building Auditorium at the Pellissippi Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road.
The event is part of the college’s 2011-12 Common Academic Experience, a series of activities that revolve around the book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope,” co-written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. The public is invited to the free event.
“A poem is a thing made,” said Ed Francisco, Pellissippi State English professor and writer-in-residence. “Like William’s quest to build a windmill, a poet’s quest is to build a poem.”
Three poets will read on Tuesday the 8th:
Larry Johnson is the author of the poetry collection “Veins.” He teaches poetry at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, N.C. Since 1965, his poems have been published in many magazines, including “Chronicles” and “Poetry Northwest.” In the fall of 2006, he was among four poets who read at a Library of Congress program of poems about ancient history.
Linda Parsons Marion is an editor at the University of Tennessee and the author of three poetry collections, most recently, “Bound.” She served as poetry editor of “Now & Then” magazine for many years. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, among them, “Poet Lore” and “Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia.” Recently inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame, she lives in Knoxville with her husband, poet Jeff Daniel Marion.
Jeff Daniel Marion has published eight poetry collections, four pocket-size poetry “chapbooks” and a children’s book, “Hello, Crow.” His poems have appeared in many publications, including “The Southern Review” and “Shenandoah.” In 2011 the Fellowship of Southern Writers presented him the James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South. Marion currently serves as the Jack E. Reese Writer-in-Residence for the University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville.
Four poets, including Larry Johnson, will read on Wednesday the 9th:
Connie Jordan Green is the author of “The War at Home” and “Emmy,” both novels for young people, as well as two books of poetry, “Slow Children Playing” and “Regret Comes to Tea.” Her poetry has appeared most recently in “Appalachian Heritage” and “Crossroads.” In 2008 she was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame with an award for lifetime achievement. She teaches creative writing and other subjects related to literature for the Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning.
Brian Griffin has an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Virginia. His fiction, poetry and essays have been published widely in such literary journals as “Shenandoah” and “Mississippi Review.” The New York Times compared Griffin’s “Sparkman in the Sky & Other Stories” to Hemingway’s early work, calling the stories “a collective exemplar of how things go in a certain place in our time.” The collection received the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction.
Artress Bethany White is an assistant professor of English at Carson-Newman College. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing from New York University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kentucky. Her poems have appeared recently in the “Appalachian Journal” and the journal of MELUS, a society focused on the study of multi-ethnic literature. Her works also are forthcoming in Harvard Review.
For more information about the event, contact the English Department at Pellissippi State, (865) 694-6708. To request accommodations for a disability, contact the executive director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action, (865) 694-6607 or humanresources@pstcc.edu.