Boomtown anthology: Queens University of Charlotte

In May the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program in Creative Writing released an anthology of work by faculty and alumni from the first ten years of the program, and I'm excited to have my work included. The title of the book is Boomtown: Explosive Writing from Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program. It's published by Press 53; Fred Leebron and Michael Kobre, directors of the MFA program at Queens, wrote the introduction.

The anthology is available from Press 53, independent bookstores, and Amazon.com.

MFA faculty included:
Hal Ackerman * Jane Allison * Geoffrey Becker * Pinckney Benedict * Cathy Smith Bowers * Morri Creech * Ann Cummins * Jonathan Dee * Elizabeth Evans * Cathy Park Hong * Michael Kobre * Fred Leebron * Sebastian Matthews * Rebecca McClanahan * Katherine Min * Dan Mueller * Jenny Offill * Alan Michael Parker * David Payne * Susan Perabo * Jon Pineda* Robert Polito * Nathaniel Rich * Steven Rinehart * Elisa Schapell * Margot Singer * Peter Stitt * Elizabeth Strout *

Students/alums included:
Elena Arosemena * Amy Bagwell * Rosetta Benson * Martha F. Brenner * Amber Clark * Cindy Droege * Stephen G. Eoannou * B. J. Epstein * Loubna Freih * Clifford Garstang * Annette Gendler * Kathleen Godfrey * Pauletta Hansel * Martha-Mac Harris * Jay Irvin * Anne Jay * Kevin C. Jones * Julie King * Lisa Williams Kline * Mel Lewis * Abby Lipscomb * Tom Lombardo * Linera Lucas * Robert Martin Evans * Laura Hart McKinney * Sarah Meinel * Amy Stockwell Mercer * Susan Laughter Meyers * Gwynyth Mislin * Steven A. Patten * Carol Peters * Ginger Pinholster * Erin Pushman * Mary Beth Ray * Pat Riviere-Seel * Louise Rockwell * Deborah Lawson Scott * Martin Seay * Robert Stofel * Terri Wolfe *

May 2011: "Living above the Frost Line" blog features more of my poems

Once again, thanks to Nancy Simpson for featuring my poems this month. "Guitar" and "That Year" have been added to her blog "Living above the Frost Line." Each poem is accompanied by colorful photos or artwork.

May 2011: Featured poet on "Living above the Frost Line" blog

This month I am the featured poet on "Living above the Frost Line," a blog by Nancy Simpson. Many thanks to Nancy for this honor! She has posted my poem "Hat of Many Goldfinches" and will be posting other poems of mine several times throughout the month.

Nancy is a poet living in the mountains of North Carolina, my native state; and although we haven't met, I have long known of her poetry and all the work she does there for the poetry community.

Please visit Nancy's blog: Living Above the Frost Line

Apr. 21, 2011: Artist residency at Ridgeland Northeast High, Columbia, SC

Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ridgeland Northeast High School
7500 Brookfield Road
Columbia, SC
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Classes of Barbara Thomson

Barbara Thomson invited me for an artist residency in two of her poetry classes held this past Thursday, one a class of seniors and the other of first-year students. As I usually do in my workshops, we started out writing a group poem. That was followed by a writing assignment for which each of us wrote a poem. It was such a pleasure to hear the students read their poems. To help them prepare for their public reading, which is scheduled for next Thursday at 7 p.m., we worked with the theme that they have been studying recently in their classes: "My Story, Your Story, Our Story." What a focused and talented group of young poets!

VCCA Verna Ubben Fellowship

I am happy to announce that I have been awarded the VCCA Verna Ubben Fellowship, a two-week residency at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA). The fellowship is sponsored by Don Ubben, in honor of his mother Verna Ubben, and The Poetry Society of South Carolina, in celebration of their 90th anniversary. Thank you to both! I plan to go to VCCA in August, and by then I hope to be working on a new book manuscript. Already I am preparing for the residency by writing, writing, writing.

Thur., Mar. 31: Edward Hirsch to read at Coastal Carolina University

I'm looking forward to hearing Edward Hirsch read his poetry at Coastal Carolina University on Thursday, Mar. 31, at 4:30 p.m. I'll be going with some poet friends from the Charleston area to that, as well as to his discussion on "My Pace Provokes My Thoughts: Poetry and Walking" at 2 p.m. on Friday.

A great opportunity for poets and friends of poetry: Edward Hirsch

Wed., Mar. 9 Poetry Reading -- Ant, Bear, Crow: The Poem Inhabited

Ant, Bear, Crow: The Poem Inhabited
A poetry reading by Barbara G.S. Hagerty and Susan Laughter Meyers
Wednesday, March 9, 7 p.m.
The Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street
Charleston, SC
Free & open to the public
Sponsored by The Sophia Institute

Enter the wild and peaceable kingdom of poetry to celebrate the animal spirit. A reading by Barbara G.S. Hagerty and Susan Laughter Meyers.


Barbara G.S. Hagerty is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Her essays, columns, and poems have appeared in a wide variety of national and regional periodicals. She has written two books, plus a collection of poetry, The Guest House (Finishing Line Press, 2009). She currently holds the Fellowship in Poetry from the South Carolina Arts Commission. She has also worked as a photographer, curator, and teacher of poetry and creative nonfiction.

Susan Laughter Meyers, of Givhans, SC, is the author of Keep and Give Away (University of South Carolina Press) and the chapbook Lessons in Leaving (Persephone Press). Her poetry, which has appeared in a broad range of journals, has won numerous awards and has been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. A long-time writing instructor, Meyers has also served as president of the poetry societies of both North and South Carolina.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 -- Workshop: The Poet as Seeker

Poetry Workshop: The Poet as Seeker
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Susan Meyers, instructor
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Willbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Registration, $30
OLLI at Coastal Carolina University
Register at 843-234-3422 or www.coastal.edu/olli


All good poems are more than the result of mere writing exercise; they seek a truth. Poets, in turn, set out with yearning and questions, often ones that have no answers. “Teach yourself to work in uncertainty,” said author Bernard Malamud. We’ll do just that as we read sample poems in the class packet and generate new work of our own. Bring a poem draft that you’re working on in an attempt to reach a deeper level in some way. Lunch can be brought or bought nearby.

NOTE: As an added feature for this class, participants will have the option of having one class-related draft critiqued by the instructor through e-mail after the class.