‘Poets of merit’ sought for prestigious fellowships
$50,000 to $100,000 awards up for grabs
Application deadline: Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET
The Write Around Series with Ed Madden and Ray McManus, the latest initiative in the Columbia Museum of Art's new Writer-in-Residence program, launches Sunday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m.
Award-winning poets Madden (left) and McManus (right) open the series with work they have written inspired by the dynamic themes of the newly redesigned collection galleries.
“By grouping the art thematically rather than chronologically, the new collection galleries create conversations, not just among the works of art, but also among patrons,” says McManus. “Writing that responds to the artwork—some of it displayed now for the first time—is another kind of conversation across forms of art, and one that can only amplify and extend the conversation created by the new gallery designs.”
As writer-in-residence, McManus is charged with creating programs that promote literary art as a way to contemplate and connect with visual art. The Write Around Series is year-long program that invites writers to create and share original poetry and prose inspired by the art in the CMA.
An associate professor of English at the University of South Carolina in Sumter, McManus teaches creative writing, Irish literature, and Southern literature. He is the director of the Center for Oral Narrative housed in the Division of Arts and Letters. In 2014, he joined the editorial board for the Palmetto Poetry Series, and he maintains partnerships with the S.C. Arts Commission and local arts agencies. McManus is the founder of Split P Soup, a creative writing outreach program that places writers in schools and communities in South Carolina, and the director of the creative writing program at the Tri-District Arts Consortium. His current project is Re:Verse, a teaching initiative that works with educators and administrators to develop effective strategies to bring more emphasis to creative writing in standard education.
Madden is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Ark, a memoir in poetry about helping with his dying father’s hospice care. He is a professor of English and director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. He has been the inaugural poet laureate for the City of Columbia since 2015. He received the Arts Commission's 2011 prose fellowship.
“I’m excited to launch The Write Around Series, and I’m especially excited to launch this program with the poet laureate of Columbia, Ed Madden,” says McManus. “I can’t wait to see what we come up with together!”
The event is free with CMA membership or separate admission. The program is supported by South Carolina Humanities.
For more information, visit ColumbiaMuseum.org.
Have you ever caught yourself wondering whether South Carolina has successful artists? Famous artists? Any making a mark in their medium or genre?
Then consider Deckle Edge Literary Festival 2018 and wonder no longer.
[caption id="attachment_33843" align="alignright" width="200"] Photo by Kathy Ryan, courtesy of TerranceHayes.com[/caption]
The festival announced Columbia native Terrance Hayes (right, top) as its keynote speaker this year, and Conway native and current Columbia resident Nikky Finney (right, bottom) is to receive the inaugural Deckle Edge Southern Truth Award.
Among Finney's accolades is being an Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award recipient from the Arts Commission, and she also received the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry and 1996 PEN American Open Book Award. Hayes is the current poetry editor for New York Times Magazine and has won Guggenheim, MacArthur, National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Artists Zell fellowships. His Lighthead won the 2010 National Book Award, and How to Be Drawn was a finalist for the same.
Got all that? Because we're not quite done.
[caption id="attachment_33844" align="alignright" width="200"]
Photo by Forrest Clonts, courtesy of NikkyFinney.net[/caption]
Further Arts Commission connections abound among the authors, poets, and songwriters scheduled to participate in the scheduled panels or presentations. Julia Elliott, Scott Gould (twice), and Ed Madden are all S.C. Arts Commission Fellows, and other writers have received grants or won awards from the agency as well. In fact, it would probably be easier simply to list those who lack Arts Commission ties - but then we don't want anyone to feel left out.
Go here for more information on Deckle Edge Literary Festival 2018, and go forth with the knowledge that, yes, South Carolina has amazing, accomplished artists of all disciplines. And as we continue our focus on Arts Advocacy Week, remember that public support of the arts has played a role in getting them there.
Note: One Columbia for Arts and History received a South Carolina Arts Commission Quarterly Grant to help support the Deckle Edge Literary Festival. The inaugural Deckle Edge Literary Festival, taking place Feb. 19 – 21 in Columbia, S.C., features readings, book signings, panel presentations, exhibitors, writers’ workshops, activities for children and young adult readers, and a range of other literary events for many interests and all ages. Events take place in or near downtown Columbia, and many events are free. A sample of events: Friday, Feb. 19
[caption id="attachment_17625" align="alignright" width="134"] Ed Madden; photo by Forrest Clonts[/caption]
One Columbia for Arts and History and the city of Columbia, S.C., announce the selection of poet Dr. Ed Madden as Columbia’s first poet laureate. Madden will serve a four-year term that begins January 2015. Columbia is one of the few Southern cities to have a poet laureate position, according to One Columbia.
Recognized by Mayor Steve Benjamin and the members of City Council in a resolution passed on October 21, 2014, the honorary position of poet laureate will “encourage appreciation and create opportunities for dissemination of poetry in Columbia, promote the appreciation and knowledge of poetry among the youth, and act as a spokesperson for the growing number of poets and writers in Columbia.”
“Dr. Madden is not only a world-class talent and scholar but also a leader who, through his actions as well as his words, exemplifies the very best of who we are and who we hope to be,” said Benjamin. “We’re honored to have him serve as our city’s first poet laureate and confident that he will exceed our highest expectations.”
Madden, associate professor of English and the director of Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of South Carolina, holds a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Texas at Austin. Originally from Newport, Arkansas, he has lived in Columbia since 1994. He has published three books of poetry and is currently working on a fourth book, titled Ark, to be published in 2016. He is the recipient of the inaugural Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship in poetry from the S.C. Academy of Authors as well as a 2011 fellowship for prose writing from the S.C. Arts Commission.
His first scheduled readings as poet laureate include the State of the City address on January 20, 2015, and commemoration events for the 150th anniversary of the burning of Columbia on February 17, 2015.
“I am excited to have been chosen for this position and really honored to be the first poet selected,” said Madden. “Columbia is a city so rich in writers, I’m also very humbled. I want to be a champion for poetry, language, and the arts, and I want to use poetry to document the life and culture of the city.”
One Columbia will provide financial support for the poet laureate to conduct activities that support the organization’s mission to promote and strengthen the arts in Columbia.
Madden was selected by a committee representing the literary community, city government and academia. Committee members were Nikky Finney, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for poetry; Tony Tallent, director of literacy and learning at the Richland Library and board chair of One Columbia; Councilman Moe Baddourah; Michael Wukela, representing the office of Mayor Benjamin; Jonathan Haupt, director of the University of South Carolina Press and One Columbia board member; Sara June Goldstein, senior coordinator for statewide partnerships with the S.C. Arts Commission; Cynthia Boiter, co-founder of Muddy Ford Press and editor of Jasper Magazine; and Alejandro García-Lemos, a Columbia artist and founder of Palmetto Luna.
"The choice of Ed Madden, as Columbia's first poet laureate, is a lovely luminous moment for our city and state,” says Finney. “Poetry has the grace and power to both inspire and guide. The city of Columbia and the state of South Carolina need more poetry in its heart and soul. Ed is absolutely the one to help direct it there and there.”
An official presentation will take place on January 15, 2015, between 6 - 8 p.m. at the Seibels House, 1601 Richland Street, Columbia. The event will also feature the official launch of Columbia’s One Book, One Community 2015 selection of On Agate Hill by Lee Smith. The event is open to the public.
About One Columbia for Arts and History
One Columbia for Arts and History is a nonprofit corporation that works to promote collaboration among citizens, the cultural community, and city government through celebrations of Columbia’s arts and historic treasures. Its goal is to enhance the quality of life for our residents, attract tourist dollars to our city, and further build our vibrant community. In short, it serves as the promotional arm of the City for Columbia’s cultural community. Visit the One Columbia website (http://onecolumbiasc.com) for a continuously updated master list of art and cultural activities occurring throughout the city.