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MILLIGAN COLLEGE , TN ( March 4, 2004 ) — Milligan College will host Appalachian poet Stephen M. Holt March 17-18. Holt will teach several classes as well as present a public reading of his work at 7 p.m. , Wednesday, March 17, in the McMahan Student Center . Admission is free and open to the public. Following the reading there will be an informal reception to provide the public an opportunity to talk with Holt and a poetry gallery featuring Milligan students and faculty reading from their own and others’ work.
“Late Mowing,” Holt’s book, includes an introduction by prominent Southern poet Kathryn Stripling Byer. “Late Mowing” was published in 2000 to very favorable reviews throughout the Southern Highlands . Holt’s work has also been published in journals such as “Blink,” “The Cold Mountain Review,” “Appalachian Heritage,” and “Ship of Fools.” A selection of new poems will be included in the inaugural issue of a new series of “Appalachian Life” later this spring.
He was named recipient of the James Still Award for Poetry at the Appalachian Writers Association Conference (AWA) in 2001 and served as poetry instructor at the 2002 Hindman Writers Retreat at the Hindman Settlement in Kentucky . This year, he will conduct the poetry workshop at the AWA Conference at Cumberland College in Kentucky.
Holt was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize for his poem, “Christmas Card from Bold Camp Mountain,” a nature poem about his grandmother’s home place in West Virginia. This prestigious award, sponsored by the Pushcart Press, is given to writers of the most distinguished short stories, essays and poetry first published by small presses and magazines nationwide, and each year it is hailed as a touchstone of literary discovery.
Holt is from Raceland, Ky., and teaches composition and creative writing at Ohio University ‘s Southern campus in Ironton , Ohio . He has previously read his work in various bookstores and colleges throughout the Southeast.
His visit to Milligan is sponsored by the Milligan English department and humanities area, the Milligan Arts Council, the Lilly Fund for Faith and Learning, the Milligan chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society and Food City of Elizabethton.
“We are very fortunate to have such a talented rising poet and accomplished teacher come to our campus to share his work and his insight,” said Dr. Jill LeRoy-Frazier, professor of English and humanities and director of writing in humanities at Milligan.
F or more information, please contact Dr. Jill LeRoy-Frazier in the Milligan Humanities Area at 423.461.8790.