POLKTON, NC – Poet and author, Joseph Bathanti, will be speaking with students, faculty and staff, and the community at South Piedmont Community College on the L.L. Polk Campus Friday, November 15 from 1:30 – 2:30 pm in the Garibaldi Building, Room 108.
Bathanti is the former Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2012-14) and recipient of the 2016 North Carolina Award for Literature. He is the author of ten books of poetry, including a published book of poetry from 1989 where he describes his experiences in Anson County as a visiting artist. The book is aptly titled Anson County.
SPCC Poetry Club advisor, Ryan Brown, says, “Bathanti should hopefully reveal insider knowledge about the tools and tricks used by modern writers, as well as inspire future creative writers to pursue their dreams.”
Brown admits being inspired by Bathanti to write when he visited South Piedmont in 2008 and he anticipates that visitors will have the same feelings during the presentation.
The Poetry Club at SPCC promotes the power of self-expression through poetry. It serves as an opportunity for students to use their own creativity and the written word to produce art. The goal is to make poetry feel accessible to all people and let them know that poetry is nothing more than honest expression of the heart, captured by language. The club was founded in 2014 and members enjoy poetry works and readings throughout the year.
This event is free and open to the public.
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Joseph Bathanti is former Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2012-14) and recipient of the 2016 North Carolina Award for Literature. He is the author of ten books of poetry, including Communion Partners; Anson County; The Feast of All Saints; This Metal, nominated for the National Book Award, and winner of the Oscar Arnold Young Award; Land of Amnesia; Restoring Sacred Art, winner of the 2010 Roanoke Chowan Prize, awarded annually by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association for best book of poetry in a given year; Sonnets of the Cross; Concertina, winner of the 2014 Roanoke Chowan Prize; and The 13th Sunday after Pentecost, released by LSU Press in 2016. His novel, East Liberty, won the 2001 Carolina Novel Award. His novel, Coventry, won the 2006 Novello Literary Award. His book of stories, The High Heart, won the 2006 Spokane Prize. They Changed the State: The Legacy of North Carolina’s Visiting Artists, 1971-1995, his book of nonfiction, was published in early 2007. His more recent book of personal essays, Half of What I Say Is Meaningless, winner of the Will D. Campbell Award for Creative Nonfiction, is from Mercer University Press. A new novel, The Life of the World to Come, was released from University of South Carolina Press in late 2014. Bathanti is the McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education & Writer-in-Residence of Appalachian State University’s Watauga Residential College in Boone, NC. He served as the 2016 Charles George VA Medical Center Writer-in-Residence in Asheville, NC.
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South Piedmont Community College is a two-year college offering certificates, diplomas, and associate’s degrees to residents in Anson and Union counties. We offer small class sizes with flexible scheduling options geared toward student success. To learn more about the college and our programs, visit www.spcc.edu.