Ļć½¶Ö±²„hosts acclaimed author Ross Gay for annual writer-in-residence program
Contact: John Burrow
STARKVILLE, Miss.āĻć½¶Ö±²„ is hosting award-winning author Ross Gay for an upcoming virtual writer-in-residence program, an annual campus event of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Gay is author of the New York Times best-selling collection of essays āThe Book of Delightsā (Algonquin Books, 2019), as well as several collections of poetry, including āCatalog of Unabashed Gratitudeā (2015),Ā winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016Ā Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He also is an English professor at Indiana University Bloomington.
Gay will read selections from his poetry and answer questions during the March 1, 7:30 p.m. event, which is free and open to the public, on the Instituteās Facebook page, .Ģż
Mississippiās Poet Laureate and Ļć½¶Ö±²„English Professor Catherine Pierce will moderate a question-and-answer period following the program, which annually connects noted authors with Ļć½¶Ö±²„students and the wider public for mentoring and training in writing.
This project is supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Humanities Council as well as the National Endowment for the Arts. The annual writer-in-residence program is hosted by the collegeās Institute for the Humanities and the Department of English.
āDuring his time in residence, Ross Gay will be giving a public reading, visit with a class, meet with students, and lead a community-based writing event,ā said Pierce.
āRoss Gay is a brilliant poet and essayist, and one of the most dynamic and exciting writers out there,ā she continued. āHis clear-eyed, incisive work explores genuine joy and delight alongside injustice and heartache. I think our entire community will benefit tremendously from the opportunity to hear and learn from this incredible writer.āĀ Ā Ā
In addition to the public reading, Gay will join Pierce on March 3 at 7:30 p.m. for a virtual writing workshop, also free and open to the public.
āRossās poetry is honest and personal, but also accessible, meaningful and uplifting,ā said Julia Osman, institute director and an associate professor of history.
Osman said the workshop is āfor anyone who loves to write, from practicing writers to word-dabblers.ā To register, visit the Institute for Humanities website at .Ģż
āRoss and Katie will talk about writing with the participants and will provide some writing prompts and encourage people to share their words,ā said Osman.ĢżāItās a great way for people who write in their spare time, or who have taken joy in writing, to relate to Ross and Katie as fellow writers.ā
In addition to āCatalog of Unabashed Gratitude,ā Gay is the author of three other books of poetry:Ā āAgainst Which,ā a 2006 CavanKerry Press publication; and University of Pittsburgh Press publicationsĀ āBringing the Shovel Downā (2011) andĀ āBe Holdingā (2020).
GayĀ co-authored with Aimee Nezhukumatathil the chapbook āLace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens.āĀ He co-authored with Richard Wehrenberg the chapbook āRiver.ā He is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine, Some Call it Ballinā. He also is a founding board member of theĀ Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project.
As part of MSUās College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Humanities is active on social media on Instagram @msstatehumanities, Twitter @Humanities_Ļć½¶Ö±²„and Facebook @msu.humanities.institute.
MSUās Department of English is online at , or on social media on Facebook @MississippiStateEnglish and Twitter @MSStateEnglish.
MSUās College of Arts and Sciences is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities.ĢżFor more details about the college, visit .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .