USC’s S.C. Poetry Initiative will sponsor the state's largest gathering of poets at its annual Poetry Summit Sept. 23–24.
Billed as a "poetry extravaganza" by Kwame Dawes, executive director of the S.C. Poetry Initiative, the summit will begin with "A Poet's Night in Columbia" at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at Mangia Mangia Italian restaurant in West Columbia. Saturday's events will include poetry readings, discussions, and an open-mic session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Columbia Museum of Art.
This year's theme is "Southern Voices and Southern Visions." Most events are free and open to the public. The Friday night event at Mangia Mangia is $25 per person; lunch on Saturday is $15 per person.
On Friday night, participants will meet and have dinner with poets Terrance Hayes and Lucinda Grey. Hayes has written three books of poetry and has earned many awards, including the Whiting Writers Award. Hayes' Hip Logic was a 2001 National Poetry Series winner and a finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Hayes will release Wind in a Box next year. Grey will read from her most recent collection, A Woman Who Has Eaten the Moon, which has received praise by well-known writers including Tony Morris.
Saturday's events will begin with a continental breakfast provided by Rising High restaurant from 9 to 9:30 a.m. A roundtable discussion, titled "Poetry Then and Now," will follow, with readings by several South Carolina poets whose work was recently anthologized in 96 Press's A Millennial Sampler of South Carolina Poetry.
Lunch at Hennessey's on Main Street will feature a reading by Charleston poet Paul Allen. Afternoon events will include a performance by Eboni Ram and her jazz band, Rain; a presentation by South Carolina's award-winning spoken-word team; and a musical arrangement composed by Kevin Simmonds, based on Dawes' children's book, I Saw Your Face, from which Dawes will read. Saturday's event will conclude with an open-mic session.
In addition to Hayes, Grey, Allen, and Dawes, poets at the summit will include Susan Myers, Linda Ferguson, Rick Mulkey, Warren Slesinger, Marjory Wentworth, Fred Bassett, Kimberly Simms, Gil Allen, Joel McCollough, Linda Lee Harper, Sheila Tombe, and Vera Gomez.
To reserve a spot for Friday's "Poets Night in Columbia" and Saturday's lunch, contact Charlene Spearen, assistant director of the S.C. Poetry Initiative, at 7-2230 or by e-mail at CMSPEARE@gwm.sc.edu.
The S.C. Poetry Initiative at USC is in its third year and has become the state's premiere organization devoted to the art of writing, reading, and hearing poetry.
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