WILSON, N.C. — March 21, 2016 — Make plans to attend the annual “Walking into April Poetry Day” to be held at Barton College on Saturday, April 9, in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center. This year brings another distinguished group of poets to celebrate the written word in the spirit of Sam Ragan.
Featured poets for the “Walking into April” morning sessions are Diana Pinckney and David Radavich. The day will also feature Eric Weil, Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for Eastern North Carolina, and the Gilbert-Chappell student poets. “Walking into April” is sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society, Barton College, and the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series, and funded by the late Marie Gilbert.
The program is open to the public at no charge, with the exception of lunch. Participants may reserve space for lunch, at $9.50 per person, by emailing Dr. Rebecca Godwin at rlgodwin@barton.edu, or by calling Joyce Sutton in the School of Humanities at 252-399-6454. The deadline for lunch reservations is April 6. Participants may bring their payment for these advance reservations on April 9.
The daylong event will begin at 9:15 a.m. with “Coffee and Conversation.” Pinckney and Radavich will kick off the morning session at 9:45 a.m. and moderate the “Roundtable Discussion” before lunch. The afternoon will include a time for book signing followed by the presentations by Weil and the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series Student Poets. The “Open Microphone” session, for all participants to share their work, will conclude the poetry event.
For additional information, please contact Dr. Godwin at rlgodwin@barton.edu. All poets are welcome to bring items for the book table.
Featured Speakers:
Diana Pinckney’s latest collection of poetry, her fifth, is “The Beast and the Innocent.” Other titles include “Green Daughters” and “Alchemy.” Her work has appeared in “Cave Wall,” “Green Mountains Review,” “Tar River Poetry,” “Cream City Review,” and “Still Points Arts Quarterly.” Pinckney is the winner of the 2010 EKPHRASIS Prize and the 2012 International Poetry Prize given by “Atlanta Review,” among other awards.
David Radavich has published seven poetry collections, the latest being “The Countries We Live In.” Earlier titles include “Middle-East Mezze” and “Canonicals: Love’s Hours.” “America Bound: An Epic for Our Time” combines poetry, drama, and fiction. He recently has co-edited “Magic Again: Selected Poems on Thomas Wolfe,” available this spring. Also an accomplished playwright, Radavich currently serves as president of the North Carolina Poetry Society.
Weil, Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for Eastern North Carolina, has published “A Horse at the
Hirshhorn,” “Returning from Mars,” and “Ten Years In.” His poems have appeared in publications such as “Dead Mule,” “Poetry,” and “The Greensboro Review.” Three of his one-act plays have been produced, including “Heart to Heart” at Triangulate in 2014. Weil teaches English at Elizabeth City State University.
Student poets selected for this year’s Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series are Wilson County middle school poet Lydia Byrne, East Carolina University student Videl Lanier, UNC-Wilmington student Ryan Budd, and adult student poet Carolyn Cockrell of Cape Carteret.
END